Long, long ago, there lived a poor old carpenter named Geppetto. He had no wife, no children and no family. He was alone. He was a very nice man and he spent his life making wooden toys for children.
‘I wish I had a child of my own!’ he often said to himself.
One day, he made a wooden puppet. He wished for the puppet to be like a real boy. A Blue Fairy heard this wish and decided to reward Geppetto for his good heart. She waved her magic wand and the little puppet came alive. “Wow! You are the finest puppet I have ever made. I will call you Pinocchio,” Geppetto said happily.
After a few days, Geppetto felt that Pinocchio should go to school, so he sold his only coat and bought Pinocchio a school bag and some school books.
“To be like a real boy, you must go to school. Now be on your way!” said Geppetto.
Pinocchio did not want to go to school. Geppetto got angry and boxed his ears. A policeman passing by saw Geppetto boxing Pinocchio’s ears. He thought that Geppetto was going to hurt Pinocchio badly. So he marched him off to jail for the night. But when Geppetto returned home, he sent Pinocchio to school. And this time Pinocchio agreed without any hesitation.
On his way to school, Pinocchio heard music and followed it to a marionette theatre. He sold his school books to buy his entrance ticket to the theatre and watch the puppet show.
While watching the show, Pinocchio got so excited that he began dancing with the puppets! The puppet master gave him five gold coins and said, “Give these to your father.” Pinocchio left from there.
On his way out, Pinocchio met a cunning cat and a sly fox who wanted to steal his money. They told him that he would get many more coins in the morning if he planted them under a tree. So, Pinocchio planted the coins and went to sleep under the tree.
The cat and the fox tied Pinocchio to the tree, took the coins and ran away. The Blue Fairy saved Pinocchio and set him free. On being asked how he got tied up, Pinocchio began making up a story to tell the blue fairy.
Then a very strange thing happened. Pinocchio’s nose began to grow longer and longer. The more he told lies, the longer his nose grew!
“Stop!” said Pinocchio.
“It won’t stop. Every time you tell a lie, your nose will grow longer,” said the Blue Fairy.
“Please make it stop!” said Pinocchio, “I promise not to lie again!”
After getting his normal nose back, Pinocchio decided to return home. But on the way, he was caught by a farmer and made to watch over a chicken-coop. One day, Pinocchio alerted the farmer to thieving weasels and was thus rewarded with freedom. He travelled to sea to discover that Geppetto had sailed out in a boat to look for him. Caught in a storm, the boat had disappeared. Pinocchio threw himself into the water to save Geppetto but was washed up on the Island of the Busy Bees.
The Blue Fairy saved Pinocchio again and he promised to be good and go to school. He wanted to become a real boy one day.
It was not so easy! On his way to school, Pinocchio met a boy called Lampwick, who said, “Come away with me to the Land of Toys. There, every day is a holiday! There are toys and games and sweets. And best of all, no lessons to learn!”
So, Pinocchio rushed off with him to the Land of Toys. He had lots of fun playing and eating.
Suddenly, Pinocchio and the other boys found their ears growing longer! They were turning into donkeys! The wizard of the Land of Toys had cast a spell on them.
As they wandered around, they came to a circus. The ringmaster made Pinocchio work for the circus.
There, Pinocchio hurt his leg while doing tricks. The angry ringmaster threw him into the sea.
In the sea, the spell was broken. Pinocchio became a puppet once more. A whale that was swimming by opened its huge mouth and swallowed Pinocchio.
In the whale’s stomach, Pinocchio met Geppetto! “I was looking for you when the whale swallowed me up. I am so glad to have found you!” he said.
They hugged each other in delight. “I shall be a good boy from now on,” promised Pinocchio.
When the whale was asleep, they crept out of its huge mouth and sailed home.
When they reached home, Geppetto fell ill. Pinocchio fed him hot soup and looked after him. “I will go to school and work hard so that I may earn lots of money,” said Pinocchio, “You will never have to work again.”
So, Pinocchio studied hard in school. Then one day a wonderful thing happened. The Blue Fairy appeared and said, “Pinocchio, you are brave and have a kind heart. You deserve to become a real boy!”
The following morning, Pinocchio woke up to discover that he was a real boy and his house was now shining, rich and splendid. His father Geppetto said that when boys are good and kind, homes and life are filled with happiness. There is peace all around. Geppetto and Pinocchio lived happily thereafter.
