“Look, Figaro! I have a son!” Geppetto cried.
Geppetto loved Pinocchio as he would have loved a real boy.
The next morning Geppetto sent Pinocchio off to school.
Pinocchio was very excited. He couldn’t wait to learn like the real children.
Two rascals saw Pinocchio walking to school.
One was a sly fox named Honest John.
But Honest John was not honest at all.
The other was a mean cat called Gideon.
Honest John exclaimed, “A puppet who moves without strings! We can make a fortune out of him.”
Gideon agreed.
The fox and the cat told Pinocchio to come with them.
Honest John said, “You will be the star of Stromboli’s puppet show.”
“But I have to go to school,” Pinocchio replied.
“Actors don’t need school. Come with us. We’ll show you the easy road to success,” the sly fox promised.
So Pinocchio went with Honest John and Gideon.
I spent the day looking for Pinocchio.
I finally found him at Stromboli’s puppet show.
The show was just starting.
“Ladieees and gentleman!” Stromboli announced. “Presenting the one and only puppet without strings!”
Pinocchio came out onto the stage.
He sang a funny song.
He danced with the other puppets.
The crowd clapped and threw gold coins.
Pinocchio was a star!
I thought Pinocchio didn’t need me any longer.
But I was wrong!