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The Adventures of Pinocchio
Scouts · 1st–3rd
Harlequin and Pulcinella call Pinocchio their brother, then carry him to the Director who wants him for firewood. Are they false friends, or only too frightened to say no?
The tension The Marionettes greet Pinocchio with shrieks of joy, yet when the Director gives an order, two of them hesitate a bit and then do as he says.
Notice what the Marionettes say to Pinocchio, and then what two of them do when the Director gives an order.
Pinocchio slips into the Marionette Theater, and the Marionettes on stage recognize him and stop the play to greet him as a brother. The audience becomes angry, and the Marionettes make even more noise. Then the Director comes out, a huge man with a long whip, and the room goes still. In the kitchen he orders Harlequin and Pulcinella to bring Pinocchio to be firewood, and the chapter ends with Pinocchio crying that he does not want to die.
Start with the cheering: ask what the Marionettes call Pinocchio, and then what Harlequin and Pulcinella do when the Director sends for him.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the play, Harlequin's cry, the three leaps, the angry audience, the Director, the kitchen, and the cry for Father.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: a short one about a pause, then a longer one that begins with "Then" and tells what happened next.
Debate Take sides on the big question: are Harlequin and Pulcinella false friends, or only too frightened to say no? Each side uses one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why a story might make the friends who cheer for Pinocchio the ones who bring him to the Director.
Easier Read the kitchen scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 2 and 4 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student give one critical-thinking answer aloud with two things from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student what Harlequin and Pulcinella could have done in the kitchen, and what in the chapter makes them think that would or would not have worked.
1. The Marionettes keep celebrating Pinocchio while the audience yells, “The play, the play!” Who has the better claim to the stage? What makes you think so?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether a joyful welcome is more important than the show people came to see, and who is being fair.
The audience has the better claim: they came to see a play and the actors stopped it.
the audience, seeing that the play had stopped, became angry and began to yell
The play, the play, we want the play!
The Marionettes have a fair reason: they are overjoyed to see their brother.
It is impossible to describe the shrieks of joy, the warm embraces, the knocks, and the friendly greetings
lifting up Pinocchio on their shoulders, carried him around the stage in triumph
A strong answer The audience came to see the play, and when it stops they become angry and shout for it. The Marionettes make twice as much racket instead, because they are overjoyed to see Pinocchio. A strong answer weighs a promise to a crowd against a happy welcome, and says who has the better claim, using what each side does.
2. The Director has a beard to his feet, a mouth like an oven and a whip of snakes. Why might the author make him look so awful?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the author gets by piling up frightening pictures of the Director before he says a word.
The pictures make him a figure to be afraid of, so the reader feels the room go cold.
He had such a fearful appearance that one look at him would fill you with horror.
Those poor Marionettes, one and all, trembled like leaves in a storm.
The pictures are so big they are a little funny, like a make-believe ogre in a tale.
His mouth was as wide as an oven, his teeth like yellow fangs, and his eyes, two glowing red coals.
with the voice of an ogre suffering with a cold
A strong answer The author gives the Director a beard to his feet, a mouth as wide as an oven, and a whip of green snakes and black cats' tails. That makes the room go still, and the Marionettes tremble like leaves in a storm. Yet some of the pictures are so big, and his voice like an ogre with a cold, that they are also a little funny. A strong answer says what the pictures do and points to the words.
3. Pinocchio tells the Director, “Believe me, your Honor, the fault was not mine.” Is he right? What makes you think so?Character
What it asks It asks whether Pinocchio is honest about who caused the trouble, or is dodging blame as he did with the cat.
He is right: the Marionettes are the ones who stopped the play and called him up.
Pinocchio, come up to me!
the Marionettes, instead of going on with their act, made twice as much racket as before
He is not wholly right: he leaped up to the stage himself, one jump after another.
Pinocchio, with one leap from the back of the orchestra, found himself in the front rows.
With a third, he landed on the stage.
A strong answer Harlequin calls out, Pulcinella and Signora Rosaura join in, and all the Marionettes pour out of the wings, so the play stops because of them. But Pinocchio answers the invitation with three leaps and lands on the stage himself. A strong answer says how much of the fault is his, and uses what happens in the theater.
