The Adventures Of Pinocchio Part 7

Good evening!

Please enjoy the next installment of our adventures with Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi, as we relax, and get ready, for a restful night's sleep. What will the mischievous Pinocchio get up to this evening I wonder?

If you enjoyed this reading, please take a listen to my other bedtime stories and meditations. If you could leave a review for the benefit of others, that would be very much appreciated too.

I hope you have a blissful night's sleep.

Namaste beautiful souls.

Transcript

Good evening,

Beautiful souls,

And welcome to tonight's reading of Pinocchio.

As always,

Finding yourself in a comfortable position in your bed,

Taking a moment to do whatever is necessary for you in this moment so that you are able to relax fully,

Let go of the day,

And get ready for a blissful night's sleep.

I personally love a big old stretch and a yawn.

I love to release tension from my jaw,

And I like to make noise.

If you're stretching,

Really reaching your toes and your fingertips as far apart as you can get them,

Making yourself as long as possible,

Stretching out those muscles.

Maybe you've been sat for long periods today,

Or maybe you've been on your feet all day,

Whatever your situation may be,

Taking a moment now to just allow the muscles to elongate,

And gently bringing awareness to your breath as you relax,

Noticing it becoming longer,

Smoother.

And when you're ready,

We will continue our adventures with the little rascal that is Pinocchio.

Chapter 19.

Pinocchio is robbed of his gold pieces and in punishment.

He's sentenced to four months in prison.

If the marionette had been told to wait a day instead of 20 minutes,

The time could not have seemed longer to him.

He walked impatiently to and fro,

And finally turned his nose toward the field of wonders.

And as he walked with hurried steps,

His heart beat with an excited tick-tack,

Just as if it were a war clock.

And his busy brain kept thinking,

What if instead of a thousand,

I should find two thousand?

Or if instead of two thousand,

I should find five thousand?

Or one hundred thousand?

I'll build myself a beautiful palace with a thousand stables,

Filled with a thousand wooden horses to play with,

A cellar overflowing with lemonade and ice cream soda,

And a library of candies and fruits,

Cakes and cookies.

Thus amusing himself with fancies,

He came to the field.

There he stopped to see if,

By any chance,

A vine filled with gold coins was in sight.

But he saw nothing.

He took a few steps forward,

And still nothing.

He stepped into the field.

He went up to the place where he had dug the hole and buried the gold pieces.

And again,

Nothing.

Pinocchio became very thoughtful,

And,

Forgetting his good manners altogether,

He pulled a hand out of his pocket and gave his head a thorough scratching.

As he did so,

He heard a hearty burst of laughter close to his head.

He turned sharply,

And there,

Just above him on the branch of a tree,

Sat a large parrot busily preening his feathers.

What are you laughing at?

Pinocchio asked peevishly.

I am laughing because,

In preening my feathers,

I tickled myself under the wings.

The marionette did not answer.

He walked to the brook,

Filled his shoe with water,

And once more sprinkled the ground which covered the gold pieces.

Another burst of laughter,

Even more impertinent than the first,

Was heard in the quiet field.

Well,

Cried the marionette,

Angrily this time,

May I know,

Mr.

Parrot,

What amuses you so?

I am laughing at those simpletons who believe everything they hear and who allow themselves to be caught so easily in the traps set for them.

Do you,

Perhaps,

Mean me?

I certainly do mean you,

Poor Pinocchio,

You who are such a little silly as to believe that gold can be sown in a field just like beans or squash.

I too believed that once,

And today I am very sorry for it.

Today,

But too late,

I have reached the conclusion that in order to come by money honestly,

One must work and know how to earn it with hand or brain.

I don't know what you are talking about,

Said the marionette,

Who was beginning to tremble with fear.

That's too bad.

I'll explain myself better,

Said the parrot.

While you were away in the city,

The fox and the cat returned here in a great hurry.

They took the four gold pieces which you have buried and ran away as fast as the wind.

If you can catch them,

You are a brave one,

Pinocchio's mouth opened wide.

He would not believe the parrot's words and began to dig away furiously at the earth.

He dug and he dug till the hole was as big as himself.

But no money was there.

Every penny was gone.

In desperation he ran to the city and went straight to the courthouse to report the robbery to the magistrate.

The judge was a monkey,

A large gorilla venerable with age.

A flowing white beard covered his chest and he wore gold-rimmed spectacles from which the glasses had dropped out.

The reason for wearing these,

He said,

Was that his eyes had been weakened by the work of many years.

Pinocchio,

Standing before him,

Told his pitiful tale word by word.

He gave the names and the descriptions of the robbers and he begged for justice.

The judge listened to him with great patience.

A kind look shone in his eyes.

He became very much interested in the story.

He felt very moved and he almost wept.

