The Heart of Pinocchio: New Adventures of the Celebrated Little Puppet, Page 2

  INTRODUCTION

  Dear Boys and Girls,--Let us hope that none of you has been sounfortunate as to have missed the pleasure of watching sometime orother a puppet show. Probably Punch and Judy is the one you know best,but there are many others with jolly little fellows who dance in andout of all sorts of adventures. So you can imagine Pinocchio, the heroof this book, as one of those lively puppets. And, in case you havenever read the earlier book about him, you will want to know somethingof what happened to him before you meet him in these pages.

  One day a poor carpenter, called Master Cherry, began to cut up apiece of wood to make a table-leg of it when, to his utmost amazement,the piece of wood cried out, "Do not strike me so hard!" Thefrightened carpenter stopped for a moment, and when he began again andstruck the wood a blow with his ax the voice cried out once more,"Oh, oh! you have hurt me so!" The carpenter was now so terrified thathe was only too glad to turn the piece of wood over to a neighbor,Papa Geppetto, who cut it up into the shape of a boy puppet, paintedit, and named it Pinocchio--which means "a piece of pinewood." As soonas he had finished making him, Pinocchio grabbed the old man's wig offhis head and started in to play tricks. Papa Geppetto then taught thepuppet to walk, and when naughty Pinocchio discovered he could use hislegs, he ran away. Then began all kinds of adventures, and Pinocchiowas sometimes naughty and selfish, and sometimes kind and considerate,but always funny and jolly.

  In this new book Pinocchio's heart has grown through love andconsideration for others, so that he becomes a real boy and takes partin the war to help his beautiful country, Italy.

  THE TRANSLATOR.

  THE HEART OF PINOCCHIO

 

  THE HEART OF PINOCCHIO