"I've got no strings, la, la, la, la!" Annabelle sang merrily as she and her best friend Alex walked to school together.
"You're in a cheerful mood today, Annie." Said Alex as they walked through the town and towards the fields.
"I am, Alex. It's such a beautiful day! I'm so happy I feel like singing and dancing all day long!" Annabelle danced around her friend jumping and spinning her wooden arms and legs and doing twirls. "Hi-ho the merrily oh! I'm as happy as can be! I want the world to know nothing ever worries me!"
"That's a cute song your singing, Annie, where did you learn it?"
"That's the song my daddy sand when he performed at Mister Stromboli's puppet show. He likes hearing me singing it and watching me dance around the workshop." Alex smiled as she watched her puppet friend sing and dance. Annabelle finished her performance with one finale twirl.
"That was great, Annie. But we really should be getting to school now." Alex insisted.
"Oh ya! Sorry Alex, I forgot. Let's go!" Grabbing her friend's hand she began pulling her along until they arrived at the school. When they arrived, Miss Lorraine greeted them as they entered and sat at their desks. Later, during recess, Annabelle noticed a group of boys standing by the jungle-gym talking about something and walked over to listen to what they were saying.
"It's true! My uncle said he saw the old green Fishermen on the beach yesterday!" said one of the boys.
"Really? Did he say what he looked like?" His friend asked.
"My uncle said the man was so ugly he looked like a sea monster. He was ten feet tall and looked like a lizard erected on its hind legs. He had green skin, green eyes, a long drooping beard, and instead of hair, on his head was a dense clump of grass." The other boys looked at him in disbelief.
"Ah, come on! You're making that up, Angelo!" One of the boys laughed. "I think your uncle had too much to drink at the Red Lobster Inn. The green Fisherman is just a fairytale!"
"No, I'm not making it up! My uncle doesn't lie! He saw the thing with his own eyes! It was the most horrifying thing he'd ever seen!" Annabelle had curious about the green fishermen they were gossiping about and wondered who he was. At lunchtime, she talked Toby and Alex about it.
"I've never heard of any green fishermen," said Alex.
"I have!" Toby exclaimed. "My papa used to tell me stories about him when I was little. He said it's a big scary monster that looks like an old man and lives near the ocean."
"Who or what is he, Toby?" Annabelle asked.
"No one knows because everyone is afraid of him. The adults say he kidnaps small children and takes back to a cave where he lives and cooks them in a big frying pan." Annabelle was frightened upon hearing this.
"That's ridiculous!" Alex stated. "There's no such thing as a big green Fishman that eats children!"
At the end of the day, Pinocchio came to pick Annabelle up from school and the two of them went shopping in the market. Pinocchio bought some fresh tuna for Jiminy, himself and that cats, and some fruits and vegetables for Annabelle since she didn't like meat or fish. On the way home, Annabelle asked Pinocchio about the fishermen.
"Annabelle, the Green Fisherman is just a made-up story adults tell the children to scare them and keep them from misbehaving," Pinocchio explained. "Your grandfather used to tell that story all the time when I was a boy. He said when he was young he saw the creature at the shore and he was so frightened he ran away. But I never believed him. It's just a made-up story."
"But what if the fisherman is real, daddy?" Annabelle insisted.
It's just a story, Princess. Now forget about it." Pinocchio said not wanting to discuss it anymore. Annabelle did as she was told and soon forget about the fisherman. When they returned to the workshop, Pinocchio made dinner and everyone sat down to eat. After dinner, Annabelle sat in the living room and started reading while Figgy laid in her lap while Annabelle read to her till it was time for bed.
The next morning, Annabelle was waiting for Alex to come but when she opened the door, Toby was waiting for her.
"Toby! What are doing here? Where's Alex?"
"I'm afraid Alex is sick, Annabelle," Toby explained. "She's not feeling good and can't come to school today. Her mother came to my house, and she asked me to walk with you until Alex feels better."
