A Whale of a Tale - from Pinocchio

Tuesday, July 27, 2010
When you love someone, their life can mean more to you than your own


To become a real boy, all the wooden puppet, Pinocchio, had to do was be brave, truthful, and unselfish. But he was having trouble living up to any of those ideals. He had already lied to the Blue Fairy. And then he had been weak and selfish by going to Pleasure Island, where he had smoked cigars, played pool, and almost been turned into a donkey.

Ashamed, Pinocchio swam back to the mainland with Jiminy Cricket. Outside Geppetto's workshop, Pinocchio cried, "Father! Father, I'm home!". No one Answered. Geppetto was gone. And, from the look of the dust and cobwebs, he had been gone a while.

As Pinocchio and Jiminy sat outside, a dove dropped a piece of paper at their feet. The note said that Geppetto had gone looking for Pinocchio and been swallowed by a whale named Monstro. Apparently Geppetto was still alive inside the whale, which was resting at the bottom of the sea.



"I'm going to find my father," Pinocchio declared. "I'm going to the bottom of the sea."

On a high cliff, Pinocchio tied a heavy rock to his tail. Jiminy grabbed hold of the rope and plunged into the water with Pinocchio. At the bottom of the sea, Jiminy grabbed a smaller rock to use as a weight. Pinocchio wandered into a school of fish, and before he knew it, he was swept into the whale's belly.

Pinocchio saw his father sitting forlornly in his fishing boat.

"Father!" cried Pinocchio. "I've come to save you."

"No, Pinocchio. There's no way out. Monstro only opens his mouth when he's eating. Then everything comes in - nothing goes out."

Pinocchio thought hard. "Father! We'll build a big fire, and the smoke will make Monstro sneeze!"

They started a blaze with some of the wood from Geppetto's boat. As the flames grew, Pinocchio and Geppetto hastily built a raft with the remaining wood.

The whale shook, then sneezed. The tremendous force sent the little raft hurtling out of Monstro's mouth.



The furious whale swam beneath the raft and thrust it into the air. Geppetto and Pinocchio tumbled into the sea. "Hurry, Father!" cried Pinocchio.

"I can't make it, son. Save yoursel."

"No, Father, I won't leave you!" Pinocchio grabbed Geppetto's shirt and dragged him to shore. There was no way he was going to lose sight of his father now.

Later, after both Pinocchio and Geppetto were safely at home, the Blue Fairy rewarded Pinocchio by making him into a real boy.

He had proven himself brave, truthful and unselfish.