Pinocchio himself starts to turn into a donkey. In esoteric terms he is closer to his material self, personified by this stubborn animal, than his spiritual self. This portion of the story is a literary reference to Apuleius’ The Metamorphoses or Golden Ass, a classic work studied in Mystery schools such as Freemasonry.
The Metamorphoses describes the adventures of Lucius who is tempted by the wonders of magic, because of his foolishness, turns himself into an ass. This leads to a long and arduous journey where he is finally saved by Isis and joins her Mystery cult. The story of the Metamorphoses bears many resemblances with Pinocchio by its story line, its spiritual allegory and its theme of occult initiation.