Annabelle waited several days for Alexandra to recover from her illness. When Alex finally felt better, she arrived at Pinocchio's house to see her friend Annabelle related to her everything that had happened while she was sick. Alex felt guilty for not being there to steer Annabelle on the right path and falling for Andre's scheme of skipping school. But when the puppet girl told her about meeting the mythical green-skinned fishermen she still found it skeptical even though she knew her friend was speaking the truth because Annabelle's nose had not grown.
"Did you really meet him?" Alex asked still unconvinced.
"I'm telling the truth, Alex," Annabelle insisted. "Mister Joe is no myth and is not a monster! He's just poor lonely old hermit living alone because everyone in town thought he was ugly and frightening!"
"That's awful," Alex stated. "My mother says you should never judge someone by their appearance. Just because someone looks ugly or bad doesn't mean they are."
"I felt sad for him, so I told mister Joe I'd be his friend, and that I'd try and help him so he can come back and live in the village again."
"How are you that, Annie?" Alex inquired.
"Well, I was thinking about bringing him here to my house so he can meet Daddy and Jiminy. Maybe they'll know how to help him."
"That sounds like a good idea. Maybe My mom could help too. I'll bring her here to meet this mister Joe. Do you think I could go with you to see him?"
"Sure, Alex. I asked Toby, and he said he'd like to come too. We'll all go to his house tomorrow after school." Alex agreed with Annabelle's plan and hurried home to tell her mother while Annabelle went to see Toby and inform him of their mission.
The next day after school had ended, Annabelle and Figgy led Alex and Toby to shore where the Fisherman lived. When they arrived at the old shipwrecked steamboat, the boy and girl felt a bit uneasy. But Annabelle assured them there was nothing to fear. They followed her onto the boat and walked to the main cabin. Annabelle knocked on the door and waited no there was no answer.
"Mister Joe! It's me, Annabelle!" I've brought some friends to see you!" She called out but there was no reply.
"Maybe he's not home right now, Annie." Said Alex.
"Maybe he's out fishing," Toby suggested. "He is a fisherman, so maybe he's catching his dinner." No sooner had he said this, a green figure suddenly appeared behind them.
"Ahoy there, me little wooden friend!" Alex and quickly Toby spun around and were frightened to death at the sight of Mister Joe. Annabelle showing no fear smiled, walked up to the fishermen and shook his green hand.
"Hello, Mister Joe. These are my two best friends, Alexandra and Tobias," Annabelle introduced.
"Welcome aboard me ship, little mateys!" He said to the children. Alex and Toby were still shocked seeing the mythical Fisherman they didn't believe was real. At first, they were too afraid to say anything until Alex finally spoke.
"H-Hello, Mister Joe, sir," She said nervously and tried to be polite. "Nice to meet you."
"Its honor to met you, Mister Fisherman," Toby mustard up the courage and shook his hand. The old man was delighted to have more children visit him but could tell they were bewildered by her appearance.
"I promise you kids, have nothing to be afraid of," he told them. "I may a have face that strikes fears in your little hearts, but I'd never hurt a soul." The children sighed with relief when they said this.
"See, I told you guys he was a nice man." Said Annabelle.
"Would you all like to come and have some of these Tuna I just caught?" Mister offered them holding up a bunch of fish he had caught.
"Actually mister Joe, we came here to invite you to my house," Annabelle explained. "My daddy mister Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, and Alex's mom Miss Juliana are would like to meet you." The fisherman was surprised by the puppet girl's invitation to go back to town with her.
"Oh, I'm not so sure that's a good idea, little wooden lady," He said with hesitation. "If the townspeople see me they might get frightened and run away in fear."
"You don't know that they will happen, Mister Joe!" Alex stated. "People in the village today are used to seeing strange things like living puppets and animals that were clothes and walk and talk like us.
"She's right, Mister Fisherman!" Toby added. "The town has changed a lot after you've been gone. There are many new things and food and wine. Things you've haven't had in a long time."
"You could use some new clothes too," Alex said looking at his tattered hat, shirt, jacket, and trousers.
"Please, Mister Joe! Come back to town with us!" Annabelle pleaded. The fishermen felt perhaps he had lived in solitary for far too long and thought it was time to leave the shore behind and return to his real home in town.
"Alright, little mates. I'll come with back ya." He finally agreed. "I'm curious to see how much the town has changed in over fifty years."
"Yeah! Come on! Let's go right now!" Annabelle cheered, grabbed the fishermen's hand and pulled him along. The children then Mister Joe back to town. As they entered the village and few of the townspeople noticed him and stared in surprise. They had never seen a person that looked like him before.
