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The Adventures of Pinocchio
Scouts · 1st–3rd
Pinocchio says no to the Fox and Cat, firmly, and a few minutes later says “Let us go.” What carries him from one to the other: the Fox's promise, or something in Pinocchio himself?
The tension Pinocchio gives firm reasons for going home to Father, yet a promise of two thousand gold pieces and the thought “What good people” leave him forgetting every one of them.
Notice what reasons Pinocchio gives for saying no, and what he says only a few minutes later.
The next day Fire Eater gives Pinocchio five gold pieces for Geppetto, and Pinocchio sets off for home full of joy. He meets a lame Fox and a blind Cat, shows them his gold, and says he will buy Father a coat and himself a book. A Blackbird warns him against bad advice, and the Cat eats it. The Fox offers to multiply the gold in the Field of Wonders, Pinocchio says no, and then, forgetting his father and his resolutions, says “Let us go.”
Start with Pinocchio's no: ask what reasons he gives, and then ask what he says only a few minutes later.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: Fire Eater's gift, the Fox and the Cat, the gold, the Blackbird, the offer, the no, the Field of Wonders, and the yes.
Imitate the author After copying the sentence, the student writes one sentence in the same pattern: a list of things someone forgot, then what they said.
Debate Take sides: what carried Pinocchio from no to yes, the Fox's promise or something in Pinocchio? Each side uses one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why a story might let Pinocchio say no and then yes in one chapter.
Easier Read the Field of Wonders talk aloud together in two voices and talk through discussion questions 2 and 5 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 Pinocchio would have needed to hear to say no a second time, and what in the chapter makes them think so.
1. The Fox tells Pinocchio he saw Geppetto “in his shirt sleeves trembling with cold.” Why might the Fox say that to him?Inference
What it asks It asks why the Fox brings up Geppetto's cold, and what he gains by showing he knows Pinocchio's family.
He wants Pinocchio to trust him: knowing Geppetto makes him seem like a friend.
I know your father well.
I saw him yesterday standing at the door of his house.
He is only telling what he saw, and it matches what Pinocchio told Fire Eater about the coat.
He was in his shirt sleeves trembling with cold.
he had to sell the only coat he owned
A strong answer Pinocchio has just asked how the Fox knows his name, and the Fox answers that he knows his father well and saw him trembling with cold. That could be a way to make Pinocchio feel he has met a friend. It could also be a plain report of what he saw, since it fits what Pinocchio told Fire Eater about the coat. A strong answer says why the Fox mentions it, and does not claim more than the chapter shows.
2. The Cat says he killed the Blackbird to teach him a lesson. What do you think the Cat really wanted? What makes you think so?Character
What it asks It asks what the Cat is after: to stop a warning, or simply to eat, and what his words and actions show.
He wanted to silence the warning so that Pinocchio would keep listening.
Pinocchio, do not listen to bad advice. If you do, you’ll be sorry!
He talks too much. Next time he will keep his words to himself.
He wanted a meal, as a cat would, and the lesson is only his excuse.
the Cat leaped on him, and ate him, feathers and all.
After eating the bird, he cleaned his whiskers, closed his eyes, and became blind once more.
A strong answer The Blackbird warns Pinocchio not to listen to bad advice, and the Cat leaps on him at once, then says he talks too much. That fits wanting the warning silenced. But the Cat also eats the bird, feathers and all, and cleans his whiskers, which fits plain hunger. A strong answer says what the Cat wanted, points to the words that show it, and notices that the lesson is only the Cat's own word for it.
3. Again and again the Cat just repeats the end of what the Fox says. Why might the author write the Cat that way?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the echoing does for the story: for the fun of it, or for how the pair sounds to Pinocchio.
It is comic: the Cat is like an echo, and the pair is a funny double act.
“You’ll be sorry,” repeated the Cat.
“Of course not!” repeated the Cat.
It makes the Fox sound surer, because two voices seem to agree.
We work only to enrich others.
“To enrich others!” repeated the Cat.
A strong answer The Cat echoes the Fox again and again: you'll be sorry, Dame Fortune, two thousand, to enrich others. That makes the pair a funny double act, like two halves of one voice. It also makes everything the Fox says sound as if two of them agree, which could make it sound surer to Pinocchio. A strong answer says what the echo does, and points to one place where it happens.