"Oh, Ok. Thanks, Toby. I hope Alex is okay and feels better tomorrow." Annabelle was sad that her Alex was sick, but she was happy her other friend offered to take her to school and gave him a surprise hug which made him blush. Pinocchio and Jiminy noticed his face flushing and tell that he liked her.
"That's very sweet of you Toby, to escort Annabelle," said Pinocchio. "You just make sure nothing happens to my little puppet princess. Understand?"
"Don't worry, Mister Pinocchio sir, I'll keep her safe," Toby replied with a salute.
"Are you coming to school today Jiminy?" Annabelle asked.
"Not today, Annabelle. I have to help Pinocchio with running the shop. But I think you'll be fine on your own. Just remember the lessons I taught you, and stay out of trouble. That goes for you too, Toby!"
"Yes sir, Mister Cricket."
"Good, now you two get going, or you'll be late for school."
"Ok. Bye, Daddy and Jimmy. Come, Figgy!" The little kitten followed Annabelle and Toby out the door. Pinocchio and Jiminy watched them until they disappeared around the corner.
"I never would have imagined Lampwick's brother would be helping my little girl." Pinocchio chuckled.
"I think that boy might have a bit of a crush on her Pinoke," Jiminy hinted. "How do you feel about that?"
"Well, as long as he's a good influence on her, I guess I'm ok. I remember when I had my first crush on a girl named Cristina when I was a boy. But I never got up the courage to tell her how I felt."
"What about Alex's mother, Juliana? You've been spending a lot of time with her these past two weeks, and I've seen the way you've been looking at her, ya know." Pinocchio's face turned red when Jiminy said this.
"Oh! Huh...It...It's not like that, Jiminy! I...uh...I just like her as a friend!" Jiminy could tell by how nervous his friend looked that he too had feelings for his old friend.
"Your nose might not grow anymore, Pinocchio, but I can tell you like that woman. She helped look after you while I was away and I think she'd be a good mother for Annabelle." Pinocchio knew he couldn't hide the truth from his best friend.
"Okay, you got me. I do like her, Jiminy. But I'm afraid to ask her out. You see, Julie hasn't dated another man since Eugene abandoned her and Alex. I think she's afraid of being having her heart broken again."
"If that's the case, then just be friends with her for now. Sometimes a broken heart takes a long time to heal. But you've got a good heart, Pinoke, and I think you can help her mend it."
"Thanks, Jiminy. We'll see how things turn out. But right now I have a business to run." And with that, they both went inside.
Meanwhile, Annabelle and Toby were making there to school. As they walked through the town, Toby stared silently at the puppet girl and thought how pretty she looked. He felt like there were butterflies in his stomach. Suddenly, Annabelle turned and looked at him.
"Sure is a beautiful day, huh, Toby?" Annabelle said in a cheerful mood.
"Uh...Ya, it sure it." Toby quickly replied trying and turned his head away. Annabelle stopped walked and stared at him.
"Are you alright, Toby? You look nervous about something." At first, Toy didn't know what to say, He never felt like this about a girl before. After a few seconds, he finally found the courage to say something.
"Um...Annabelle, can I tell you something?"
"Yes, what is it?" She asked. But before he could say anything two boys came running up to them. One of them was Thomas and the other boy was his friend Edger.
"Hey, Annabelle, did you hear the news?" Said, Edger.
"No. What news, Edger?" Annabelle asked in reply.
"The green Fisherman is on the beach fishing for tuna!" Thomas explained.
"Really? The fishermen Angelo was talking about yesterday? But my daddy said he's just a story the adults made up to frighten kids."
"We'll we heard someone in town said they just saw him at the shore. We're going to see if he's real. Why don't you want to come with us?" Edger offered.
"We don't have to for that, Edger" Said Toby. "We have to get to school, or Miss Lorraine will scold us for late!"
