Pinocchio: Book 1 Chapter 4

Verse 1
Pinocchio embarked on his adventure to find someone to pull his strings.

First his staff sent him here, then there,

each direction a new lie.

But Pinocchio accepted it all blindly.

The staff only watched, smirking its horrible smirk.

"Hm? That's strange.

Is it just me, or did your nose get longer, staff?"

If anyone's nose is going to grow, it's going to be mine, right?

But you're a boy now.

If your nose grew, you'd be a monster!

I guess you're right. But...

When did I become human?

Verse 2
It's too much trouble to put effort into anything...

Studying's no fun, so why do it?

I jumped at the first chance I got to do something easier.

Verse 3
He was told he could be a star if he joined the theater.

But then they tried to use him as kindling for the furnace.

Verse 4
He was tricked into going to a circus across the sea, only to be forced into labor and sold instead.

Verse 5
I never think my actions through.

It's easier to let others decide for me.

That never stopped Mr. Geppetto from loving me.

Verse 6
So how did I wind up becoming a human in the end?

Verse 7
Why did that fairy think an idiot like me could behave well enough to become a real boy?

Verse 8
When was I ever well-behaved?

Am I being a good boy right now?

I have no idea how to live...

Verse 9
Maybe I'm a fake...

Maybe I never became a real boy at all.

Verse 10
Fear struck Pinocchio.

Deep down, he is a puppet.

A wooden puppet fashioned by old man Geppetto.

There must be countless others out there, just like him.

And yet...

This puppet, before his very eyes, looked all too familiar.

It was an exact replica.

That's me...isn't it?

No lie! It is! It's definitely Pinocchio!

But it's a Pinocchio shrouded in darkness!

Oh my...In that case...

Will I turn into that someday?

* Clunkity-clunk*

The other Pinocchio crumpled in a heap.

The staff let out an ear-splitting assault of curses and lurched forward to attack.

Pinocchio could only watch as the staff in his hand beat the fallen corpse.

"Please... Someone... Explain this madness to me."

The other one...

The other puppet was bashed to pieces.

Discordant Poem
A nose that grows when you lie.

It makes your deception obvious, so why lie in the first place?

Careful.

One mistake

and you'll be replaced.

One just like him, but soaked in darkness.

In it he could see his own fate as nothing more than a pile of kindling.