Luz run away from the circus very quickly, not stopping until she was completely out of breath. It had been a really bad experience, even though in the end Bump turned out to be a good person and she gained something from it. And speaking of earnings, she couldn't stop looking at the gold coins in her hands with twinkling eyes. "Oh, they're so beautiful! Mom will be so happy when I bring them to her!"

"I'm pretty sure she'll be very unhappy when she finds out how you got them" Willow pointed out. "This time, not even a good mother like Camila can spare you from a long scolding. You disobeyed her, you didn't go to school, you lost the primer to buy which she sold her jacket to buy, you made her and us worried, you almost ended up burned for your stupidity, and even if in the end you showed yourself to be sensible and pure of heart, that doesn't erase all the other mischief you've done"

Luz rubbed a hand behind her head, knowing that the cricket was right: she hadn't exactly behaved in a very exemplary manner. "Well... she doesn't have to know, right?"

Willow quirked an eyebrow. "Luz... please..."

"I'll just tell her I didn't go to school because I didn't want her to be without a jacket, so I went to work at the circus and Bump gave me this money in exchange for my work!" Luz said very quickly creating a fairly believable story in her mind.

Her friends were not convinced at all. "Luz, that's called lying. And it's a bad thing" Gus told her.

"Yeah. You should never lie, especially to the people you love" Willow said. "And in any case don't think that Camila won't discover the truth. Lies have short legs"

Luz looked down at her legs, shaking them slightly. "You mean they would make my legs shorter?"

"No, Luz. It means no lie is meant to last long" Willow explained. "Sooner or later, no matter how well you hide it, the truth will come out. And then it will be much worse"

"Pff! Nonsense" Luz laughed shaking her head. "It's all about telling a story that's believable enough. Mom will believe it, no one will investigate, and everyone will be happy"

Willow and Gus collapsed on their own feet, no longer even having the strength to stand up. If they continued to argue with that bad girl, they would almost certainly have an aneurysm. Every time Luz seemed to take a step forward and show herself to be a little altruistic and courageous, she immediately took other three steps back and went back to being the listless and incorrigible girl she always was. "I don't even want to argue with you anymore" Willow said, then she stood up and took a deep breath: "Camila is probably looking all over town for you, it's better that I go to find her and tell her you're okay. Gus, you stay here and make sure Luz doesn't change direction again"

Gus's eyes widened, not so much for the task he had just been given, but for the fact that Willow had just declared that she wanted to abandon the protection afforded by Luz's presence and fly away into the outside world alone. "Are you sure?"

Willow just swallowed. She wasn't sure at all, but she wanted to try it. "What can I say? After punching that guy in the eye I feel unstoppable!" she justified herself, even if it wasn't exactly like that. "And then... Camila will be very worried right now, someone has to warn her, and among us I'm the only one who can fly and find her in a short time. And then I survived while I was carrying you, so why this time should it be different?"

Willow had never been a coward; actually, by cricket standards, she was quite brave. But after spending the first few months of her life terrified of everything and shunned by all the other crickets because she couldn't fly well, she developed a deep aversion to the outside world that she never thought she could overcome. But perhaps now the time to gather courage and try to fly in the sky again despite her limitations had come. She had already gone out twice, the first with Luz and Gus and the second with just Gus: now she wanted to try flying alone. "I'll just tell Camila that you're okay and that you're on your way home" she told Luz. "As for explaining to her what happened... I'll leave that to you in any way you see fit. I'll get back to you as soon as I've notified her"

"Don't be afraid, Willow" Luz told her with a smile. "You are much stronger than you think. You just have to understand it"

Willow sighed. Luz was naive and prone to very bad behavior, but she seemed to be able to bring out the best in others simply by smiling: Willow just had to look at those encouraging eyes and those upwardly curved lips to feel braver. "Thanks, Luz. I'll keep that in mind". And with that she took a leap and took off into the air, though still in her usual bizarre and erratic way. Fear was gripping her heart and telling her to immediately return under the protection of the puppet, but she steeled herself and continued to fly, and soon she disappeared into the sky.

"Willow may be a rules stickler, but she's a good person. I hope she can overcome her fear" Luz said watching her go.

Gus smirked. He was happy that his friend was slowly overcoming her aversion to the outside world. Maybe one day he would succeed too... well, he certainly hoped so. "Willow isn't a 'rules stickler', she only cares about you, Luz. That's what friends do!"

"Yes, but she worries too much! I didn't go to school, so what? I'll go tomorrow, what changes? In life every now and then you have to break the mold and have initiative!" the puppet said walking towards home.