"Who's that green man walking with those kids?" Said Women standing her children.
"He looks like an old sea captain," said a man.
"Look, mommy!" Said a young boy with excitement. "It's the green fishermen the kids at school were talking about!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Tony! That's just an old man with a skin condition!" The mother corrected her son. Not many of the townspeople seemed frightened or bothered by the fisherman's appearance since they we're used to seeing unexplainable things. Mister Joe was amazed at how much different the village looked since he had been gone.
"Say! What are these big metal poles?" The fisherman asked.
"Those are oil lamps," Alex explained. "They keep the town lite at night. We use them to light up our houses too."
"In my days, people carried lanterns around town to see at night and used candles in our homes. Times sure have changed in this old town." Soon they arrived at Pinocchio's house. Annabelle went inside and Pinocchio and Jiminy were sitting in the living room having tea with Juliana.
"Daddy! Jiminy! I brought Mister Joe the Fisherman to visit!" At first, they didn't believe her until the green man entered the house. Pinocchio and Juliana were both startled and surprised to see the mythical Fisherman Geppetto told them about when they were kids was real. Jiminy wasn't bothered because he had seen strange people on his travels.
"Pleased to meet you, folks!" Said the fishermen tipping his hat.
"W-Welcome to our house, Mister Fisherman sir," Pinocchio tried to sound polite. "I'm Pinocchio, Annabelle's father. And these are my good friends Jiminy Cricket and Miss Juliana." Mister Joe was delighted to meet the little cricket and beautiful women. Pinocchio offered him a chair and made him a cup of tea.
"Thank ye, young lad," said Mister Joe. "Its been a long time since I've had a nice cup of tea." Annabelle and the children all sat down in the living room as Pinocchio and Juliana talked with fishermen.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Joe Fisherman," said Pinocchio. "My father Geppetto told me lots of stories about you when I was a boy, but I never believed they were real."
"You seem like a very nice man," Juliana added. "Annabelle told us how you left the village because everyone thought you were a terrifying monster."
"Ho ho ho! Yes, many tall tales were told about me," said the fisherman with a chuckle. "But in truth, I'm just an old fisherman like me father was."
"That's good to know," Pinocchio stated.
"So daddy, do you think we can help mister Joe?" Annabelle inquired.
"Well, Annabelle, I'm really sure how exactly we can help him," Pinocchio said unsure of what to do.
"We can help this man by first getting him some new clothes and finding him a place to live," Jiminy suggested.
"That's a splendid idea, Jiminy," Juliana agreed. "We'll take him to the Taylors for some clothes then we'll look for a suitable home for him."
"You people are too kind." Said Mister Joe delighted by Pinocchio and Juliana's kindness. "If you folks can help me I'll be forever in your debt."
Pinocchio led everyone to the Taylor shop where he introduced the Fisherman to his father's old friend. The Taylor was bit startled by mister Joe's appearance especially his ragged captain's outfit. But being the kind man he was, He helped the old man pick out some more casual clothes and even offered to fix up his old worn-out ones free of charge. When the fishermen walked out of the shop he looked like a new man. Now all they had to do was find him a house to live. While Pinocchio and Juliana looked around for houses that were for sale, Annabelle, Jiminy, and their friends showed mister Joe around and introduced him to the neighbors. A few school children noticed them and curiously approached.
"Look, guys! It's him! The green fisher! I told you he's real!" Angelo shouted! When the other children heard this they became frightened.
"There's no need to afraid, everyone," Annabelle told them. "Mister Joe is a nice old man and not a big scary monster."
"Hello, little kiddies!" The fishermen smiled friendly and waved. Angelo and the children were surprised he didn't want to carry their off to his lair and cook them for supper like in the stories they had heard.
"You see, kids? Just because someone looks different, doesn't mean their monsters," Jiminy explained. "This man just wants to be treated like everyone else in this town."
"Jiminy's right!" Annabelle agreed with him. "Let's all be his friends!"
"Ha Haha! He looks like a freak to me!" Said a rude voice. It was Andre and his friends Thomas and Melissa.
"Ya! That ugly old man looks like he belongs in the circus!" Melissa agreed and laughed.
"Go back where you came from your hideous coot! We don't want your kind in our town!" Thomas taunted the fishermen.
"Shiver me timbers! Why I've never been so insulted in me life!" The fisherman said angrily.
"Stop making fun of him you jerks!" Annabelle shouted angrily at the bullies. "Mister Joe is not an ugly freak!"
"That was rotten of you getting Annabelle in trouble with the police, Andre!" Toby growled at the leader.
