Chapter 7 Fox and Cat and the Field of Wonders.
Oh, how the vain Pinocchio cried over that endless nose.
But Fairy showed no pity.
After all, she thought, he had to learn that lies had consequences.
In the end, however, she felt sorry for him and summoned several thousand woodpeckers.
They flew in through the window and pecked all of the extra nose length away.
Oh, Fairy, Pinocchio said, I would like to stay here and live with you forever.
I would like that too, Fairy said.
We could be brother and sister. out my father?
Pinocchio asked.
I already thought of that, Fairy replied.
I sent for your father.
He's on his way here now.
Pinocchio was so happy he couldn't wait.
He wanted to meet his father halfway, so he left Fairy's house and set out for the woods.
Under the big oak where he had been hung.
He heard a rustle in the bushes and was surprised to see Fox and Cat.
Oh, there you are, dear, cried Fox, hugging him.
We've missed you.
Where have you been and what has happened to you since last we saw you? asked Cat.
It's a long story, Pinocchio said and told them about the muggers.
Oh, rascals, exclaimed Fox.
Of the worst kind, added Cat.
Pinocchio noticed that Cat's paw was wrapped in a bandage, but when he asked about it, Cat looked nervously away.
Fox jumped in and explained that, upon meeting a starving old wolf on the road, generous Cat had nibbled off a piece of his own paw and given it to the hungry beast.
"'Kind Cat,' Pinocchio said, wiping away a tear.
"'So where are your gold pieces?'
Cat asked casually."
Oh, I still have them in my pocket, except for the one I spent at the Inn of the Red Shrimp.
Wonderful, Fox and Cat cried.
Let's go to the Field of Wonders, where you can bury them and turn those four coins into two thousand.
It's impossible for me to go today.
I'm meeting my father.
I'll go with you some other time.
Another day will be too late, said Fox.
The field closes tomorrow.
Oh, Pinocchio said, frowning.
I really shouldn't.
But then, like all little boys with big hearts and small brains, he hesitated and asked Well, is it very far?
And so it was settled.
Off the trio went, walking until they came to the city of Simpletons.
What a strange place this city was.
It was filled with pathetic creatures hungry and hairless dogs, featherless chickens begging for grains of wheat, and large butterflies and peacocks who were missing their colorful wings and tails because they had sold them.
Every once in a while, an elegant coach passed through the poor and pathetic crowd.
In it rolled either a fox, a hawk, or a vulture, all of whom looked very healthy and wealthy.
Finally, the trio arrived at the field.
Fox instructed Pinocchio to dig a hole, plant the gold pieces and sprinkle the earth with water and salt.
Pinocchio obeyed.
Pinocchio asked.
Go for a walk, Fox said.
Come back in twenty minutes and you will find a beautiful gold tree with two thousand gold pieces as flowers.
I can't wait, Pinocchio cried.
Those twenty minutes were the longest to Pinocchio's life.
Finally, they were over, and he ran back toward the Field of Wonders.
Greedily, he imagined that he would find even more than the 2,000 pieces he had been promised.
He would find four, eight, or even 16,000 pieces.
Oh, the things he could buy, like a palace and a thousand wooden ponies and an endless supply of candy and cream puffs.
But when he came to the field, there were no magical golden trees.
Finding the place where he had dug the hole and buried the gold pieces, Pinocchio saw only some freshly moved soil.
Reaching up to scratch his head, he heard some laughter somewhere behind him.
It was a large parrot in a nearby tree, and it was giggling.
What's so funny?
Pinocchio asked the bird angrily.
It's funny how easily some silly little simpletons will allow themselves to be fooled, Parrot said.
Did you really think that you could grow gold coins as if they were beans or squash seeds?
I did, Pinocchio confessed.
The puppet trembled as the parrot described how Fox and Cat had returned, dug up the buried gold pieces and run away.
Pinocchio couldn't believe it.
He had to see for himself.
Reaching down, he began to dig.
Surely his gold pieces would still be there.
He dug a hole even bigger than he was, but there was nothing.
Parrot was telling the truth.
I fell for that lie once, too, Parrot confessed, and I'm very sorry for it.
I realized too late that the only way to get rich is to work hard for it honestly, with your hands or your brain.
Desperate, Pinocchio ran to the courthouse in the town to report the robbery.
The judge was a wise old monkey who wore gold-rimmed spectacles.
He listened to Pinocchio's story very carefully.
When the puppet was done, he reached out and rang a bell.
Pinocchio was pleased, thinking he was about to receive justice.
Perhaps those two rascals had already been caught.
Instead, however, two large, uniformed dogs appeared.
At the judge's orders, they dragged Pinocchio off to jail for the crime of being a simpleton.
For four long months, he sat in jail.
Then one day the town had a celebration.
The mayor ordered fireworks, circus acts, and best of all, the opening of the prison doors.
Pinocchio's luck seemed about to change.
Open this door, he cried.
The jailer explained that only the prison doors of thieves and rascals were to be opened and not those of simpletons.
I am a thief and a rascal, not a simpleton, Pinocchio cried.
Oh, the jailer replied.
Well, in that case you are also free.
Good day and good luck to you.
He opened the door and Pinocchio ran out and away.
Oh, how happy the newly freed puppet was.
As quickly as he could, he ran from the prison back toward the fairy's house.
He hoped fairy and father would forgive him.
He wanted to reach fairy's house before dark, but he was so terribly hungry that he stopped just for a second to pick some grapes in a nearby field.
That was a big mistake.
As soon as he reached out for a piece of fruit, something snapped on his legs.
It was a trap set by a farmer to catch the weasels who came every so often to steal his chickens.
