Prologue

Long ago in a little Italian village, an old wood-carver named Geppetto built a little puppet and named him Pinocchio. Geppetto made a wish on a star that night for his puppet to become a real boy and a Blue Fairy appeared and brought the wooden boy to life. The fairy instructed Pinocchio that to be real; he would have to learn to be brave, truthful, and unselfish. But Pinocchio didn't understand right from wrong, and that's when a wise cricket named Jiminy stepped in and offered to teach him, and so the fairy made him a Pinocchio's conscience.

After some life learning adventures ending in sacrificing his life to save Geppetto from a whale named Monstro, the Blue Fairy revived Pinocchio for his bravery and made him a real boy. Jiminy cricket was rewarded a shiny gold badge for all his hard work and became an official conscience. He said his goodbyes to Pinocchio and set out on a journey to teach other children the knowledge of right and wrong. Years later Jiminy would look up at the stars every night and remember Geppetto, the Blue Fairy, and the little wooden puppet that changed his life forever.

Chapter 1 - The Return of Jiminy Cricket.

Fifteen years had passed since Pinocchio became a real boy. Jiminy Cricket had been continuing to travel the world teaching many children the same lessons he once told his best friend. But after being gone for many years, the cricket decided it was time to return home. He boarded a ship and sailed back to Italy, where he was sure Pinocchio was still living with his father. It was a calm and quiet evening when Jiminy arrived back in town. The old village looked just the same as it always did all those years ago as Jiminy reminisced. The same brick houses, cobblestone roads, and oil lampposts illuminated the streets. As he wandered along the crooked old streets, there wasn't a soul to be seen. Soon he spotted something up ahead that he recognized in an instant. It was a familiar looking building with a light shining in the window. He hopped closer and saw it was Geppetto's old workshop.

"There it is! Home sweet home," said Jiminy joyfully. "I can't wait to see how Pinoke's been doing since I left."

As he approached the front door, he saw a wooden sign hanging above the doorway that with the words Geppetto & Son written on it. He squeezed under the door, entered the house, and to his surprise, everything looked different from what he remembered. There were new shelves, furniture, and all the wooden clocks, toys, and music boxes Geppetto made were gone. Even the old bed in the corner was missing.

"Gosh! Pinocchio and Geppetto must have redecorated this place since I've been away."

Seeing that no one was about, he made himself at home and walked around the house observing the changes. The entire workshop was now a cozy living area with a big green sofa and a new fireplace, and there was a kitchen with a large wooden table and an old iron cooking stove. Just then Jiminy felt the presence of something watching him. He slowly turned his head around and gasped as he saw what appeared to be a small kitten with pink fur, blue eyes, a white face, belly, and paws, and a red ribbon on its head.

"YIKES! A CAT!" Jiminy cried and ran for his life. The kitten chased him all over the house until it cornered him. Jiminy trembled with fear and held up his pink umbrella to defend himself expecting the cat to pounce on him. But instead, the kitten just stood there staring curiously at him.

"Please don't hurt me! I used to live here!" Jiminy begged. "I'd taste better for the fishes, not a feline such as you!" She turned her head sideways, meowed, and moved closer to him. Jiminy wasn't sure if the kitten was friendly or wanted to eat him. To his surprise, she smiled and meowed happily.

"I guess you are friendly after all," he said with relief. Just then, they heard footsteps approaching.

"Figgy! What's all that noise out here? Are you chasing mice again?" Jiminy and the kitten looked up and saw a tall, thin man with dark hair, wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a blue bow tie. He also wore long blue trousers held up by spenders over his shoulders, brown shoes, and on his head was a familiar yellow hat with a blue stripe and a red feather.

"P-Pinocchio?" said Jiminy looking up at his old friend who was now a grown man.

"That voice! Jiminy?!" said the young man looking down at the little cricket. "Jiminy Cricket is that you?"

"It's me Pinoke! Long-time no see!" Pinocchio knelt down, held out his hand, and Jiminy jumped into his palm.

"Jiminy! Welcome home, my old friend!" He said delightedly.

"Gosh Pinoke, you've sprouted up! I almost didn't recognize you!"