4. The Director tells Harlequin and Pulcinella to bring Pinocchio, and they hesitate a bit. What might be going on in them? What makes you think so?Inference
What it asks It asks what the pause tells us, when two Marionettes who cheered for Pinocchio are asked to fetch him.
They do not want to do it: the pause shows they are unsure.
Harlequin and Pulcinella hesitated a bit.
A few minutes later they returned, carrying poor Pinocchio, who was wriggling and squirming like an eel
They are afraid of their master: the pause is short and fear decides it.
frightened by a look from their master, they left the kitchen to obey him
A strong answer The chapter says they hesitated a bit, and then, frightened by a look from their master, they left to obey him. The pause could show that they did not want to do it. It could also show that they are afraid and soon give in. A strong answer says what the pause might mean, and uses the words that come right after it.
5. At the start the Marionettes shriek with joy. At the end Pinocchio cries, “I don’t want to die!” How does the mood change? Which words show it?Tone
What it asks It asks how the author moves the chapter from cheering to crying, and which words carry the change.
The mood changes all at once, when the Director appears and everyone goes silent.
At the unexpected apparition, no one dared even to breathe.
One could almost hear a fly go by.
The mood changes bit by bit: the Director speaks, then the kitchen, then the order to bring Pinocchio.
Enough! Be quiet! I’ll take care of you later.
He’ll make a fine fire for this spit.
A strong answer The chapter begins with shrieks of joy and warm embraces and ends with Pinocchio crying pitifully, I don't want to die! The mood turns at the Director's appearance, when no one dares even to breathe. But it darkens more in the kitchen, when he calls Pinocchio a fine fire for his spit. A strong answer says where the mood changes and uses words from the start and the end.
1. In the kitchen, the Director says Pinocchio looks made of well-seasoned wood. Using two things from the chapter, tell what kind of man the Director is.
What it asks It asks what the Director's words and plan in the kitchen show about him.
He is cold and cruel: he sees a Marionette as something to burn.
Bring that Marionette to me! He looks as if he were made of well-seasoned wood.
He’ll make a fine fire for this spit.
He is only practical: he is cooking a lamb and needs wood.
a fine big lamb was slowly turning on the spit
More wood was needed to finish cooking it.
A strong answer The Director needs more wood to finish cooking a lamb, and he decides at once that Pinocchio looks like well-seasoned wood. That is practical, but it is also cruel, because he is calling a living Marionette a fine fire. A strong answer says what kind of man he is, using two things he says or does.
2. Pinocchio takes three leaps to reach the stage. Using two things from the chapter, tell how he feels about being called a brother.
What it asks It asks the student to judge how Pinocchio feels about his welcome, and what he is not thinking about.
He is delighted: he leaps at once and is carried round in triumph.
At such a loving invitation, Pinocchio, with one leap from the back of the orchestra, found himself in the front rows.
carried him around the stage in triumph
He is carried away, and does not think of the trouble it will cause.
With another leap, he was on the orchestra leader’s head.
the audience, seeing that the play had stopped, became angry
A strong answer Pinocchio does not walk to the stage; he leaps three times, once onto the orchestra leader's head, and is carried around on shoulders in triumph. He is plainly delighted to be called a brother. But he does not seem to notice that the audience has become angry. A strong answer says how he feels, using two things the chapter shows.
3. When the Director comes out, no one dares to breathe. Using two things from the chapter, tell what his coming does to the room.
What it asks It asks the student to find how the room changes the moment the Director appears.
It silences everyone: the noise stops at once.
no one dared even to breathe
One could almost hear a fly go by.
It frightens the Marionettes most, since they are the ones who know him.
Those poor Marionettes, one and all, trembled like leaves in a storm.
Harlequin and Pulcinella hesitated a bit. Then, frightened by a look from their master
A strong answer Before the Director appears the theater is full of racket, and after it no one dares even to breathe and you could almost hear a fly go by. The Marionettes tremble like leaves in a storm. A strong answer says what the Director's coming does to the room, using two things the chapter says.