Land of Toys

Common card · No. 405453

The Land of Toys (Italian: il paese dei balocchi) is a fictional location in the Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) that is disguised as a haven of freedom and anarchy for children, but is eventually discovered to be far more sinister. To its unsuspecting visitors (like Pinocchio and Candlewick), the Land of Toys appears to be a fantastic haven for wayward children to do whatever they want with no consequences or law; to act as they please without fear of punishment. However, the truer and more sinister purpose of the Land of Toys is eventually revealed: by means of a disease called "donkey fever" that affects children who never study or work, the children turn physically into donkeys (in Italian culture, the donkey is symbolic of ignorance, stupidity, goofiness and labor). Subsequently, they get sold by The Coachman to different places. Described as a "land of Cocagne", the novel implies that it is at least as large as a township, although the size and nature of the location...

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