The Real Pinocchio As You Never Knew Him Charles Merrell If I wanted to catch your attention I would write the 1st paragraph of a book this way: DzJust at that moment, the door of the room opened and four rabbits, black as ink, entered, carrying on their shoulders a coffin. dz This is not the opening sentence but it is from The Adventures of Pinocchio, by the Italian author Carlo Collodi (1826 – 1890) Four rabbits, black as ink…… Is this not the Pinocchio you remember as a child ? The original Pinocchio was much different than the character most people think of today. Much darker and very unlikable.