Pinocchio and his new friends had lots of fun at Paradisle. They ate ice cream for breakfast, played games all afternoon, and stayed up as late as they wanted. Every day really was a holiday.
They had so much fun that they forgot how long they had been at Paradisle. They even forgot about their homes and families. For the first time, Pinocchio felt like a real boy. But he knew that he was still made of wood.
So every night, he would look in the mirror, hoping to see a change. One night, when he looked in the mirror, he saw a change. But it was not the kind of change he wanted. He was covered in fur! Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Pinocchio, let me in!" cried one of his friends.
Pinocchio didn’t want anyone to see his fur.
"Uh, I’m not here now. Come back later," he said.
"Pinocchio, I know you’re in there because you are talking," said the boy. "Now let me in—hurry!"
Pinocchio opened the door, and there stood his friend. He was covered in fur too!
"Pinocchio, you have to help me!" the boy cried.
"Help you? I don’t know how to help you! Look at me, I’m furry too!" said Pinocchio.
Both boys sat on the floor and began to cry. But, when they cried, they sounded like donkeys instead of boys: "Hee-haw, hee-haw!"
Just then, there was another knock on the door.
"Boys, are you all right in there?" the wagon master asked. The wagon master was their friend. He had brought them to Paradisle. He would know what to do.
"Please, help us," they called. But it sounded like "Hee-haw, hee-haw."
When the wagon master saw the boys, his smile turned to an evil laugh.
"Ha-ha-ha! Now, it is time for you to pay for your play," he said. "For months, you have eaten and played without work. Now, you will become donkeys and work for me the rest of your lives!"
"Donkeys?" the boys cried together.
"But sir," said Pinocchio, "I don’t want to be a donkey, I want to be a real boy."
When the wagon master heard this, he laughed. "A real boy? All you are going to be is a real donkey."
He quickly tied a rope around the boys’ necks and led them to the ferry. The two boys tried to call for help, but their friends did not hear. They did not look like boys anymore. They looked like donkeys.
"I will sell one of you to a farmer and the other of you to the circus. The circus will love a talking donkey. Pinocchio, I think you will make a good circus donkey since you like talking so much!" the man said, laughing.
He led the two donkeys onto the ferry. There were many other sad-looking donkeys inside. Now, Pinocchio understood why he had seen so many donkeys that first day. He and all the other donkeys began to cry.