Gus sighed. "Luz, having initiative and enjoying beautiful things is right, but you have to understand when it's time to do it. Things like school are important, you shouldn't take them lightly"

"Ugh, don't start with that you too!" Luz grumbled, and then she popped her new gold coins into her hand. "Look how much I earned by following my instinct: it's the physical proof that I'm right!"

"Rather than 'following your instinct' I would call it 'dumb luck'. If there had been another person in Bump's place right now you would be firewood" Gus pointed out to her. "And not only that. Willow and I could have been crushed and died because we were there to help you, and it would have been your fault. And Camila would probably have died of grief at never finding you again"

Luz felt guilt creep into her wooden heart, but she pushed it away, even if it continued to make itself felt like a particularly annoying fly. "Yes, but that didn't happen! So everything's fine!" she exclaimed, trying to convince herself more than Gus. "And then you wouldn't have died because of me! I didn't ask you to come and help me!"

Gus put a paw on his face. He was starting to think that Willow was right when she said that that puppet really was incorrigible. "Let's change the subject. Stop making those gold coins dance in your hand and put them in your pocket"

In response, Luz made them dance even more. "Huh? And why? They're so beautiful!"

"First of all because they might fall from you hand and you might lose them... and secondly because you might attract the attention of someone with bad intentions" Gus answered. "Five gold coins are tempting for many. If someone sees you they might try to steal them..."

"That spider is right, girl. You should listen to him, this place is full of bad guys" a voice suddenly said.

Luz stopped focusing on Gus and looked in the direction the voice had come from. They so noticed that a woman was sitting under a nearby tree; she was a rather tall woman with a narrow waist and was wearing a purple dress with a small band that seemed to be made from a vine, and on her wrist she had a bracelet that also seemed to be created with a plant; she had thick light green hair that fell almost to the base of her torso and lively purple eyes, one of which was covered by a fringe, and on her head she had a headdress made from a flower which also created two horn-like ornaments with its roots. "Sorry, I heard you and I couldn't help but intervene" the woman said, standing up. "My name is Terra, Terra Snapdragon, but everyone knows me as the Fox"

"Oh, it's nice to meet you. I'm Luz, and this is Gus" Luz said. She had no problem understanding why people nicknamed that woman 'the Fox': her look and expression made her look a lot like the classic cunning grin of a fox. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Sorry to ask, but is that a real flower on your head?"

"The pleasure is all mine, and yes, it's a real flower. What can I say, I love plants. I love fertilizing them with my vict-ehm, with my love. Gardening is an art, after all" Terra answered. "Anyway, far be it from me to mind your own business, but you shouldn't be out and about at this hour. It will soon be night and as I told you, it's full of rabble here"

"But you're also out and about despite the time" Luz pointed out.

"I'm an adult, I know how to handle myself. You're just a little girl, it's not safe for you" Terra said, then her gaze fell on the gold coins in Luz's hand, and for a moment her eyes looked those of a hungry hawk. "Now that I think about it, how come a little girl like you is walking around with five gold coins?"

"Oh, the circus owner, Bump, gave them to me! With these I can buy my poor mother's jacket back!" Luz replied with a proud smile. "What about you? Why are you out here sitting under a tree?"

"I'm waiting for a friend of mine. He went into the woods to pick some fruit. We're two wanderers, we need some supplies" Terra explained. "Anyway, why do you want to buy your mother a jacket? Doesn't she already have one?"

"She had it, but not anymore. She sold my jacket to buy me a spelling book and make me study" Luz explained to her.

Terra looked very sorry. "Oh... I guess your mother doesn't have a very profitable job, does she?"

"No, in fact. She makes puppets, but it could easily be said that she is poor by profession" Luz answered. "But everything will change now! With these gold coins I will buy her the finest jacket I can find!"

Terra seemed moved and wiped away a tear, and then she rubbed her hair lovingly. "You really are a good girl! If I ever have a daughter I would like her to be like you" she said with a smile, then suddenly she seemed to become guarded; she looked from side to side to make sure no one was there, and then she leaned close to her ear and whispered: "Look... I shouldn't tell you this and my friend will probably be mad at me, but you really are a lovely person and your mother is definitely as kind as you, so I want to help you. Do you promise me you will keep a secret?"

Luz nodded. "Absolutely! I always keep secrets"

"Then let me reveal an important truth to you: my friend and I are not wanderers at all. We are actually going to a very specific place" Terra explained with a sly smile on her face. "It's called the Field of Miracles"


In Collodi's original book, Pinocchio meets the Fox and the Cat immediately after leaving Mangiafuoco's theatre, who trick him together into taking him to the Field of Miracles. Here I have purposely made the scene longer and more complex and in fact it will take up this and the next chapter. In the meantime, let me know in the comments what you think of Terra in the role of the Fox.