"So what if you're a few minutes late? One lesson more or less makes no difference to us. Come on, Annabelle! You wanna see the fishermen don't you?" Thomas grabbed Annabelle's arm and tried to encourage her to accompany them.
"I do want to see him because I want to know if he is real. But I don't want to miss school. I'll go see him after school." Annabelle told them.
"By that time he'll be long gone. If you want to see him, you'll have to come now. The beach is only a short walk from here. And we've got plenty of time till class starts. Come on!" Annabelle started to feel intrigued about going to the seashore.
"I've never been to the shore before. And I'd like to see the love to see it. Can we go there, Toby? Please?" Toby wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to be late for school, but he also didn't want Annabelle to be upset so he gave in.
"Well...I guess we could take a quick peek. Class doesn't start for till a quart of eight. As long as we get back in time before the bell rings. How long does it take to get there and back, Edger?"
"If we run, we can get there and back before the bell rings with plenty of time. Follow us!"
The boys took off running towards the shore Annabelle picked up Figgy, and she and Toby followed the boys. When they arrived at the beach, Annabelle amazed seeing the ocean for the first time. She remembered her father's stories of when her grandfather had been swallowed by a giant whale and Pinocchio and Jiminy rescued him. The sea was calm and there smooth. Annabelle and Toby both scanned the shore but didn't see the mythical fishermen anywhere.
"Where is he?" Annabelle asked looking everywhere but saw nothing. "I don't see anyone the fisherman on the shore!"
"Maybe he went home to eat breakfast," Thomas replied with a snicker.
"Ya! Or maybe he decided to go back home!" Both boys started laughing.
"What are you guys laughing about?" Toby asked suspiciously.
"Hahaha! You wimps fell for it!" Said a familiar voice. Out from a big rock, Andre appeared grinning and walked over to Thomas and Edger.
"Andre! What are you doing?" Asked Annabelle.
"I heard you listening to Angelo's story about the green fishermen, so I had Thomas and Edger to tell you they saw him to get you to come here instead of school. Class started five minutes ago. So now you're both late! Haha!"
"You tricked us, Andre!" Toby shouted angrily. "Now Miss Lorraine is going to think we tried to play hookey!"
"Exactly! This is payback for beating me at the marble game. Now you'll both get scolded for not coming to school!" The bully and his friends all laughed at them.
Annabelle slowly began to realize that they had lied to her so she would miss school and get in trouble with her dad and the teacher. This made her feel sad as she had once again given in to temptation. She felt like a complete fool.
"Aww! What's the matter woody?" Andre taunted her. "Why don't you run home and cry to your daddy, you little wooden freak!" Annabelle looked like she was about to cry. Toby started to get angry at Andre for making fun of the puppet girl and stepped in front of her.
"Stop it, Andre! I've had it with you always making fun Annabelle because she's a puppet! You better stop it right now!" He shouted at them.
"Aw, put a sock in it, Candlewimp!" Andre suddenly picked up hurled a rock at him Toby, and it struck him in the face knocking him down.
"Oh no! Toby!" Annabelle panicked and ran to help her friend. Toby had been hit so hard he was unconscious, and there was a big red mark on his face where the rock had hit him. Andre laughed Maliciously and took off running towards town.
"Toby! Wake up! Please wake up!" Annabelle cried frantically, but her friend didn't respond.
"Maybe he's taking a nap?" Said little Figgy. Annabelle started to get worried. She didn't know how to help her friend and why he wasn't waking up.
"Help! Someone! Please help!" She yelled as loud as she could hoping someone might hear her. Ten minutes later, two policemen appeared and ran over to them.
"What's going on here?" Asked one of the officers. "Shouldn't you kids be in school?" Annabelle remembered Pinocchio told her police officers were good guys and took bad people to jail.
"My friend is hurt, and he won't wake up. Please help him!" she cried frantically. The Policemen examined the mark on the boy's face. The other ran down to the water, came back with his hat full of water and poured it on Toby's head.
