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Once upon a time, in a small Italian village, there lived a poor carpenter named Geppetto. One day, he found a strange piece of wood that seemed to laugh and talk when he touched it. Amazed, he decided to carve it into a puppet. He carefully shaped its head, arms, and legs and named it Pinocchio. But the moment he finished, the wooden puppet came alive! Pinocchio began to move and talk, much to Geppetto’s surprise and joy. Geppetto dreamed of sending Pinocchio to school and raising him like a real boy.
However, Pinocchio was mischievous and full of curiosity. The very first day he could walk, he ran out of the house into the village. There, he caused trouble and was soon caught by a policeman who thought Geppetto had mistreated him. Poor Geppetto was taken to jail while Pinocchio laughed. Alone at home, the puppet ignored his father’s advice, played around, and burned his feet by sleeping too close to the fire. When Geppetto returned, he forgave Pinocchio and made him new feet from wood. He also sold his coat to buy Pinocchio a schoolbook.
Geppetto hoped Pinocchio would study hard, but the puppet had other plans. On his way to school, he heard music and laughter from a puppet show. Tempted, he sold his schoolbook to buy a ticket. Inside the theater, all the puppets recognized him as one of their kind and greeted him warmly. But the puppet master, Fire-Eater, grew angry and wanted to use Pinocchio as firewood for his dinner. When Pinocchio begged for mercy, Fire-Eater’s heart softened. He freed Pinocchio and even gave him five gold coins to take home to Geppetto.
On his way home, Pinocchio met a sly Fox and a tricky Cat who pretended to be his friends. They told him if he planted his gold coins in the Field of Miracles, they would grow into a tree full of gold. Greedy and foolish, Pinocchio believed them. That night, he stopped at an inn where the Fox and Cat promised to meet him later, but they never returned. As he walked alone through the dark woods, two masked figures—really the Fox and Cat in disguise—attacked him and tried to steal his coins. Terrified, Pinocchio ran and hid, but they caught him and hung him from a tree, leaving him barely alive.
Luckily, a kind fairy with blue hair found him and took him to her house. She sent her servants to rescue him and nursed him back to health. When the Fairy asked what happened, Pinocchio lied. Each time he told a lie, his nose grew longer and longer until he could not move it. Embarrassed, he cried until the Fairy forgave him and made his nose normal again. She told him to be good and to go back to his father. Pinocchio promised but soon forgot. He met the Fox and Cat again, who tricked him into burying his coins. When he returned to dig them up, the coins were gone—they had stolen them.
Poor Pinocchio went to the police, but they didn’t believe his story and put him in jail for being foolish. After some time, he was released and started his journey back home. Along the way, he met a snake, almost got caught in a trap, and suffered many troubles. When he finally reached Geppetto’s house, it was empty. His father had gone out to sea searching for him. Pinocchio wept bitterly and decided to find him. On his way, he met the Fairy again, who forgave him and promised that if he behaved well, he could become a real boy.
Pinocchio tried to be good and went back to school. For a while, he worked hard and behaved. The Fairy told him that if he continued, he would soon become human. Overjoyed, Pinocchio prepared for the big day. But then, his mischievous friend Lampwick tempted him to go to the Land of Toys, a place where boys could play all day without school. Pinocchio hesitated but finally agreed. They rode a coach pulled by donkeys and arrived in a land full of games and sweets. Days passed in laughter and fun until one morning Pinocchio awoke with donkey ears.
Horrified, he realized the truth: every boy who came to the Land of Toys was turned into a donkey. Soon he fully transformed and was sold to a circus. Forced to perform tricks, Pinocchio was beaten and exhausted. One day, he hurt his leg during a jump, and the cruel circus master sold him to a man who wanted to make a drum from his skin. But when the man tried to drown him, the fish in the sea ate away the donkey skin, leaving only the wooden puppet. Pinocchio, once again himself, swam away, grateful to be free.
As he floated on the sea, he was swallowed by a giant shark. Inside the dark belly, he wandered until he found a small light. To his shock and joy, it was Geppetto, who had been swallowed by the same shark while searching for him. The old man was weak and hungry, but happy to see his son. Pinocchio promised to save them both. With courage, he helped Geppetto climb out of the shark’s mouth while it slept, and they swam to shore. Pinocchio worked hard, helping his father walk and finding them food.
They reached land and met the kind Fairy once again, disguised as a peasant woman. She gave them a small cottage to live in. Pinocchio became responsible and honest. He worked every day to care for his father, fetching water and doing small jobs. Although poor, he was happy and content. One day, he heard that the Fairy was ill and needed help. Without hesitation, he gave away the little money he had saved to help her. That night, he went to sleep exhausted but peaceful.
When morning came, Pinocchio awoke not as a puppet, but as a real boy. The wooden limbs and painted face were gone. He was flesh and blood, smiling with joy. Near his bed lay the wooden puppet, lifeless like a toy. Geppetto, now healthy, cried tears of happiness as he hugged his real son. Pinocchio had finally learned that kindness, honesty, and love were worth more than gold. From that day on, he lived happily with Geppetto, no longer a puppet of wood, but a real, good-hearted boy who had earned his humanity through courage and truth.