Bout de bois (Bit of wood) was commissioned to Jean Cagnard by the Arketal Company, Cannes, France. The text retells the story of Pinocchio by plunging it into a disturbing atmosphere, with critical references to the contemporary world and particularly the invasive presence of television. In a world full of contradictory signals, Pinocchio can’t find his father, ultimately failing the test the blue Fairy gave him: to start his story again so he doesn’t become “ugly, old and self-absorbed”.

Pinocchio has grown old; he is 124 years old, and his nose has become as long as a mammoth's trunk. He spends his life watching television, until the blue-haired Fairy turns him into a piece of wood, as he was at the beginning of his story. Pinocchio has to start again and relive his journey: first he has to find his father Geppetto, to become a puppet again. Pinocchio sets out to find him in the ocean (Geppetto was last seen in the belly of a whale...), but in his quest, he meets only some very strange people: Lamereocéan, a man who waters a forest of noses, Captain Nocchio and Captain Pino, and others (Bout d’alu [Piece-of-aluminum], Bout de plastique [Piece-of-plastic],Cassette vidéo [Video-Cassette]...) who also claim to be called Pinocchio and who, unlike Bout de bois [Piece-of-wood], all manage to find their father. He keeps searching, but nobody can tell him where his father is. Moreover, every time he asks someone for help (each time unsuccessfully), he is forced to give a piece of his body: Bout de bois [Piece-of-wood] becomes smaller and smaller. In the end, Pinocchio doesn’t find his father, but he gets married to blue-haired Petite Télé [Little-Television].And together, they will continue searching...