"What injured him?" The one officer asked her.
"He was hit in the face with a rock!" Annabelle told them.
"Did you throw it at him?" The other officer asked suspiciously.
"Huh? No! It wasn't me! It was a bully named Andre! He tricked us into coming here to see the fishermen. He then my book at Toby!" Annabelle knew she was telling the truth, but the police officers didn't seem convinced by her story.
"We just ran into a couple of kids, and they told us they saw you throw your rock at this boy!" Said the policemen.
"But I didn't! I'm honest! If I lie, then my nose grows!" Annabelle knew she was being honest, but the officers didn't seem to belive her story.
"I think you'd better come with us, little puppet girl until we find out who's telling the truth!" One of them reached out and grabbed Annabelle's wooden arm.
"No! Please! I don't want to jail! I didn't do anything bad!" Annabelle cried frantically. Seeing Annabelle was in trouble, Figgy went into protective mode. She leaped at the policemen and bit his hand making him release Annabelle.
"You bad men! Leave Annabelle alone!" She hissed and growled at them. The other man grabbed the kitten and threw her to the ground. Annabelle snapped her up and took off running as fast she could with the policemen chasing after. They chased her across the fields and down to the seashore. Being made of wood, she was able to run faster and eventually outran them. When she stopped to rest, she started to feel guilty about what happened and started to cry.
"I'm in big trouble, Figgy. I skipped school to look for the fisherman, Toby got hurt trying to protect me, and now the police think I'm a bully. Daddy and Jiminy are going to be super mad at me when they find out what happened."
"But it wasn't your fault Annabelle. It was Andre and his friend's fault. You didn't do anything bad."
"No. But I missed school, and they'll probably tell Miss Lorraine that we played hooky. I wish I never heard about the stupid fishermen!"
"Who are ya be calling stupid?" Said an angry voice. Annabelle was startled and turned around to see a tall elderly looking man with green skin, green hair, a bushy beard, and bright yellow eyes. He was wearing an old worn-out hat, a long blue overcoat, a dirty red and white striped shirt, and blue trousers. In his hand, he had a net filled with fish. It was the mythical fishermen. Annabelle was so surprised and frightened that she couldn't move. The man stood there staring down at her for several minutes before he finally spoke.
"You shouldn't call people stupid, little girl! It's not good manners!" Annabelle was so frightened by the man that she couldn't run away.
"I-I-I sorry mister green fishermen! Please don't take me away and cook me in a frying pan!" She cried fearfully.
"Say what? Why would I do that?" The old man asked in surprise.
"Because my classmates said that you kidnap children and cook them in a big frying pan!" The Fishermen started to laugh when he heard this.
"Oh ho, ho, ho! There's no need to be afraid of me, little lady. All those stories you heard about me aren't true. I would never hurt anyone. I just an old hermit with green skin." Annabelle was confused. The creature everyone told her was a big scary monster was acting friendly, and his face looked nothing like how school kids described him.
"Really? Well in that case. My name is Annabelle. And this is my kitten, Figgy. It's nice to meet you Mister Green fisherman."
"Please to meet ya both! But you don't have to call me that, my real name is old Joseph Fisher." The fisherman then shook hands with her. "Say, you look different than all the other children."
"I'm not a real girl. I'm a wooden puppet. I was built my daddy, Mister Pinocchio. He used to be a puppet-like me, but a blue fairy lady made him into a real boy and wished for me to be alive, so I learn to be real like him."
"Is that so. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Annabelle. Would you like to come back to my place for lunch?" the old offered.
"I don't know. Daddy always told me not to go anywhere with people I don't know. He might get mad."
"I promise that I won't hurt you. It would be nice to have company. I never get visitors." Annabelle thought about whether or not she should accompany the man to his home.
"What do you think, Figgy?" she asked her little friend.
