The original Pinocchio was a violent, selfish puppet who met a gruesome end

Art · Published 3 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Forget the sanitized Disney version. Carlo Collodi’s 1883 classic is a dark, slapstick-heavy cautionary tale. In the original text, the wooden marionette is a brat who kills his mentor, gets hanged by bandits, and experiences a much grittier path to redemption than the animated film suggests.

First serialized in 1881 in the Giornale dei bambini, Carlo Collodi’s story was intended as a stern warning against bad behavior. The narrative follows a marionette named Pinocchio, carved from enchanted wood by a poor puppeteer named Geppetto. Almost immediately, the puppet displays a malicious streak, abusing his creator and running away. When a Talking Cricket attempts to offer moral guidance, Pinocchio responds by killing it with a hammer.

The puppet’s journey is defined by a series of grim consequences. He is repeatedly tricked by a Fox and a Cat, who eventually hang him from a tree in an attempt to steal his gold. While a Fairy with Azure Hair intervenes to save him, Pinocchio’s propensity for lying causes his nose to grow, a detail that has since become a cultural shorthand for dishonesty. His path to becoming a real boy is far from linear; he is twice led astray from school, once transforming into a donkey, and eventually finds himself swallowed by a Terrible Shark.

The original ending was significantly darker than the version most readers know today. Collodi initially concluded the serial with Pinocchio’s death by hanging. It was only due to the intense disappointment of his readers that the publishers insisted he resurrect the character to continue his adventures. While the book remains a staple of children’s literature, it is fundamentally a pedagogical tool rooted in Tuscan folk traditions, emphasizing that disobedience and dishonesty lead to inevitable suffering.

Today, the work is considered one of the most translated books in history, with estimates of its reach varying wildly. While some sources suggest 35 million copies sold and others claim 80 million, these figures remain difficult to verify. Despite the uncertainty of its commercial success, its status as a foundational piece of Italian literature is undisputed, serving as a complex, often brutal exploration of the human condition.

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