Luz walked quickly down the street that Camila had told her to follow and that would take her to school. And as she did so she was already fantasizing about what he would do.

"Today I want to learn to read immediately; tomorrow to write, tomorrow to count again. I want to become the best in the class, and with all the knowledge I will get from school, I will find a way to earn money and buy mom's jacket again!" she said, clenching a fist with determination. Even if until a few minutes before she had had reservations about going to school, considering it too boring and preferring to stay outside and play, now that Camila had sold her jacket to buy her the book, going to school had become something fundamental for her. "No... what am I saying? I'll buy her a new one, made of the best material there is in the city and with gold and silver buttons! And then we'll celebrate together by eating buns every day! Because I'll make her rich, yes! My mother deserves it, so I'll make sure it will happen!"

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost started skipping and dancing in the middle of the street. Fortunately the school was located a little outside the city and the road that allowed her to reach it had little traffic, otherwise she could have ended up to hit a carriage without realizing it. But while she was thinking about these things she heard something in the distance: it was the sound of what seemed like dozens of fifes. She wondered where they came from and so she followed the sound, and in the end she arrived at a crossroads from which a small road started, smaller than the one to go to school, and which headed towards the place from which the music of the fifes presumably came.

The curiosity immediately made its way into Luz's mind; she didn't know much about the world, but even to her it was obvious that where there was music there must also be great fun. And the playful and wild side of her immediately began to make its way into her heart. "Wow, that looks really nice... but now I have to go to school" she said to herself. "Well, I can go see the fifes later. Mom told me to come home as soon as school ends, but she can't know when it'll end, right? She won't notice if I will be a little late! Well, the plan for the day it's done: first the school, then the fifes!"

She started to head towards the school, but she hadn't gone three meters before she stopped again. "But... what if whoever was playing the pipes left before I finished school? After all, who guarantees to me that they'll stay there?"

Her gaze dropped to the large spelling book in her hand. Her grip on it tightened. "Oh, come on, what am I thinking? Skipping school after mom went to so much trouble to buy me this book? Ah ah! How silly, I would never do that! It would be truly ungrateful!" she said, but she did it in such a fake tone that she didn't even convince herself. "But... it sounds fun..."

It was as if a worm had entered her head and was gnawing at her, generating an itch that she couldn't get rid of; she could almost see a little version of herself appear on her shoulder and whisper in her ear: "Why not? Mom will never know... you can go to school tomorrow... school's still there, but the music and the fun will probably go away..."

She stood there thinking about it for almost a minute, and finally she gave in to her 'bratty side'. "Okay. Today I'll go to see the fifes, tomorrow to school; there's time for school anyway!"

And so, even though she felt a little guilty, she took the road that led to the place where the music came from; music to which laughter, shouts and other sounds were soon added which foreshadowed something really fun. It didn't take long for Luz to completely forget all her good intentions and even the guilt to completely vanish, and she found herself running at breakneck speed down the street and with a smile on her face. And so she soon reached an area just outside the city packed with tents of all shapes and sizes, where quite a few people seemed to be having a blast. At the end of the street there was what looked like a ticket office, so she turned to the person manning it: "Excuse me, what's going on here?"

At the ticket office there was a guy who looked like an old man with a white beardn covered in a shining blue robe and with a strange hat. "There's the circus, of course!" the man replied. "Do you want to enter?"

"Oh, yes! But how much is the entrance?"

"It's written on the sign. Read it"

"I would, but I can't read"

"You should go to school then! It's four copper coins anyway"

A small twinge of guilt made its way into Luz's heart after the man reminded her that she was supposed to be at school at that moment, but it was immediately drowned out by all the laughter coming from the circus and making her eager to enter. "Hmm… if I sell this shirt, can I earn four copper coins?"

"For that rag? I bet it will deteriorate with the first rain"

"My shoes then?"

"They're good for making a fire!"

"But I have nothing else!"

"If you have nothing else, then go away"

Luz became dejected and turned, and she was about to leave, but suddenly the man called her back: "Wait! I don't know what to do with your clothes, but I'm interested in that book"

Luz looked down at her spelling book and tightened her grip on it. "No! This is not for sale!" she said vehemently.

The man seemed angry at the answer, but when he spoke his voice was calm and sweet: "I guess that book is someone's gift, hm?"

"My mom bought it for me. I need it for studying" Luz answered. "And she sold her jacket for it, so no, it's not for sale!"

"Don't worry, I'm certainly not a monster. I would never dream of buying something with such value. What is money compared to a mother's love?" the man said in an emotional voice. "But... I could rent it"

Luz raised an eyebrow. "Rent it?"

"Exactly. You see, the owner of the circus, Mr. Bump, is an avid reader. He reads whatever comes his way. He reads day and night, and is satisfied if his employees bring him something to read" the man explained. "So, here's my proposal: I'll give you the ticket money if you'll lend me your book for... when do you plan to go home?"

"In the afternoon" Luz amswered.

"Perfect! Half a day is nothing for a reader like Mr. Bump; he'll have finished that book ten times over by the time you get back here to the ticket booth!" the man said rubbing his hands. "So, do we have a deal?"

Luz didn't think twice; she really wanted to get in and that gentle guy was giving her a chance, so she had no reason to dwell on it. "Deal!" she said, handing him the spelling book. "You are very kind, Mr..."

"Adeghast. You can call me Adeghast" the man replied. "I'm the puppeteer of this circus. My puppet show will start soon too; will you come and see it?"

"Very willingly! Thank you, Mr. Adeghast! See you later!" Luz said rushing inside the circus. So there would have been a puppet show... so maybe there were other puppets that moved and talked like her! She absolutely wanted to see it


Some small explanations:

1) In Collodi's original book, Pinocchio doesn't go to a circus but simply to a puppet theater, which is precisely the theater of the puppeteer Mangiafuoco. Here I modified the situation to be able to add as many characters from The Owl House as possible.

2) In the original book Pinocchio doesn't think twice about selling his spelling book at a rock-bottom price just to get into the puppet theater even though Geppetto had sold his jacket to buy it for him. Luz obviously would never do something like that, so I edited the scene so that she only agreed to lend him in exchange for money.