Pinocchio did not feel the heavy dog collar on his neck anymore. Pinocchio ran across the green fields. Pinocchio did not stop until he reached the road to the house of the Fairy with the Azure Hair.
Pinocchio looked down into the valley. Pinocchio saw the wood where he met the Fox and the Cat. Pinocchio saw the big tree where the bad men hanged him. But Pinocchio did not see the house of the Fairy with the Azure Hair.
Pinocchio was very afraid. Pinocchio ran to the place where the house was before. The small house was not there. Pinocchio saw a small marble slab (a flat, hard piece of stone) on the ground. The stone had these sad words on it:
HERE LIES
THE FAIRY WITH THE AZURE HAIR
SHE DIED FROM SADNESS
BECAUSE HER BROTHER PINOCCHIO LEFT HER
The poor marionette (a wooden doll moved by strings) read these words. Pinocchio was very, very sad. Pinocchio fell to the ground and kissed the cold stone. Pinocchio cried all night. In the morning, Pinocchio was still there. Pinocchio made loud noises because he was so sad. People on the hills far away heard Pinocchio.
Pinocchio said, "Oh, my dear Fairy, why did you die? Why am I alive and you are dead? I am a bad boy and you are very good. And where is Geppetto? Please, Fairy, tell me where Geppetto is! I will never leave Geppetto again. You are not really dead. Please come back! I am so lonely. If the bad men come, they will hang me again. Then I will really die. I have no food and no bed. I have no new clothes. Oh, I want to die too!"
Pinocchio tried to pull his hair. But Pinocchio had hair made of paint on his wooden head. Pinocchio could not pull it.
Then a large pigeon (a type of bird) flew above Pinocchio. The Pigeon saw Pinocchio and called to him. The Pigeon asked, "Little boy, what are you doing?"
Pinocchio lifted his head. Pinocchio rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. Pinocchio said, "I am crying! Can you not see?"
The Pigeon asked, "Do you know a marionette named Pinocchio?"
Pinocchio jumped up. Pinocchio said, "Pinocchio? I am Pinocchio!"
The Pigeon flew down to the ground. The Pigeon was very big. The Pigeon was bigger than a turkey. The Pigeon asked, "Do you know Geppetto too?"
Pinocchio said, "Geppetto is my father! Geppetto is my poor, dear father. Did Geppetto speak about me? Will you take me to Geppetto? Is Geppetto alive? Please answer me!"
The Pigeon said, "I saw Geppetto three days ago. Geppetto was on the shore of a big sea."
Pinocchio asked, "What was Geppetto doing?"
The Pigeon said, "Geppetto was building a small boat. Geppetto wanted to cross the ocean. For four months, Geppetto looked for you in Europe. Geppetto did not find you. Now Geppetto wants to look for you in the New World across the ocean."
Pinocchio asked, "Is the sea far from here?"
The Pigeon said, "It is more than fifty miles away."
Pinocchio said, "Fifty miles! Oh, dear Pigeon, I want wings like your wings!"
The Pigeon said, "I can take you with me."
Pinocchio asked, "How?"
The Pigeon said, "Sit on my back. Are you heavy?"
Pinocchio said, "I am not heavy at all. I am like a feather."
Pinocchio jumped on the back of the Pigeon. Pinocchio was very happy. Pinocchio said, "Go, go, my pretty bird! I am in a hurry."
The Pigeon flew into the sky. In a few minutes, they were in the clouds. Pinocchio looked down. Pinocchio was very scared. Pinocchio held the neck of the Pigeon very hard.
They flew all day. In the evening, the Pigeon was thirsty. Pinocchio was very hungry. They stopped at a house for birds. They found a bowl of water. They found a basket of chick-peas (small, round, yellow seeds that people eat).
Pinocchio always hated chick-peas. Pinocchio always said they made him sick. But that night, Pinocchio liked the chick-peas very much. Pinocchio ate all of them. Pinocchio said, "I did not know chick-peas were so good!"
The Pigeon said, "Remember this. Hunger makes all food taste good."
They rested for a few minutes. Then they flew again. The next morning, they reached the sea. Pinocchio jumped off the Pigeon. The Pigeon flew away quickly.
The shore was full of people. The people were shouting. The people looked at the sea. Pinocchio asked an old woman, "What happened?"
The woman said, "A poor father lost his son. Today the father built a boat to look for his son. The water is very dangerous. We think the father will die in the sea."
Pinocchio asked, "Where is the boat?"
The woman pointed to the water. The boat was very small. It looked like a nutshell on the waves. Pinocchio looked closely. Pinocchio cried out, "It is my father! It is Geppetto!"
The boat went up and down in the big waves. Pinocchio stood on a big rock. Pinocchio waved his hand and his cap. Geppetto saw Pinocchio. Geppetto took off his cap and waved back. Geppetto tried to come back to the shore. But the sea was too strong. Suddenly, a huge wave hit the boat. The boat disappeared.
The people waited and waited. But the boat did not come back. The people said a prayer and went home.
Then Pinocchio cried out, "I will save my father!"
Pinocchio dived into the sea. Pinocchio was made of wood, so Pinocchio floated. Pinocchio swam like a fish in the dangerous water. Soon Pinocchio was far from the land. The people could not see Pinocchio anymore.
The people said, "Poor boy!" They said more prayers and went home.