"It's been fifteen years since I became real Jiminy. I'm all grown up now."

"You look very handsome Pinocchio, Geppetto must have done a great job raising you. Say, where is the old fellow?" Pinocchio frowned sadly hearing that question.

"I'm afraid my father isn't here anymore Jiminy."

"Oh no,' I'm sorry to hear that. When did he pass?"

"He died eleven months ago. The last thing father said to me was how proud he was, and how much he loved me." Jiminy felt sad hearing of Geppetto's passing. Even though Pinocchio was now an adult, he knew it must have been hard for him to watch his father die.

"What about Figaro and Cleo? Are they still here?"

"Cleo's gone too. But old Figaro's still around somewhere. In fact, this little pink rascal Figgy here is one of his kittens." Jiminy looked down at the pink cat slowly circling Pinocchio's left leg, rubbing herself against it and meowing wanting his attention.

"Yes. When I came in, she surprised me and chased me around the room. I thought she was going to eat me."

"Oh, don't worry Jiminy, Figgy won't hurt you. She just wants to play." The kitten stood on her hind legs, meowed and flicked her right paw wanting him to hold her. Jiminy hopped onto Pinocchio's shoulder as he reached down and picked up the kitten.

"It's so good to have you back Jiminy. Our home is your home. Would you like some tea?" Pinocchio offered.

"Sure, why not? It would be the first time I would have ever tried tea from you," Pinocchio walked into the kitchen, poured a dish of milk for little Figgy, and began brewing some tea for himself and the cricket.

"I see you and Geppetto remodeled this place," Jiminy said, looking around the kitchen.

"That's right. Father and I sold all his old clocks and toys so that we could afford to refurbish the house and make it more suitable for us. There are two bedrooms upstairs, and we built an extension in the back where father moved his workshop so we could continue his wood carving business."

"That's nice. Are you following in Geppetto's footsteps?"

"I am. Father taught me everything he knew from clockworks to making wooden furniture, toys and even puppets. The children call me Pinocchio the Toymaker because they love the wonderful toys I make." The tea was ready as the kettle on the stove began to whistle. Pinocchio handed Jiminy a tiny cup that was just his size, poured himself a cup and sat down to continue the conversation. "So where have you been all these years Jiminy?"

"Well, after you had become a real boy, the fairy gave me this badge and made me an Official Conscience as you know," Jiminy opened his jacket and showed Pinocchio his precious golden badge. "So I've been traveling around the world teaching other children the ways of right and wrong."

"That sounds exciting Jiminy! What kind of places did you go to?"

"Well, I've been to Germany, England, and even France. I met lots of strange and unusual people and creatures. But in all my travels I always thought of you and how much you changed my life. Now I've decided to come home for good."

"Sounds like you had quite a lot of adventures. I missed you a lot after you left. But I'm glad to have you back my friend," Pinocchio smiled. Just then he felt Figgy's paw scratching at his leg and looked down at her.

"What is it Figgy?" The little cat jumped around and meowed a few times. "Oh yes, I nearly forgot!" Pinocchio then turned to Jiminy looking excited. "There's something I'd like to show you in the workshop, Jiminy. Would you like to see it?"

"Sure, Pinoke, what is it?"

"I think you'll be pretty surprised when you see it," Pinocchio smiled and winked his left eye. Jiminy rode on Pinocchio's shoulder as he walked into a back room and turned on an oil lamp hanging on the wall near the doorway. The room was a big workshop filled with wooden clocks, toys, music boxes and a workbench in the corner.

"Wow, Pinoke! Did you make all these?" Jiminy asked, admiring the many different designs of the clocks and music boxes. Some of them resembled the ones Geppetto used to make.

"Yep. These are all mine," Pinocchio answered proudly.

"Impressive! You're just as good as Geppetto was! So where's this thing you wanted to show me?"

"It's over here," Pinocchio pointed to a white sheet covering something on the workbench. Jiminy hopped down, and Pinocchio slowly removed the sheet revealing what was underneath. "Ta-DA!"