4. The Fox laughs at the idea of a rich Pinocchio, and Pinocchio shows him the gold. Was that wise? What makes you think so?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether answering a laugh by showing off the gold is sensible or only proud, and what each side of it gains or risks.
It was not wise: he shows his gold to two he has only just met, and boasts as he does it.
I am very sorry to make your mouth water, but these, as you know, are five new gold pieces.
And he pulled out the gold pieces which Fire Eater had given him.
It was understandable: the Fox laughed first, and Pinocchio only told the truth about why he has it.
“You, a rich man?” said the Fox, and he began to laugh out loud.
There is nothing to laugh at,” cried Pinocchio angrily.
A strong answer The Fox laughs out loud at the idea of a rich Pinocchio, and Pinocchio, angry, pulls out five gold pieces. He proves his point. But he is showing his gold to two companions he has only just met, and says he is sorry to make their mouths water. A strong answer weighs standing up for himself against showing the gold, and says whether wise fits.
5. At the end Pinocchio forgets his father, the coat, the book and his good resolutions. Which one would be hardest to forget? Why?Theme
What it asks It asks the student to weigh the four things Pinocchio forgets, and to say which one matters most to him earlier in the chapter.
His father: the gold is for him, and Pinocchio says Father is waiting.
Home is near, and I’m going where Father is waiting for me.
How unhappy he must be that I have not yet returned!
His good resolutions: they are promises he made to himself about school and being good.
I want to go to school and study hard.
I have been a bad son
A strong answer Pinocchio forgets his father, the coat, the book and his good resolutions. His father is the reason he has the gold at all, and he said Father was waiting. But his resolutions were his own promises to himself about school and being good, and he says he has been a bad son. A strong answer picks one and says what it was worth to him earlier in the chapter, staying with what the chapter shows.
1. Pinocchio says no to the City of Simple Simons. Using two things from the chapter, tell why he says no.
What it asks It asks what reasons Pinocchio gives for refusing, whether they are about his father or about what he has learned.
He says no for his father's sake: Father is waiting and must be unhappy.
Home is near, and I’m going where Father is waiting for me.
How unhappy he must be that I have not yet returned!
He says no for what he has learned, and the fright still on him.
I have learned this at my own expense.
The shivers run up and down my back at the mere thought of it.
A strong answer Pinocchio says no because home is near and Father is waiting and must be unhappy, which is a reason about his father. He also says he has learned at his own expense that a disobedient boy cannot be happy, and the thought of the theater makes the shivers run down his back, which is a reason about himself. A strong answer says which reason sounds strongest, using two things from the chapter.
2. The Fox explains the Field of Wonders. Using two things from the chapter, tell how he makes the plan sound easy and good.
What it asks It asks the student to find how the Fox's talk makes the plan appealing: by making it simple, or by pressing Pinocchio to hurry.
He makes it sound simple, with a few easy steps and a quick sum.
In this field you dig a hole and in the hole you bury a gold piece.
Why, you can figure it on your fingers!
He presses Pinocchio to decide quickly, with a big promise and a warning.
Think well, Pinocchio, you are turning your back on Dame Fortune.
Tomorrow your five gold pieces will be two thousand!
A strong answer The Fox says you dig a hole, bury a gold piece, water it and go to bed, and that you can figure the sum on your fingers, so it sounds easy. He also says Pinocchio is turning his back on Dame Fortune and that tomorrow five gold pieces will be two thousand, which makes it sound like a chance that will not wait. A strong answer picks one way the Fox makes it sound good and uses two things from the chapter.
3. The Fox and the Cat each hide something from Pinocchio. Using two things from the chapter, tell what they do when he is not noticing.
What it asks It asks what the Fox and the Cat do when they think Pinocchio is not noticing, and what that shows.
They give themselves away without meaning to, at the sound of the gold.
the Fox unconsciously held out his paw that was supposed to be lame
the Cat opened wide his two eyes till they looked like live coals
They are careful to hide what they feel, and they do it fast.
he closed them again so quickly that Pinocchio did not notice
The Cat was laughing also, but tried to hide it by stroking his long whiskers.
A strong answer At the tinkle of gold the Fox holds out the paw that was supposed to be lame, and the Cat opens wide his eyes till they look like live coals. But the Cat closes them again so quickly that Pinocchio does not notice, and he hides his laughing by stroking his whiskers. A strong answer says what they do, using two things from the chapter.