The Adventures of Pinocchio · Chapter
Pinocchio Finds the Fairy Again explained
Pinocchio swims through a terrible storm to reach an island, where he learns from a polite Dolphin that his father's boat likely sank and Geppetto may have been swallowed by the giant Dogfish.
What happens
Pinocchio swims through a terrible storm to reach an island, where he learns from a polite Dolphin that his father's boat likely sank and Geppetto may have been swallowed by the giant Dogfish. He arrives at the Village of the Industrious Bees, where everyone works. Hungry and ashamed to beg, he refuses offers of food in exchange for labor until a kind little woman tempts him with bread, cauliflower, and a syrup bonbon. After eating ravenously, he recognizes her as the Fairy with blue hair and embraces her, weeping.
Themes in this chapter
Education and Labor
Pinocchio's refusal to work and his shame at begging highlight the lesson that able-bodied individuals must earn their bread through labor.
Deception and Gullibility
Pinocchio is easily frightened by the Dolphin's exaggerated tale of the Dogfish, showing his gullibility.
Transformation and Identity
Pinocchio's recognition of the Fairy in her new guise underscores themes of identity and change.
Characters to notice
- Pinocchio
Swims through a storm, learns of the Dogfish, refuses work out of pride, finally accepts labor for food, and recognizes the Fairy.
- Geppetto
Mentioned as missing; his boat may have sunk and he may have been swallowed by the Dogfish.
- The Fairy
Appears disguised as a kind little woman carrying water cans; Pinocchio recognizes her by her blue hair and voice.
- The Dogfish
Described by the Dolphin as enormous, bigger than a five-storied house, and a threat to the waters.
Key passages
“The waves, racing and tumbling over each other, knocked him about as if he had been a stick or a wisp of straw.”
The rough waves tossed Pinocchio around like a piece of debris.
Describes the violence of the sea during Pinocchio's swim.
“I need only tell you that he is bigger than a five-storied house, and that his mouth is so enormous and so deep that a railway train with its smoking engine could pass down his throat.”
The Dogfish is so huge that a train could fit inside its mouth.
The Dolphin's hyperbolic description of the Dogfish's size.
“The really poor in this world, deserving of compassion and assistance, are only those who from age or sickness are no longer able to earn their own bread with the labor of their hands.”
Only the elderly or sick deserve charity; others should work for their food.
Pinocchio recalls his father's lesson about the dignity of labor.