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Copywork
About This Passage
This is the discovery scene — the moment when the glimmer of light Pinocchio chased at the end of the last chapter turns into a candle, a table, and a snow-white old man eating fish in the belly of a sea monster. Collodi pauses the action with 'I will let you guess a thousand times' to let the strangeness sink in. Copying this passage helps a young reader feel the picture-book hush of the moment, where the impossible has been domesticated into a quiet supper.
The more he walked, the clearer and more distinct became the light, until finally he arrived at the end of the passage. What did he find? I will let you guess a thousand times. He found a little table...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell the story of this chapter from the moment Pinocchio leaves the Tunny to the moment he swims out of the Dogfish with Geppetto on his back. Be sure to include the candlelit table, the long confession, the two-year imprisonment, the failed first escape, the sneeze, and the smooth moonlit sea.
Discussion Questions
- What in the story shows that Pinocchio's first words to Geppetto were the words of a son and not a stranger? How do you know he had been carrying these words for many chapters?
- How does Pinocchio's long retelling of his adventures help you understand who he has become? What does it mean that he is willing to name even the worst choices he made?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
feeling around with the hands because you cannot see; Pinocchio walks groping in the darkness inside the Dogfish.
Item 2
having a sharp, strong smell; the puddle inside the Dogfish has a pungent odor of fried fish.
Item 3
clear and easy to see or hear; the more Pinocchio walks, the more distinct the light becomes.
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Critical Thinking
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