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The Piece of Wood That Laughed and Cried Like a Child Master Cherry Gives the Wood Away Geppetto Names His Puppet Pinocchio The Talking-Cricket Scolds Pinocchio The Flying Egg Pinocchio's Feet Burn to Cinders Geppetto Gives His Own Breakfast to Pinocchio Geppetto Makes Pinocchio New Feet Pinocchio Goes To See a Puppet-Show The Puppets Recognize Their Brother Pinocchio Fire-Eater Sneezes and Pardons Pinocchio Pinocchio Receives a Present of Five Gold Pieces The Inn of the Red Craw-Fish Pinocchio Falls Among Assassins The Assassins Hang Pinocchio to the Big Oak The Beautiful Child Rescues the Puppet Pinocchio Will Not Take His Medicine Pinocchio Again Meets the Fox and the Cat Pinocchio Is Robbed of His Money Pinocchio Starts Back to the Fairy's House Pinocchio Acts as Watch-dog Pinocchio Discovers the Robbers Pinocchio Flies to the Seashore Pinocchio Finds the Fairy Again Pinocchio Promises the Fairy To Be Good The Terrible Dog-Fish Pinocchio Is Arrested by the Gendarmes Pinocchio Escapes Being Fried Like a Fish He Returns to the Fairy's House The "Land of Boobies" Pinocchio Enjoys Five Months of Happiness Pinocchio Turns Into a Donkey Pinocchio Is Trained for the Circus Pinocchio Is Swallowed by the Dog-Fish A Happy Surprise for Pinocchio Pinocchio at Last Ceases to Be a Puppet and Becomes a Boy
There was once upon a time a piece of wood in the shop of an old carpenter named Master Antonio. Everybody, however, called him Master Cherry, on account of the end of his nose, which was always as red and polished as a ripe cherry.
No sooner had Master Cherry set eyes on the piece of wood than his face beamed with delight, and, rubbing his hands together with satisfaction, he said softly to himself:
"This wood has come at the right moment; it will just do to make the leg of a little table."
He immediately took a sharp axe with which to remove the bark and the rough surface, but just as he was going to give the first stroke he heard a very small voice say imploringly, "Do not strike me so hard!"
He turned his terrified eyes all around the room to try and discover where the little voice could possibly have come from, but he saw nobody! He looked under the bench-nobody; he looked into a cupboard that was always shut-nobody; he looked into a basket of shavings and sawdust-nobody; he even opened the door of the shop and gave a glance into the street-and still nobody. Who, then, could it be?
"I see how it is," he said, laughing and scratching his wig, "evidently that little voice was all my imagination. Let us set to work again."
And, taking up the axe, he struck a tremendous blow on the piece of wood.
"Oh! oh! you have hurt me!" cried the same little voice dolefully.
This time Master Cherry was petrified. His eyes started out of his head with fright, his mouth remained open, and his tongue hung out almost to the end of his chin, like a mask on a fountain. As soon as he had recovered the use of his speech he began to say, stuttering and trembling with fear:
"But where on earth can that little voice have come from that said 'Oh! oh!'? Is it possible that this piece of wood can have learned to cry and to lament like a child? I cannot believe it. This piece of wood is nothing but a log for fuel like all the others, and thrown on the fire it would about suffice to boil a saucepan of beans. How then? Can anyone be hidden inside it? If anyone is hidden inside, so much the worse for him. I will settle him at once."
So saying, he seized the poor piece of wood and commenced beating it without mercy against the walls of the room.
Then he stopped to listen if he could hear any little voice lamenting. He waited two minutes-nothing; five minutes-nothing; ten minutes-still nothing!
"I see how it is," he then said, forcing himself to laugh, and pushing up his wig; "evidently the little voice that said 'Oh! oh!' was all my imagination! Let us set to work again."
Putting the axe aside, he took his plane, to plane and polish the bit of wood; but whilst he was running it up and down he heard the same little voice say, laughing:
"Stop! you are tickling me all over!"
This time poor Master Cherry fell down as if he had been struck by lightning. When he at last opened his eyes he found himself seated on the floor.
His face was changed, even the end of his nose, instead of being crimson, as it was nearly always, had become blue from fright.
* * *
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Brenna lived with her adoptive parents for twenty years, enduring their exploitation. When their real daughter appeared, they sent Brenna back to her true parents, thinking they were broke. In reality, her birth parents belonged to a top circle that her adoptive family could never reach. Hoping Brenna would fail, they gasped at her status: a global finance expert, a gifted engineer, the fastest racer... Was there any end to the identities she kept hidden? After her fiancé ended their engagement, Brenna met his twin brother. Unexpectedly, her ex-fiancé showed up, confessing his love...
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