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The Puppet Show |
Giuseppe is a puppeteer. He is given some special wood by a forest spirit. He uses it to make puppets whose performances have the power to change things in the real world. The puppet shows cause chaos in the town until Giuseppe and the town figure out how to use the puppet's power to benefit all. |
Years and years ago, it was quite common for master puppeteers to put on performances in town squares. These puppeteers were very talented artists who would make their own puppets, create stories, and manipulate the puppets in performances that would delight audiences, especially as crowds spent leisurely Sunday afternoons strolling in the center of their towns or villages. This art was passed down from generation to generation by families of famous craftsmen. Slowly, over time, as the modern age provided technologies that changed entertainment, this art form started to die away. However, in one small town, nestled in the alpine forests of northern Italy, one puppeteer continued this tradition and still had his puppets perform every Sunday afternoon. His name was Giuseppe and the town he lived in was called Feloniaville, named after a local forest spirit. Giuseppe learned his craft from his father, who learned it from his father and so on for at least five generations.
But now things were changing. Giuseppe was starting to get old, and like him, his puppets were also aging. The performances had told the same stories over and over. The audiences were starting to lose interest in them. Giuseppe felt that, before he stopped performing and retired, he would make one last set of puppets and create some new stories for them to perform. Now, Giuseppe made his puppets from the wood of trees he found in the local forest. So, one day, he set out to find a tree that would be perfect for making his new puppets. He searched and searched until he saw one that looked very different from the other trees. It had a somewhat magical feeling about it. This was the tree he would use. As he prepared to cut limbs from it, the tree came alive. To Giuseppe's astonishment it spoke,
"Giuseppe, I am Felonia, spirit protector of this forest and the town. I have watched you for many years as you used my trees for your puppets. But, since your puppets bring joy to my town, I have allowed you to cut wood from my forest. Now, you wish to cut some limbs from my special magical tree. Because I know your heart is pure, I will let you have some of its limbs. But I must caution you, the puppets you create from them will be full of magic. Use this wood wisely for these puppets and the stories they act out will have the power to change the things you see. I will be watching. With a thunderous clash, several tree limbs fell to the ground at Giuseppe's feet........
