Twisted Wonderland 2

Took Long Enough

You hear the sounds of kids laughing and you open your eyes to see you're in an old village. You're sitting against a stone wall as children run past you, carrying book bags and chatting to their friends. You guess they're on their way to school. As you get up, you spot two people that stand out from the crowd. A tall fox and a short cat walking together.

The fox is dressed in a patched green suit, a blue cape with red lining and a top hat. He carries a cane and has a sly grin. The cat has orange and white fur, a mischievous smile and bright green eyes. He is dressed in a patched purple outfit with sleeves much too long for him, and a yellow cape, along with a small top hat.

The fox smiles at the children passing by him. "Gideon, listen. The merry laughter of little, innocent children wending their way to school. Thirsty little minds rushing to the fountain of knowledge. School. A noble institution. What would this stupid world be without-"

The fox pauses when he sees a poster on the wall of a man performing with puppets.

The fox grins, tapping his cane against the poster. "Well, well, well! Stromboli! So that old rascal's back in town, eh?" He looks to the cat with a laugh. "Remember, Giddy, the time I tied strings on you and passed you off as a puppet? We nearly put one over on that old gypsy that time."

Gideon only nods and cackles silently.

To your surprise, you see Pinocchio. He merrily skips by the duo, carrying books and an apple as he turns a corner.

The fox watches him go before turning back to his companion. "A little wooden boy. Now, who-" He whirls around. "A WOODEN BOY!"

The fox drags the cat as the peer around the corner and watch Pinocchio curiously. "Look, Giddy. Look. It's amazing! A live puppet without strings." He grins slyly. "A thing like that ought to be worth a fortune to someone."

The fox brings a hand to his chin and glances around. "Now, let me see..." He spots the poster and his eyes light up. "That's it! Stromboli! Why, that fat, old faker would give his-Listen! If we play our cards right, we'll be on Easy Street, or my name isn't Honest John. Quick! We'll head him off."

You can't believe what you just saw. So they're going to exploit Pinocchio just for a quick buck? But that's not right!

The two quickly race ahead of Pinocchio and hide on the other side of the wall.

John speaks in a hushed whisper. "Shh! Now's our-"

Gideon swings a large mallet behind his head and glances behind the wall to Pinocchio.

"No, no, stupid. Don't be crude." John takes the mallet and baps Gideon on the head. "Let me handle this. Here he comes." The fox turns his back to the wall. "Yes, Giddy, as I was saying to the duchess only yesterday..."

As Pinocchio passes by, John sticks his cane out and causes Pinocchio to trip. The poor boy stumbles and his books go flying to the ground. John and Gideon immediately rush to help.

"Oh! Oh, how clumsy of me!" John lifts Pinocchio to his feet and dusts him off. "Oh, my, my, my, my. Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Oh, I do hope you're not injured."

Pinocchio only smiles at strangers. "I'm all right."

Gideon uses a brush to dust the boy off and sneakily tries reaching his hand into Pinocchio's back pocket.

"Ah, splendid!" John hits Gideon on the head. "Well, well. Quite a scholar, I see." He picks up a book and holds it upside down as he shows it to the cat. "Look Giddy, a man of letters. Here's your book."

"I'm going to school." Pinocchio says as he takes his books.

John picks up the apple and rubs it against his sleeve and takes a bite out of it. "School! Ah, yes. Then you haven't heard of the easy road to success."