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The Adventures of Pinocchio
Scouts · 1st–3rd
Pinocchio weeps in the ring, and no one knows it. Is that because they cannot see his tears, or because they do not look?
The tension The Manager says aloud that the Donkey fears and hates him, and the crowd cheers a Donkey in ribbons, yet no one sees Pinocchio's tears, while some of the boys are saddened when he falls.
Notice what the crowd, the Manager and Pinocchio each see in the ring, and what no one sees.
The Little Man, still smiling, sells Pinocchio to a circus owner, and the author tells what the Little Man's business is. Pinocchio is whipped until he eats hay and learns his tricks. On opening night he is dressed in ribbons while the Manager speaks of a savage animal tamed by the whip. Pinocchio sees a lady with a medallion of a Marionette, tries to call out to her, brays and is hit on the nose, then sees she is gone. He weeps unseen, falls and goes lame, is sold for four cents for his skin and is thrown into the sea.
Start with the ribbons and the roaring crowd. Ask what the crowd sees when Pinocchio walks into the ring.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the Little Man's trade, the stable, the lessons, opening night, the lady in the box, the fall and the sale.
Imitate the author After copying the sentence, the student says one sentence of their own that lists three things someone does or feels, with the strongest last.
Debate Take sides on the big question: did no one see Pinocchio's tears because they could not, or because they did not look? Each side uses one line from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the author lets the crowd laugh and cheer at the very moment Pinocchio is saddest.
Easier Read the circus scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 2 and 3 only.
On level Talk through all four discussion questions, then have the student give one critical-thinking answer aloud with two details from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where what the crowd sees and what Pinocchio feels do not match.
1. The Little Man pets and brushes the donkeys, then sells them. Is his gentleness real or part of his work? What makes you think so?Character
What it asks It asks whether the Little Man's gentleness is real or only part of how he does business, using what he does before he sells the donkeys.
Real: he pets and smooths them, and keeps his sweet smile.
At first, the Little Man petted and caressed them and smoothed down their hairy coats.
With his usual sweet smile on his lips
Part of his work: he makes them look good so he can sell them.
Satisfied with the looks of the two little animals, he bridled them and took them to a market place far away from the Land of Toys, in the hope of selling them at a good price.
In a few years, he had become a millionaire.
A strong answer The Little Man pets the two Donkeys, smooths their coats and brushes them until they shine like glass, and he keeps his usual sweet smile. But he does it in the hope of selling them at a good price, and he becomes a millionaire. One reading is that the gentleness is real in the moment. Another is that it is the way he does his work. A strong answer picks one and uses what he does next.
2. The Manager tells the crowd the Donkey “fears and hates” him. Why might he say that out loud?Inference
What it asks It asks why the Manager says out loud what he knows about the Donkey, and what the crowd is meant to think when they hear it.
It is part of his act: a wild animal he has tamed makes the Manager look clever.
Observe, I beg of you, the savage look of his eye.
I let you, now, be the judges of my success as a teacher of animals.
He says it plainly because he does not care how the Donkey feels.
I had finally to resort to the gentle language of the whip in order to bring him to my will.
He still fears and hates me.
A strong answer The Manager is speaking to a theater full of people, so part of the speech is an act: he describes a savage Donkey he has tamed, which makes him look clever. But he also says plainly that he had to use the whip and that the Donkey still fears and hates him. A strong answer picks a reason and says what the crowd is meant to think.
3. When Pinocchio falls, the boys call, “We want the little Donkey!” Are they worried for him, or do they just want the show? What makes you think so?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to tell worry from wanting more of a show in the boys' cries, using what they say and what the author tells us.
Worried: the author says they are saddened by the accident.
cried the boys from the orchestra, saddened by the accident
They want the show: they ask for him by name, as boys who came to see him dance.
Pinocchio! We want Pinocchio! We want the little Donkey!
wriggling and dancing about in a fever of impatience to see the famous Donkey dance
A strong answer The author says the boys are saddened by the accident, so they may be worried about the little Donkey. But they ask for him by name, as boys who came to see him dance, and earlier the crowd burst out laughing at his braying while he was trying to call to the Fairy. A strong answer says whether the cries are for Pinocchio or for the show, and uses the boys' words.
4. The Fairy appears in a box, and then she is gone. Why might the author give Pinocchio a moment of hope and then take it away?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author gives Pinocchio a moment of hope and then takes it away, and what that does to the reader.
It makes his sadness sharper, since he was just so happy.
He felt so happy that he tried his best to cry out
And what was his grief when on looking up toward the boxes, he saw that the Fairy had disappeared!
It leaves the reader wondering who she is and why she left.
Around her neck she wore a long gold chain, from which hung a large medallion.
On the medallion was painted the picture of a Marionette.
A strong answer Pinocchio is so happy that he tries to cry out to the Fairy, and then he looks up and she is gone, so the change from joy to grief is very quick. One reading is that the author wants the reader to feel how sharp the loss is. Another is that the reader is left wondering who she is and why she left, since the chapter does not say. A strong answer picks a reading and says what the reader feels.
1. Pinocchio refuses the straw and the hay, then later eats the hay. Using two details, tell what changes his mind.
What it asks It asks the student to weigh hunger against the whip as the reason Pinocchio gives in.
Hunger: he waits many hours and finds nothing else.
It was many hours since he had eaten anything and he started to yawn from hunger.
Finally, not finding anything else in the manger, he tasted the hay.
The whip: after two beatings he stops arguing.
Without more ado, he took a whip and gave the Donkey a hearty blow across the legs.
At that second beating, Pinocchio became very quiet and said no more.
A strong answer Both help, and the chapter shows each one. The master whips him twice and Pinocchio becomes very quiet. Then, alone, he has not eaten for many hours and yawns from hunger, and when nothing else is left in the manger he tastes the hay. A strong answer says which pushes him more and uses two different details.
2. Pinocchio tells himself “Patience!” again and again. Using two details, tell what he is trying to do.
What it asks It asks the student to hear what the word means to Pinocchio: bearing a punishment, or cheering himself on through hunger.
He is bearing a punishment he thinks he earned.
But how much happier I should be if I had studied!
If only my misfortune might serve as a lesson to disobedient boys who refuse to study!
He is cheering himself up and getting through the hunger.
This hay is not bad
“Patience!” he repeated as he chewed.
A strong answer Pinocchio says Patience! right after he wishes he had studied, so one reading is that he is bearing a punishment he thinks he earned and hopes other boys will learn from it. Another is that he is cheering himself on, since he says the hay is not bad, and the next morning he repeats it as he chews the straw. A strong answer picks a reading and uses two different details.
3. Pinocchio is owned by the Manager and then by the drum buyer. Using two details, tell which one treats him worse.
What it asks It asks the student to compare months of whipping with one cruel plan and say which is worse.
The Manager: he whips Pinocchio for months and hits him for braying.
it took him three long months and cost him many, many lashings before he was pronounced perfect
the Manager hit him on the nose with the handle of the whip
The drum buyer: he wants only the skin and throws Pinocchio into the sea.
I want only his skin.
put a stone around his neck, tied a rope to one of his hind feet, gave him a push, and threw him into the water
A strong answer The Manager whips Pinocchio for months, hits him on the nose for braying and calls the whip gentle language. The drum buyer pays four cents only for the skin, then puts a stone around his neck and throws him into the sea. A strong answer picks one and says whether many hurts over time are worse than one cruel act.