‘You’re an interesting… thing,’ said the Puppet Master. ‘And brave. Here… take these coins. Give them to your father. Now go! Quick! Or I might keep you.’

‘Oh! Thanks, Mr Man,’ said Pinocchio. Then he grabbed the coins and ran.

Pinocchio started to walk home through the streets of the town. On the way, he met the Fox brothers.

‘Hello there, Pinocchio,’ said Tommy Fox. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m going home,’ said Pinocchio. ‘I’ve got five coins! So I’m going to buy a new coat for my dad! And a writing book, because I need to go to school.’

‘Forget about the coat,’ said Danny Fox. ‘Winter will be over soon.’

‘And you don’t need school,’ said Tommy Fox. ‘You need to go into business. Listen! There’s a magic field outside the town. Plant those coins in the magic field and they will grow into money trees. Each one will have a thousand coins. A thousand coins shining in the sunlight!’

‘Wow!’ said Pinocchio. ‘OK!’

‘But first, let’s eat,’ said Tommy Fox. ‘I know a place outside town.’

And he took them to a restaurant called The Red Lobster.

‘Waiter!’ shouted Danny Fox. ‘Twenty ducks with hot cream!’

‘And I’ll have twenty chickens in hot butter!’ said Tommy Fox. ‘Little ones! I’m not very hungry.’

‘And you?’ the waiter asked Pinocchio.

‘Er…’ said Pinocchio. ‘Do you have any pears?’

‘Not today,’ said the waiter.

‘Then just some bread and cheese, please,’ said Pinocchio.

At the end of the meal, the Fox brothers said, ‘We’re just going to wash our hands and then we’ll pay the bill.’

But they never came back. So Pinocchio had to pay for the meal himself. Then he only had one coin left.

Outside, it was dark. Pinocchio walked for a few minutes and then he saw the cricket again.

‘Pinocchio!’ said the cricket. It looked at him with bright eyes. ‘Coins do not grow into trees!’

‘I haven’t got any coins!’ lied Pinocchio. And when he told this lie, his nose suddenly got longer.

Just then, two robbers grabbed Pinocchio.

‘Give us your money or die!’ they cried.

‘I haven’t got any money!’ lied Pinocchio. And when he told this lie his nose grew longer again.

‘What’s wrong with your nose?’ said the robbers.

Pinocchio put the coin into his mouth to hide it.

‘It’s in his mouth!’ shouted the robbers. They grabbed him and held him upside down.

‘Drop it, Big Nose!’ they shouted. ‘Let’s have it!’

But Pinocchio kept his mouth shut.

A kind lady came to help Pinocchio and took him to her home.

‘Hello, Pinocchio. I’m a friend and I saw it all!’ she said. ‘Those bad robbers were trying to steal your money.’

‘Money?’ said Pinocchio. ‘What money?’ And his nose grew longer again!

‘They wanted your money,’ said the Kind Friend. ‘Where is it now?’

‘Under the tree,’ lied Pinocchio. Really it was in his hand. So many lies! Again his nose got longer!

‘Your nose has grown,’ smiled the Friend. ‘You’re lying.’

‘I’m not!’ said Pinocchio. And his nose grew longer again. ‘I hid it under the tree!’

And suddenly poor Pinocchio’s nose was as long as the bed!

‘Listen,’ said the Kind Friend. ‘Stop telling lies!’

So then he showed her his coin, and at once his nose was perfectly all right again.

‘Now don’t tell any more lies!’ said the Friend kindly. ‘Be good and go and find your father.’

So Pinocchio thanked her and hurried off along the road, back to town. But then… Oh no! He met the Fox brothers again!

‘Ah!’ said Tommy Fox. ‘Here you are, you bad boy! Where have you been? And where is the money?’

Pinocchio didn’t want to tell a lie so he said, ‘Here!’ and showed them the coin.

‘Now!’ said Danny Fox. ‘Let’s plant it in the magic field.’

‘No,’ said Pinocchio. ‘I don’t want to.’

‘Look!’ said Tommy Fox. ‘Here we are already! Here’s the place… the magic field!’

Pinocchio saw an ordinary field.

‘Come on!’ said Tommy Fox, and pulled Pinocchio over the wall.

‘Dig a hole!’ said Tommy Fox.

‘Plant your coin!’ said Danny Fox. ‘Just think! Soon you’ll be rich!’

‘But first,’ said Tommy Fox, ‘you need to water that coin! So go and fetch some water. OK?’

Pinocchio fetched some water and came back. He waited and waited but nothing happened. Then he saw the cricket again. The cricket looked at him with very bright eyes and said, ‘Pinocchio! You’ve been robbed!’

Then Pinocchio looked in the hole and saw that it was empty.

It was dark and it was the middle of the night. Pinocchio ran up the country road. He wanted to find the Kind Friend again. He wanted to see her and he wanted to speak to her.

But Pinocchio couldn’t find the Kind Friend’s cottage. He could only find a big stone. And Pinocchio thought that she might be dead. So he started to cry.

Suddenly a large white bird appeared.

‘Come with me, Pinocchio!’ it said. T will carry you to the sea. Your father’s looking for you. He’s in a little boat.’

So Pinocchio got on the bird’s back, and they flew away.

They came to the sea and the wind was strong. Pinocchio saw Gepetto in a little boat.

‘Father!’ he cried. ‘Dad!’

His father looked up and saw him, and waved. And then, suddenly, he fell into the water.