As a young boy, Jiminy traveled with his parents and their puppet show from town to town. While his parents ran the show, it was up to Jiminy to pick the pockets of the crowd. He hated the living the life of a vagabond thief, but he could never escape his parents. As a young man, he grew so desperate that he made a deal with Rumplestiltskin for a magical elixir that would solve all of his problems. But his father swapped the elixir with harmless rainwater that they had been attempting to pawn off on some locals as a cure for plague. To Jiminy’s horror, the elixir, taken by two innocent people, turned them into puppets, leaving their son, Gepetto, an orphan. Jiminy finally escaped his parents when the Blue Fairy granted his wish to be turned into a cricket.