When the marionette had no more to say,

The judge put out his hand and rang a bell.

At the sound,

Two large mastiffs appeared,

Then the magistrate,

Pointing to Pinocchio,

Said in a very solemn voice,

This poor simpleton has been robbed of four gold pieces.

Take him,

Therefore,

And throw him into prison.

The marionette,

On hearing this sentence passed upon him,

Was thoroughly stunned.

He tried to protest,

But the two officers clapped their paws on his mouth and hustled him away to jail.

There he had to remain for four long,

Weary months.

And if it had not been for a very lucky chance,

He probably would have had to stay there longer.

For,

My dear children,

You must know that it happened just then that the young emperor,

Who ruled over the city of Simple Simons,

Had gained a great victory over his enemy.

And in celebration thereof,

He had ordered illuminations,

Fireworks,

Shows of all kinds,

And,

Best of all,

The opening of all prison doors.

If the others go,

I go too,

Said Pinocchio to the jailer.

Not you,

Answered the jailer.

You are one of those.

I beg your pardon,

Interrupted Pinocchio.

I,

Too,

Am a thief.

Well,

In that case,

You are also free,

Said the jailer.

Taking off his cap,

He bowed low and opened the door of the prison.

And Pinocchio ran out and away,

With never a look backward.

Chapter 20 Freed from prison,

Pinocchio sets out to return to the fairy.

But on the way he meets a serpent and later is caught in a trap.

Fancy the happiness of Pinocchio on finding himself free.

Without saying yes or no,

He fled from the city and set out on the road that was to take him back to the house of the lovely fairy.

It had rained for many days and the road was so muddy that,

At times,

Pinocchio sank down almost to his knees.

But he kept on bravely.

Tormented by the wish to see his father and his fairy sister,

He raced like a greyhound.

As he ran,

He was splashed with mud,

Even up to his cap.

How unhappy I have been,

He said to himself.

And yet I deserve everything,

For I am certainly very stubborn and very stupid.

I will always have my own way.

I won't listen to those who love me and who have more brains than I.

But from now on,

I'll be different and I'll try to become a most obedient boy.

I have found out,

Beyond any doubt whatever,

That disobedient boys are certainly far from happy and that,

In the long run,

They always lose out.

I wonder if father is waiting for me.

Will I find him at the fairy's house?

It is so long,

Poor man,

Since I have seen him and I do so want his love and his kisses.

And will the fairy ever forgive me for all I have done?

She who has been so good to me and to whom I owe my life,

Can there be a worse or more heartless boy than I am anywhere?

As he spoke,

He stopped suddenly,

Frozen with terror.

What was the matter?

An immense serpent lay stretched across the road,

A serpent with a bright green skin,

Fiery eyes which glowed and burned,

And a pointed tail that smoked like a chimney.

How frightened was poor Pinocchio!

He ran back wildly for half a mile and at last settled himself atop a heap of stones to wait for the serpent to go on his way and leave the road clear for him.

He waited an hour,

Two hours,

Three,

But the serpent was always there and even from afar one could see the flash of his red eyes and the column of smoke which rose from his long pointed tail.

Pinocchio,

Trying to feel very brave,

Walked straight up to him and said in a sweet,

Soothing voice,

I beg your pardon,

Mr.

Serpent,

Would you be so kind as to step aside and let me pass?

He might as well have talked to a wall.

The serpent never moved.

Once more in the same sweet voice he spoke,

You must know,

Mr.

Serpent,

That I am going home where my father is waiting for me.

It is so long since I have seen him.

Would you mind very much if I passed?

He waited for some sign of an answer to his questions,

But the answer did not come.

On the contrary,

The green serpent,

Who had seemed until then wide awake and full of life,

Became suddenly very still and quiet.

His eyes closed and his tail stopped smoking.

Is he dead,

I wonder?

Said Pinocchio,

Rubbing his hands together happily.

Without a moment's hesitation,

He started to step over him,

But he had just raised one leg when the serpent shot up like a spring and the marionette fell head over heels backward.

He fell so awkwardly that his head stuck in the mud and there he stood with his legs straight up in the air at the sight of the marionette kicking and squirming like a young whirlwind.

The serpent laughed so heartily and for so long that at last he burst an artery and died on the spot.

Pinocchio freed himself from his awkward position and once more began to run in order to reach the fairy's house before dark.

As he went,

The pangs of hunger grew so strong that,

Unable to withstand them,

He jumped into a field to pick a few grapes that tempted him.

No sooner had he reached the grapevine than went his legs.

The poor marionette was caught in a trap set there by a farmer for some weasels which came every night to steal his chickens.

Reviews

What a wonderful reading again! Your voice is like a portal, taking the busyness of life away for adults who need a bit of magic in their lives.