"He seems nice, Annabelle. And those fish smell delicious!" the kitten replied licking his lips.
"Well...Ok. We'll go with you." She replied with a smile. Annabelle followed the Fisherman down the beach where a large old and dilapidated ferry steamboat was washed up on the shore. It looked like it hadn't been used in years and it was covered in moss and seaweed.
"Is that your boat your house?" Annabelle asked.
"That's it. This old ship washed up on shore over ten years ago so I moved in," Mister Joe explained. "Since I can't live in town because everyone was frightened by me, I used to live in a nearby cave for over fifty years until I found this old shipwreck." Annabelle didn't know it, but this was this ferry boat had once belonged the wicked coachmen which he used to bring naughty children to Pleasure island. Annabelle then followed the old fisherman onto the boat. They entered one of the cabins which had a small iron stove with a frying pan, fishing rods and nets, and a little bed in the corner. Annabelle and the kitten sat down while the Fisherman began cooking the fish he had caught.
"Would like some fish young lady?" He offered.
"No thanks. I don't like food that's made from animals. But I think Figgy would like some." Annabelle replied. The fisherman got a plate and laid down some fish for the kitten, and she started eating. When his lunch was ready, he sat down and again and began to eat.
"Do you always eat fish, Mister Joe?" Annabelle asked.
"All the time," the fisherman replied. "I've been fishermen ever since I was a boy. Since I can't go into town, I have to catch food to eat. I sometimes eat apples and berries from trees and bushes."
"You're nothing like my school friends said you were. Angelo said you were a big ugly monster. But you seem like a nice man. Why don't you live in the village like everyone else?" The Fisherman looked at her and sighed.
"I suppose I could tell you my story. I was born with green hair and skin because my father was a seaman. I lived with him and my mother in town, but the people didn't like us because we looked like big green monsters. In school, the other children would tease me and call me names like green face."
"That's awful! I know how you feel. Sometimes the kids at school tease me because I'm made of wood and not flesh like them." Annabelle told him.
"When I got older, and my parents passed away from illness. I got as a fisherman, but not many people liked me because I was so strange and ugly looking. I tried to kind and helpful but every time the children saw me they'd run away in fear. The parents thought I tried to steal their children and called me a monster. Since know who liked or trusted me, I decided to leave the village." Annabelle started to feel pity for the old man as he told her his story.
"That's awful! You didn't do anything bad! Why should you have to live alone just because you look different?"
"Unfortunately, little puppet girl, People don't always accept others for being different. They judged me before they even know me. So I decided I was better off living alone."
"Well, maybe I can help you. If the townspeople saw how nice you are maybe they won't think you're a monster and let you come back." Mister Joe looked at her in surprise.
"You...You'd do that for a poor old fisherman like me? No one has ever tried to help me before."
"Sure! Daddy and Jiminy always say you shouldn't judge people before you know them. When I go home, my friends and I can tell everyone about you and that your innocent and didn't set that boat on fire."
"That's very kind of you to offer little girl, but I'm not sure anyone would believe you. Besides, not many people know I'm real and think I'm a fairytale."
"They'll have to believe me because my nose grows when I tell a lie. I'll tell them how I met you and tell them what a nice person you are and that your not a big scary monster."
"That's very kind of you, Miss Annabelle. I certainly hope you can do that." Annabelle stayed with the mister Joe for the remained of the day and listened to a few of his stories. When she looked at the clock on the wall she realized she had lost track of time and it was after five.
"Oh! No! I'm going to be in big trouble!" She cried frantically. "I didn't go to school today because I wanted to look for you. Daddy, Jiminy, and Miss Lorraine going to be super mad at me! Come on Figgy! It was nice meeting you, Mister Joe. But I have to go home now. I promise I'll come back and visit you." " She scooped up the kitten and started to leave. She hurried back to town wondering how she would explain to her father everything that had happened.
End of chapter of 15