Letter to Johnny Dorelli

Note: In 1959, the Italian singer Johnny Dorelli launched the song “Lettera a Pinocchio”

Dear Signor Dorelli,

I hope you don't mind me asking for assistance in tracing the writer of “Lettera a Pinocchio”, who, I seem to remember, was a young girl who, having read about me, considered me her dearest friend and wished to hear how I was getting on.

“Where are you? I'd like to see you, I'd like to know about your world”, she had written in this missive dated 1959.

You may recall that back then you assumed the mantle of being its messenger and duly delivered it.

The message reached its destination but, to my shane, it has laid dormant in my post box all this time without acknowledgement or reply.

I would like to offer an explanation on how this unfortunate situation arose.

When the letter arrived, I had recently been carved into a puppet from a piece of wood by Geppetto, a retired carpenter, and I was scarcely human.

I was gradually learning to eat and speak but could not read and neither could Geppetto.

When I eventually grew up and learned that skill, I got into bad company with tricksters like the Cat and the Fox who led me astray and taught me to misbehave.

I was eventually brought back to the right path by my good friends. the Cricket and the Blue Fairy

With my reputation restored, I was invited to Hollywood where Walt Disney made a film of my adventures.

This took all my time and I neglected to attend to all correspondence.

I want to atone and apologise to the young lady for my tardiness in thankig her for her kind words.

Many thanks for your valued assistance and best wishes.

Yours sincerely, Pinocchio.