The Saddle Creek Series 5-Book Bundle. Shelley Peterson

Runaway Island for Pinocchio’s school book; the book that Geppetto had bought in exchange for his only warm coat.

      The Fairy enters and asks Pinocchio, “Why are you not going to school like Geppetto thinks?”

      Pinocchio answers, “But I am, Blue-Winged Fairy! I’m helping my friend to find his way first, then I’m going straight to school!”

      Pinocchio’s nose begins to grow. It grows longer and longer until it’s a foot long.

      “What’s wrong with my nose?” Pinocchio cries in great distress.

      “Your nose will grow until you tell the truth.”

      “Help me! Help me, Blue-Winged Fairy!”

      “Only the truth can save you, Pinocchio.”

      “Okay, okay. I lied! I’ll go to school, I promise! I was going with the other boys to Runaway Island. The Fox said that’s where real boys go! But now I won’t. I’m going to go to school.”

      The Blue-Winged Fairy believes him. She takes pity on the puppet and shrinks his nose back to normal size. She shows her pleasure as he dutifully heads for school.

      The Blue-Winged Fairy exits the stage as Wickley, the bad boy, appears in the schoolyard to entice Pinocchio away from school to Runaway Island.

      Abby breathed deeply. It had gone well. She had no more scenes until after the intermission.

      When the doors opened at intermission, Cody scanned the crowd for his Abby. Samuel Owens had been preparing his equipment, but now Cody watched him slide down below the windows in his car to become invisible to the crowds of people streaming outside to stretch their legs.

      Some smoked. Some got drinks. But all of them chatted noisily. Cody knew that these humans were happy about whatever they were doing inside the big old barn. The place where his Abby remained.

      Fifteen minutes later, the people began to re-enter the theatre. The second act was about to begin.

      Samuel Owens’ head appeared. Cody shifted his position. He was patient.

      The second act began on time.

      The curtain rises on an extravagant, colourful carnival scene, with jugglers, acrobats, candy carts, and gambling games. Shifty dealers lure boys into card games. All the boys are yelling and eating candy. Some boys have donkey tails. Others have tails and ears. Some are total donkeys, fur and all.

      Pinocchio has grown a tail and ears, but doesn’t know it until he goes to the pond for a drink of water and sees his reflection. He is horrified and begins to cry. “What will Geppetto say?” he wails.

      The Blue-Winged Fairy appears. “Pinocchio, it’s me, the Blue-Winged Fairy.”

      “Oh, Blue-Winged Fairy, help me, please. I’ve been bad, and I want so much to be good, but I don’t know how. What should I do?”

      “You should leave this place and go back to school. It’s not good for you. The boys are so selfish that they’re turning into donkeys, as you well see. And so are you.”

      “But how can I go to school looking like this?” Pinocchio grabs his tail and pulls it. He takes an ear in each hand and tugs. They don’t come off.

      “I can help, but you must promise me something.”

      “Anything, anything at all!”

      “Will you keep your promise this time?”

      Pinocchio looks sheepish. “Yes. I promise I will.”

      “Then you must go to the Truant Sea and find Geppetto. He is heartbroken. He searches for you endlessly. He thinks you’re lost at sea.”

      “I’ll do it!” cries Pinocchio. “I’ll go right now!”

      As the audience watches, The Blue-Winged Fairy magically removes his tail and ears with a wave of her wand. She winks, then disappears, tail and ears hidden in a convenient pocket in her billowing blue skirt.

      Each actor removes a cart or a table or a piece of scenery as they go. The lights change. The boisterous carnival is replaced in seconds by an angry sea, with Geppetto rowing a boat through huge waves created by offstage workers pulling and flapping stretches of green, blue, and grey fabric. The boat is on swivelling wheels, with a cut-out section at the bottom where Geppetto’s feet create the movement.

      “Pinocchio!” Geppetto hollers mournfully. “Pinocchio! I’m here to save you!” The old man looks exhausted. The wind howls and the ocean roars.

      “Pinocchio!” Geppetto calls. He’s a beaten man, rowing against the waves.

      He is unaware of a giant dogfish stealthily moving up behind him. The giant predator opens its fearsome jaws.

      Pinocchio appears on the bank. Seeing Geppetto about to be consumed, he jumps headlong into the raging sea and swims toward him, dodging waves and breathing hard.

      “I’m here, Geppetto! I’m coming to save you!”

      Just as he reaches the rowboat, the dogfish swallows them whole—Geppetto, Pinocchio, rowboat, and all.

      The waves disappear as a painted scrim rolls down from above, hiding the mechanical dogfish. A huge interior mouth complete with tonsils and glottis covers the entire stage area. Geppetto and Pinocchio appear to be inside the dogfish with their ruined boat.

      “Pinocchio, my brave little puppet!” Geppetto hugs Pinocchio.

      “Father! I’ve been bad!” Pinocchio hugs him back, repentant.

      “Never mind all that. It’s so good to see you!” Geppetto heartily forgives him as he pats his back joyfully.

      The Blue-Winged Fairy appears. She watches and approves, then fades away. This effect is achieved by lighting. Abby stands on a stool behind the scrim, which is translucent. She cannot be seen until a special light illuminates her. When the light fades, she disappears from view, leaving only the scrim, painted like the dogfish’s mouth.

      Pinocchio and Geppetto worry about how to escape. It looks hopeless, but they have each other.

      When the dogfish finally sleeps, he snores. Pinocchio and Geppetto time the snores and jump out of his mouth at the perfect second. They must swim for their lives, but Geppetto doesn’t swim.

      Pinocchio,becauseofhisbuoyantwoodenbody,dragsGeppetto to the shore, where Trooper waits. Geppetto is unconscious.

      The Blue-Winged Fairy appears on the beach.

      “Pinocchio, you saved Geppetto’s life.”

      “I’ve caused him nothing but grief! Will he live? Will he be all right?” Pinocchio looks with sadness at Geppetto’s unmoving form.

      “Yes, Pinocchio, Geppetto will be fine. Roll him onto his stomach.”

      Pinocchio does this, and says, “I love him more than anything on earth.”

      “That is why I’m here, Pinocchio. You have learned the most important lesson about being human. You’ve learned that loving and caring for someone else is more important than being selfish and doing only what you want.

      “When Geppetto awakes, he will find a real boy sitting with him on this beach. Pinocchio, you have passed the test. You have earned the right to become a real boy.”

      With a grand wave of the Blue-Winged Fairy’s wand, sparks fly and crackle.

      Pinocchio ecstatically tests his arms and legs and feels his skin. Music plays while Geppetto wakes and realizes that his dream has come true. Pinocchio is a real boy. They dance and laugh and leap around the beach.

      Outside the theatre, Cody watched as Samuel Owens laughed like a maniac. The coyote’s ruff bristled. He howled softly.

      “The grand finale!” Owens yelled. He chortled and hooted and giggled as he prepared to light the fuse. His masterful plan