After Five Months of Play, Pinocchio Wakes Up One Fine Morning and Finds a Great Surprise Awaiting Him

Finally, the wagon arrived. It was very quiet. The wheels had straw and old clothes on them so they made no noise. Twelve pairs of donkeys pulled the wagon. The donkeys were many different colors. Some were gray and some were white. Some had stripes of yellow and blue. The donkeys were very strange. They did not have metal shoes on their feet. Instead, the donkeys wore leather shoes like a boy wears. The driver of the wagon was a very fat little man. He was as round as a ball. He had a smiling face and a very soft voice. He sounded like a cat when it wants food. All the boys liked the little fat man. They all wanted to go in his wagon to the Land of Toys. The wagon was very full of boys. The boys were different ages. They were pushed together and they could not move. But no boy complained. The boys were very happy. They thought about the country with no schools and no books. They did not feel hungry or tired. The wagon stopped. The little fat man looked at Lamp-Wick. He asked, "Do you want to come to my wonderful country?" Lamp-Wick said, "Yes, I do." The little fat man said, "There is no more room inside the wagon. It is full." Lamp-Wick said, "I can sit on top of the wagon." He jumped up to the top. Then the little fat man looked at Pinocchio. He asked, "What about you? Will you come with us or will you stay here?" Pinocchio said, "I will stay here. I want to go home. I want to study and be successful." Lamp-Wick shouted, "Pinocchio! Come with us. We will always be happy." All the other boys in the wagon shouted, "Come with us!" Pinocchio started to feel weak. He asked, "If I go, what will the Blue Fairy say?" Lamp-Wick said, "Do not worry. Think about the fun we will have." Pinocchio breathed deeply three times. Finally, Pinocchio said, "Make room for me. I want to go, too!" The little fat man said, "The seats are full. You can be the driver." Pinocchio said, "No, I want to ride one of the donkeys." Pinocchio went to the first donkey. He tried to get on its back. But the donkey kicked Pinocchio in the stomach. Pinocchio fell on the ground. All the boys laughed very loudly. The little fat man did not laugh. He went to the donkey. He smiled and he bit off half of the donkey’s ear. Pinocchio got up from the ground. He jumped onto the donkey’s back. All the boys shouted, "Hurrah for Pinocchio!" Suddenly, the donkey kicked its back feet. Pinocchio fell into the middle of the road again. The boys laughed again. But the little fat man went to the donkey. He bit off half of the donkey’s other ear. The little fat man said to Pinocchio, "You can get on now. The donkey is quiet now." Pinocchio got on the donkey and the wagon started to move. The donkeys ran fast. Then Pinocchio heard a very quiet voice. The voice said, "Poor boy! You did what you wanted. But you will be very sad soon." Pinocchio was afraid. He looked around but he saw nobody. The boys were sleeping. Lamp-Wick was snoring. The driver was singing quietly. After one mile, Pinocchio heard the voice again. The voice said, "Boys who stop studying will have problems. One day you will cry. But it will be too late." Pinocchio was very frightened. He jumped down from his donkey. He looked at the donkey's face. Pinocchio was very surprised. The donkey was crying like a boy. Pinocchio called the driver. He said, "Look! This donkey is crying." The driver said, "Let him cry. He can laugh later." Pinocchio asked, "Can this donkey speak?" The driver said, "He learned a few words when he lived with some dogs." Pinocchio said, "Poor animal!" The driver told Pinocchio to get back on the donkey. He said the road was long and the night was cold. Pinocchio obeyed the driver. The wagon moved again. The next morning, they arrived at the Land of Toys. This country was different from any other place. Only boys lived there. The oldest boys were fourteen years old. The youngest boys were eight. There was a lot of noise in the streets. Boys were shouting and playing with trumpets. Everywhere, boys played with balls and bicycles. Some boys played circus. Other boys sang or walked on their hands. There were many small theaters for the boys. On the walls, boys wrote: HURRAH FOR THE LAND OF TOYS! NO MORE SCHOOL! Pinocchio and Lamp-Wick looked at every part of the city. They became friends with everyone. They were very happy. The days and weeks passed very quickly. Pinocchio often met Lamp-Wick. Pinocchio said, "This is a beautiful life!" Lamp-Wick said, "I was right! You wanted to go home to the Blue Fairy. Now you are free from books and school. You should thank me." Pinocchio said, "It is true, Lamp-Wick. I am happy because of you. My teacher said you were a bad friend. But the teacher was wrong." Five months passed. The boys played every day from morning until night. They never saw a book or a desk. But one morning, Pinocchio woke up. He found a very big surprise. This surprise made Pinocchio feel very unhappy.

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