"Ya! Why do you guys always have to show up and start causing trouble for others?" Alex asked. Mister Joe didn't like the way these children were insulting him and being mean to Annabelle and her friends.
"Now you listen here, Ye little scallywags! You should learn to respect your elders and not bully younger kids!" He scolded them. "Didn't your parents teach you manners?" Andre, Thomas, and Melissa weren't afraid of him and just laughed. Suddenly they heard whistleblowing and turned to see a policeman coming. It was a tall, muscular man with a grey handlebar mustache and beard wearing a blue uniform, boots, cape, and a Napoleon hat.
"Hold it right there, You little thieves!" He shouted furiously.
"Its a cop! Let's beat it!" Andre and his friends took off running. Unfortunately, the policeman couldn't catch up with them and nearly faint from exhaustion. Annabelle and Alex ran over to see if the man needed help.
"Are you alright, Mister policeman, Sir?" Alex asked him.
"I'm fine, little laddies," he replied catching his breath. "Those vandals robbed the candy store! I'm getting too old to be chasing after misbehaving children!"
"Those brats are always causing trouble wherever they go!" Jiminy exclaimed. The fishermen looked at the policemen's face and thought he recognized him.
"Say! You look familiar to me!" The policeman looked at Mister Joe and a big smile appeared on his face.
"Old Green beard Joe! I haven't seen you in over fifty years!" The fisherman soon realized this man was an old friend he knew all too well.
"Well, blow me down! Its old Gendarme! Long time no see me, old chum!" The fisherman laughed and threw his arm over the man's shoulder delighted to see a familiar face.
"Do you know this policeman, Mister Joe?" Annabelle asked.
"I sure do! This is officer Gendarme! He's a famous policeman known for catching the most ruthless criminals! He also used to be me old fishing mate and we caught lots of fish together."
"Ah yes, I remember those good old days back when I was younger," said Gendarme reminiscing about the past. "So where have ya been all these years, old friend?"
"Mister Joe has been living alone at the shore because everyone in town thought he was a big scary monster!" Annabelle explained how she met the fisherman and that she was trying to help him.
"That's very kind of you, little puppet girl," the policeman smiled and patted Annabelle's head. "Its good to see you back in town old green beard Joe. The townspeople are much nicer and more accepting of people being different now."
"Its good to see you too, old friend." Said the fisherman happily.
"I'd be going now. I've got criminals to catch! Including those slippery con artists, Honest John and Gideon! Farewell!" And with that, he hurried off. No sooner had he left, Pinocchio and Juliana appeared.
"Annabelle! Children!" Pinocchio called to them. "We found a place for Mister Joe to stay!" Annabelle, Alex, and Toby said goodbye to their classmates and followed the adults to an old looking house close to the local tavern.
"This was the cheapest house we could find," Juliana explained. "The landlord said its a decent home and just needs a little cleaning up." When they walked inside and the place was covered in dust and cobwebs. There was a living room, with a fireplace, a Kitchen with a Table, a stove, and a sink. And upstairs a bedroom with a wardrobe and a large bed.
"What do you think of the house, Mister Joe?" Annabelle asked the fisherman.
"It's certainly better than that old ferry boat I been living on for the past ten years." He replied. "I suppose it will do for now."
"We'll all pitch in and help clean it for you!" Said Alex.
Satisfied with his new home, The fisherman decided to go back to the ferry to collect his fishing supplies and spent one more night on the boat. In the morning, Annabelle and her friends came to help him carry everything back to the village. Pinocchio, Juliana, and the children then spent the whole sweeping, dusting, and washing the house and by evening it was all cleaned up and looked brand new. Mister greatly appreciated what these people had done for. Never had he seen such kindness in all his life.
"I can't thank ye enough for everything you and your daughter have done to help, Toymaker!" said Mister Joe said to Pinocchio. "I swear I'll find a way to repay my debt to you and your family and friends someday."
"Your welcome, Mister Fisherman, Sir," Pinocchio replied shaking his hand. "We'll call upon you if we ever need your help."
"My friends and I will come to visit you, Mister Joe!" Said Annabelle happily.
"We'd better all be getting home now," Juliana insisted. "Let the fisherman settle into his new home." The group bid Mister Joe goodbye and returned to their own homes.
"I'm very proud of you, my little wooden princess for helping that old man," Pinocchio said with a big smile.
"Yes, and so am I!" Jiminy agreed. "You showed that man that not all people are cruel and judgmental. You've proven that you have a good and noble heart."
"Thanks, Daddy, and Jiminy." Annabelle was glad she was able to help the fisherman. She hoped he would be happy living in the village and would never be lonely again.
End of Chapter-17
