| The Talking Cricket | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Cricket |
|
First Appearance |
The Adventures of Pinocchio (1881) |
|
Created by |
Carlo Collodi |
Origin[]
The Cricket, who has lived in Geppetto's house for over a century, makes its first appearance in chapter IV where he explains to Pinocchio, whose mischief has landed his creator Geppetto in prison, that children who are lazy and disobedient never come to any good in the world and are often sorry afterwards for what they have done, so he must either attend school or get a job in order to function properly in the world. When Pinocchio refuses to listen, the Cricket expresses sympathy to Pinocchio because "you are a puppet, and what's worse is that you have a head of wood". In response, Pinocchio angrilly throws a mallet at the cricket, seemingly killing it.
The Cricket reappears subsequently in chapter XIII as a shade. He appears to Pinocchio in a dark wood, telling him to return home rather than keep an appointment with The Fox and the Cat, who have deceived Pinocchio into following them on a fool's errand. Pinocchio refuses, and in chapter XIV he is subsequently injured in an encounter with two murderers. The Cricket reappears again in chapter XVI, where he is revealed to be a doctor. He, along with his colleagues the crow and the owl, tends to Pinocchio's injuries, though the Cricket reveals his prior experience with the puppet to the others, describing him as "...a disobedient rascal, who will cause his poor father to die heartbroken!"
The Cricket makes his final appearance in chapter XXXVI, where he is shown to be living in a house given to him by The Fairy with Turquoise Hair. He forgives Pinocchio, and allows him and the ailing Geppetto to stay.
Notes[]
- While the original character who appeared in published works before 1923 is in public domain, the version of the character used by Disney, or any other post-1923 works are, most obviously, NOT (this includes the name "Jiminy Cricket" which was created by Disney).