Once upon a time there was a piece of wood. It wasn’t a fine type of wood, the kind that’s used to make toys or furniture for the sitting room, but a cheap wood, good for burning in the fireplace. Old Geppetto, who worked as a carpenter, decided to use it to make the puppet that he had long wished for. The next day, Geppetto almost fainted when he saw Pinocchio skip around the house. “Dad, I want to go to school!” trilled the puppet in a voice that sounded like little silver bells. As he didn’t have a penny in his pockets, Geppetto rushed to sell the only coat he had to buy a spelling book, and sent him off to school. Along the way, Pinocchio heard a music of pipes and drums and discovered… a travelling show, no less! “Pinocchio, go to school!” said his When he had finished, the man rested his puppet conscience, but he on a shelf and said, admiringly: “Ah, wouldn’t it be wouldn’t listen and he nice if he was a real boy? I’ll call him “Pinocchio”. sold his spelling book In the middle of the night, the good Blue-Haired to buy a ticket for Fairy appeared in his house and, with her prodigious the puppet show. magic wand, she gave life to Pinocchio. 2 As soon as the puppets saw Pinocchio, they Seeing him in tears invited him up on stage. While Pinocchio, singing and having listened and dancing, was reaping a great success, to his story, the puppeteer, Mangiafuoco, a large man the man, who with a long beard as black as ink, deep down had rubbed his hands together a tender heart, at the sight of coins gave him five raining onto the shiny gold stage from coins and said: the enthusiastic ”Take these audience. to your dad and Once the show don’t disobey was over, him again”. Mangiafuoco Pinocchio thanked flung Pinocchio Mangiafuoco and set off home at a run, and the other but he stumbled upon two well-known puppets in swindlers, a cat and a fox. his cart. 5