In a sunny little town by the sea in Italy, there lived a kind old man named Geppetto. His workshop smelled of wood shavings and lemon cake. One day, Geppetto carved a little puppet boy from a magical piece of wood. He gave him round brown eyes, rosy painted cheeks, and a cute red hat with a yellow feather. "I shall call you Pinocchio," Geppetto smiled, "and I shall love you like my very own son." And just like that, Pinocchio blinked his wooden eyes and came to life! "Hello, Papa!" said Pinocchio. Geppetto was so happy he cried sawdust tears.
But Pinocchio had one teeny tiny problem. He told fibs. Little ones, at first. "Did you eat the last cookie?" asked Geppetto. "Noooo," said Pinocchio, with cookie crumbs all over his face. And BOING! His little wooden nose grew just a little bit longer. "Pinocchio!" said Geppetto gently. "Your nose grows when you tell fibs. Always tell the truth, my boy. The truth makes your heart strong." But Pinocchio didn't listen. He wanted to go on adventures. So when Geppetto turned around to fix a chair, Pinocchio tiptoed right out the door and ran down the hill toward the sparkling blue sea.
Pinocchio arrived at the beach and gasped. The sea was bluer than blue, the sand was golden, and seagulls sang silly songs. But then he heard something very strange. PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH! Out in the water, a big round blue shark was BOXING the waves! The shark had three wobbly legs in bright red Nike sneakers, giant red boxing gloves, and the goofiest cross-eyed grin Pinocchio had ever seen. "TRALALERO TRALALA!" the shark sang as he punched another wave. Water splashed everywhere. "I am the champion of the sea! Nobody boxes better than me!" Pinocchio giggled. This was the silliest shark in the whole wide world.
"Hey, Mister Shark!" called Pinocchio, wading into the water. "Can you teach me to box?" Tralalero Tralala turned around excitedly. "A fan! TRALALERO TRALALA loves fans!" He wound up his boxing glove for a big friendly wave — but he wound up TOO much. WHOOOOSH! A giant wave scooped up Pinocchio and sent him flying straight into Tralalero's wide open, laughing mouth. GULP! "Oopsie," said Tralalero, blinking his big goofy eyes. He hadn't meant to swallow anyone. He was just a very enthusiastic shark.
Inside Tralalero's belly it was dark and warm and smelled like seaweed and old sneakers. Pinocchio rubbed his wooden head. "Hello?" he called out. "Is anyone there?" "Pinocchio?!" A familiar voice echoed from the shadows. A little lantern flickered on, and there was GEPPETTO! The old man was sitting on a pile of fish bones, looking tired but oh so happy to see his boy. "Papa!" cried Pinocchio, running into his arms. Geppetto had been swallowed by Tralalero two days ago while fishing. "I'm sorry I ran away, Papa. I told a fib and..." BOING. His nose grew again just from almost fibbing. "Oh dear," sighed Pinocchio. They were both stuck inside a boxing shark.
Meanwhile, on the shore, a magical sound echoed across the beach. TUNG! TUNG! TUNG! The sand trembled. The seagulls stopped singing. Even the waves paused for a second. Over the sand dune came a little wooden drum-spirit with the biggest smile carved into his round head. He had stumpy little legs, bright green leaves growing from the top of his head, and in his hand — a glowing pink baseball bat covered in hearts! This was Tung Tung Heartbeat, the magical bonker of love! "Someone needs help!" said Tung Tung, his bat glowing brighter. He could feel it in his wooden heart. His bat always pointed toward someone who needed a bonk of kindness.
Tung Tung Heartbeat spotted the big round shark bobbing in the water, looking confused and a little bit guilty. Tralalero was patting his round belly nervously. He knew he had accidentally swallowed someone and he felt terrible about it, but he didn't know how to fix it. "Don't worry, Mister Shark!" called Tung Tung, waddling into the water on his stumpy legs. "I have just the thing!" He lifted his magical bat high above his head. The pink heart on the bat began to glow and spin. Golden sparkles swirled around it like tiny stars. Tung Tung wound up... and BONK! He bonked Tralalero right on top of his big blue head.
But the bonk didn't hurt at all! Instead, a shower of pastel hearts and golden sparkles exploded into the air like the most beautiful fireworks anyone had ever seen! Pink hearts, purple hearts, golden hearts — they floated everywhere! Tralalero's eyes went wide. His goofy grin got even goofier. A warm fuzzy feeling filled him up from his sneakers to his dorsal fin. He felt SO happy, SO tickled, SO full of love, that he started to laugh. "HAHAHAHAHA! TRALALERO TRALALA!" And when a shark laughs THAT hard, his mouth opens VERY wide. Pinocchio and Geppetto came flying out, surrounded by hearts and sparkles, and landed SPLASH in the shallow water.
Geppetto and Pinocchio sat on the warm sand, dripping wet but safe. Geppetto looked at his little wooden boy with so much love. Pinocchio looked down at his shoes. His long fibbing nose hung all the way to his toes. "Papa," said Pinocchio in a very small voice. "I ran away. I told fibs. I didn't listen when you said to be honest. I'm sorry. I'm really, truly sorry." And he meant every single word. Something magical happened. His long nose began to shrink. Shorter and shorter and shorter, until it was small and round again. But that wasn't all. Pinocchio looked at his hands. They weren't wooden anymore. They were REAL. Warm and soft and real.
The three friends sat together on the beach as the sun painted the sky in pink and orange. Geppetto hugged his real boy tight and laughed with joy. Tralalero Tralala boxed the sunset very gently — just little love taps — sending tiny splashes of gold across the water. And Tung Tung Heartbeat sat between them, tapping his bat softly on the sand. Tung, tung, tung. Like a heartbeat. Like three hearts beating together. "Thank you, Tung Tung," said Pinocchio, hugging the little drum-spirit. "Your bonk of love saved us." Tung Tung's leaves wiggled happily. "Love bonks always work," he said. "But the bravest bonk of all? That was yours, Pinocchio. Telling the truth is the bonkiest bonk there is." And all three of them laughed until the stars came out.
