Geppetto carried his talking wood home carefully. Geppetto’s home was simple and clean. He had one large room with a bed, a table, his tools, and a stove. Although Geppetto worked hard, he did not have very much money. But he didn’t mind.
"Now, where should I start?" he wondered aloud. "I’ve never made a boy before."
"Start with the legs! That way I can run fast!" said the wood.
"No, I think you had better have eyes first, so you don’t run into walls. I don’t want you to get hurt," Geppetto said.
He was happy to be making his very own boy. He started first by carving out the face, and then he carved the eyes. As the wood looked more like a boy’s face, he became excited about what he and his boy could do together. What fun they would have!
"There, your eyes look very smart. How well can you see?" Geppetto asked.
"Oh, it’s terrible!" cried the wood.
"What’s wrong?" asked Geppetto, worried. He thought maybe the wood was blind.
"We are very poor! Look at this small room! I want to be rich, not poor," the wood said. Geppetto was sad that his boy was ashamed of his home. He promised himself that his boy would have whatever he needed.
"I will carve out your ears next, so that you can hear and learn," Geppetto said.
Geppetto worked carefully on the wood all through the day. He carved hair, a nose, and a smile before lunch. Then, he shared his first meal of bread and cheese with his boy.
"You and I will have great fun together, boy," said Geppetto as he ate his meal. He tore off some bread and put it into the boy’s mouth. "Only I shouldn’t call you 'boy'. You need a name. What should we name you?"
"I know! My name can be Prince Edmund of the Great Woods," said the wood. He liked the name because it sounded big and important.
"That is too big a name for such a small boy. Since you are made of pinewood, I will call you Pinocchio. What do you think?" asked Geppetto. He wanted to pick a name the boy would like.
"Yes—Pinocchio. That sounds important, though it doesn’t sound as grand as Prince Edmund of the Great Woods. I think it will be fine," he agreed.
"Wonderful! Pinocchio it is! To celebrate, I will carve your arms and legs so we can dance!" And Geppetto carved quickly.
As soon as Geppetto finished carving Pinocchio’s feet, Pinocchio jumped to the floor and ran out of the front door.
"Wait!" Geppetto called out. "Pinocchio, where are you going?"
"I am off to find adventures!" Pinocchio called.
"But, you don’t have any clothes on yet! You can’t run away if you are naked! Please, don’t leave!" Geppetto cried, as he ran after Pinocchio. Unfortunately, Geppetto forgot to leave his knife on the table.
He was running after Pinocchio with his knife still in his hand! The neighbors thought he wanted to hurt Pinocchio, so they called for the police: "Police, police! Catch him!"
One of the policemen was nearby, and he ran into the street just in time to catch Geppetto. He would not let Geppetto explain about Pinocchio. The policeman was scared of Geppetto’s knife, so he threw him in jail for the night.