The crickets eyes grew wide with astonishment. It was a wooden marionette girl with light brown hair shaped into a long ponytail, glassy blue eyes, two red circles on its cheeks, a painted in smile and a big pointy nose that was like Pinocchio's back when he was a puppet. It wore a lovely blue dress with puffy sleeves and a white pinafore attached to it, a blue hat with a red stripe around it, white-gloved hands and on her feet were big yellow clogs. Strings were attached to her arms, legs, back and head dangling from two crossbars hanging on a shelf above her.

"Well, I'll be!" said Jiminy staring at the wooden girl. "She looks fantastic! She looks similar to you when you were a puppet! The craftsmanship is a work of art!"

"Thanks, Jiminy! I found some old blueprints that my father used when he made me, and I used them to build her in my image. What do you think of her?" The cricket looked her over and was impressed with how realistic she looked.

"Cute little thing," Jiminy chuckled. He hopped onto the nose and knocked on the face with his fist. "She's made of fine wood too. The same kind your father used to build you. So what's her name?"

"Her name is Annabelle. I named her after my old school teacher, Miss Annabelle from when I was a boy. She was an excellent teacher and taught me many things."

"Annabelle huh? What a lovely name, though, wouldn't it sound more Italian if you called her Annabella?"

"I guess. But I think Annabelle is a prettier name, don't you think so?"

"She's your puppet Pinoke, and you can call her whatever you want."

"Would you like to see her perform? I've gotten pretty good at puppeteering."

"I'd be delighted. Show me what you got!"

Jiminy hopped down and sat on the edge of the workbench. Pinocchio picked up Annabelle and laid her on the wooden floor with Figgy. He walked over and turned on a little music box that started playing a lovely melody. Pinocchio picked up Annabelle's crossbars and began to make her dance around the room to the rhythm of the music. Her clogs and wooden body clomped and clattered whenever Pinocchio moved her around. She stood on her tiptoes and spun around a few times stretching her arms outward like a ballerina. Figgy followed her around leaping back and forth and stood on her hind legs trying to mimic her dance moves while Pinocchio whistled cheerfully. Watching this reminded Jiminy of when he first entered the house all those years ago and watched Geppetto make Pinocchio dance around the workshop before he was brought to life. When the music stopped Pinocchio made Annabelle stop dancing, and she finished with a bow and curtsy.

"Bravo!" Jiminy cheered clapping his hands in applause. "Your father would be so proud!" Little Figgy meowed at Annabelle and Pinocchio pulled the strings making her gently pet her. The kitten seemed very fond of her.

"So, what do you think of her, Jiminy?" He asked, picking Annabelle up and holding her in his arms.

"She's terrific! She looks cute, and her dancing was very graceful. Though, I think those heavy clogs weigh her down a little bit. But overall she's very well made Pinoke." Pinocchio put Annabelle back on the workbench and looked at his creation with admiration.

"I'd love it if she were a real little girl," he said, imagining Annabelle as a real person. "She would make a beautiful daughter."

"Well, you never know Pinoke. If the Blue Fairy granted Geppetto's wish and brought you to life, maybe if you wish hard enough, then the same thing could happen to Annabelle too." Just then they heard several of the wooden clocks Pinocchio made go off alerting them that the time was a quarter to ten.

"Goodness! I didn't realize it was getting so late!" said Pinocchio feeling somewhat exhausted. Geppetto always made sure he went to bed at the appropriate time back when he was a child, and it had stuck with him ever since.

"Me too," Jiminy agreed, stretching his arms and yawned a bit.

"You're welcome to sleep in my room if you wish."

"I'll be alright, thanks, Pinoke. I think I'll stay in here tonight. You know, just in case your little wooden princess here comes to life here in the middle of the night or something," he teased.

"Alright then," He then picked up Figgy and turned off the lamp. "Well, I hope you sleep well Jiminy. Good night and welcome home."

"Good night Pinoke. It's great to be back." The two friends smiled as Pinocchio walked out of the room. It felt like history was repeating itself as Jiminy thought about how familiar this evening turned out to be. And they both thought about Annabelle wondering if she could come to life too.

End of Chapter-1