The Adventures of Pinocchio
Carlo Collodi, 1883.
Before you read: Collodi’s original is rougher than many film versions. Pinocchio is lied to, scared, and sometimes cruel before he changes.
A piece of talking wood becomes a puppet boy who skips school, trusts foxes, and grows a nose when he lies. Collodi first published the tale in a children’s paper, and the early chapters are willing to punish Pinocchio hard. The famous wish to be a “real boy” sits beside a simpler lesson about telling the truth and not abandoning the people who feed you. This English translation is the public-domain text, not a studio rewrite.
Public-domain text.