Pinocchio did not feel the heavy dog collar around his neck anymore. He ran across the green fields. He did not stop until he reached the road to the house of the Fairy with Blue Hair.
Pinocchio looked down into the valley. He saw the wood where he had met the Fox and the Cat. He saw the big tree where the robbers had hanged him. But he could not see the house of the Fairy with Blue Hair.
He was very afraid. He ran to the place where the house had been before. The small house was not there. Instead, he saw a small marble slab on the ground. The stone had these sad words on it:
HERE LIES
THE FAIRY WITH BLUE HAIR
SHE DIED FROM SADNESS
BECAUSE HER BROTHER PINOCCHIO LEFT HER
The poor marionette read these words. He was very, very sad. He fell to the ground and kissed the cold stone. He cried all night. In the morning, he was still there. He cried so loudly that people on the hills far away heard him.
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 so good. And where is Geppetto? Please, Fairy, tell me where he is! I will never leave him again. You are not really dead. Please come back! I am so lonely. If the robbers 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 his hair was only painted on his wooden head, so he could not pull it.
Then a large pigeon flew above him. The Pigeon saw Pinocchio and called down to him, "Little boy, what are you doing?"
Pinocchio lifted his head and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. He said, "I am crying! Can't you see?"
The Pigeon asked, "Do you know a marionette named Pinocchio?"
Pinocchio jumped up and said, "Pinocchio? I am Pinocchio!"
The Pigeon flew down to the ground. He was very big, bigger than a turkey. He asked, "Do you know Geppetto too?"
Pinocchio said, "Geppetto is my father! He is my poor, dear father. Did he speak about me? Will you take me to him? Is he alive? Please answer me!"
The Pigeon said, "I saw Geppetto three days ago. He was on the shore of a big sea."
Pinocchio asked, "What was he doing?"
The Pigeon said, "He was building a small boat. He wanted to cross the ocean. For four months, he looked for you in Europe, but he did not find you. Now he 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 onto the Pigeon’s back. He was very happy. He 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 and felt very scared. He held on tightly to the Pigeon’s neck.
They flew all day. In the evening, the Pigeon was thirsty and Pinocchio was very hungry. They stopped at a pigeon house. There they found a bowl of water and a basket of chick-peas.
Pinocchio had always hated chick-peas. He always said they made him sick. But that night, he liked the chick-peas very much and ate all of them. He 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. They were shouting and looking out at the sea. Pinocchio asked an old woman, "What happened?"
The woman said, "A poor father lost his son. Today he went out in a small boat to look for him. The water is very dangerous. We think he will drown 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 and cried out, "It is my father! It is Geppetto!"
The boat went up and down in the big waves. Pinocchio stood on a high rock and waved his hand and his cap. Geppetto saw him. He took off his cap and waved back. He tried to row back to the shore, but the sea was too strong. Suddenly, a huge wave hit the boat, and it disappeared.
The people waited and waited, but the boat did not come back. They said a prayer and began to walk home.
Then Pinocchio cried out, "I will save my father!"
He dived into the sea. Because he was made of wood, he floated easily. He swam like a fish through the dangerous water. Soon he was far from the land, and the people could not see him anymore.
The people said, "Poor boy!" They said more prayers and went home.