Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Le vetule marionettista


(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

Cata anno, justo ante le Natal, le vetule marionettista arrivava al parve citate. Ille erigeva su theatro in medio del placia del mercato. Le juvenes se sedeva sur le grados del palatio municipal pro vider su spectaculo, durante que le majores de etate se hastava de boteca a boteca--desde le scarpero al florista, al merceria o al parve café pro biber un tassa de chocolate calide.

Le infantes reguardava con oculos grandissime le spectaculo del abduction del juvene princessa per le magico. Tunc, quando le juvene prince appareva subitemente ante le tela de arbores e demandva ubi esseva captive le princessa, le infantes critava omnes: "In le casa del magico. In le caso del magico!"

Lacrimas de gaudio curreva sur lor genas quando le villano, finalmente vincite, liberava su belle victima e disappareva in un cavo sin fundo. Tunc le prince gallante la portava a su castello.

Pro le marionettista, le gaudio del parve spectatores esseva plus importante que le parve numero de numismas jectate per le passantes a in le cappello ante le scena.

Con profunde satisfaction ille audiva le bravos e le applausos al fin del representation. Ille tunc poneva le marionettes sur le tabula, lisiava le cordas longe con le quales ille dirigeva lor movimentos, e arrangiava lor vestimentos.

"Hodie vos ha date un representation vermente splendide," ille diceva a illos surridente. "Vermente un effortio exceptional. Ben facite, amico mie," ille addeva, brossante le habito verde del prince. Postea ille rotundava le labios e sufflava dulcemente sure le cappello e sur su pluma curvate pro non damnificar le broderia delicate.

Le marionette magico, mesmo jacente illac sur le tabula, inspirava timor in su cappa rubie sub le qual on poteva vider su habito de seta nigre. "Tu non debe exaggerar," diceva le marionettista a ille. "Le parve infantes te time multo. Si tu exaggera, illes pote fugir, e illo non es lo que nos vole."

Le magico non respondeva. Al contrario, parente alique irritate, ille girava le dorso quando le marionettista le poneva attentemente in un cassa sur cuje superficie esseva un coperatura de villuto blau que ille habeva facite specialmente pro su marionettes. Illac esseva omne illos tranquille, un juxta le altere, excepte le princessa.

Dulcemente, le digitos del marionettista toccava le tractos fin de su facie de porcellana. Tunc ille lisiava su capillos setose e adjustava le collo de dentella fin. Le habito de seta rosate susurrava quando le vetule homine lo prendeva in su manos.

"Tu deveni cata die plus belle," murmurava ille, permittente que illa faceva unes passos de dansa sur le tabula. Le princessa faceva un reverentia, e con un mano levava un pauco su gonna de seta, permittente que on vide su scarpas de satin blanc.

"Illo es sufficiente pro nunc," diceva le marionettista, qui iva a poner la in le cassa, ma illa le reguardava, supplicante.

"Lassa me dansar un pauco," implorava illa. "Non me place esser includite sub clave in illa cassa. Il es tan obscure e tan enoiose illac. In plus, nemo pote vider quanto belle io es," addeva illa con coquetteria.

Dicente isto, illa faceva pirouettes in un circulo usque su habito la circumfereva como un compana. "Proque non permitte vos que nos diverti occasionalmente?" le reprochava illa. Nos sempre debe esser a vostre disposition. Il ha nunc un proba, tunc un representation. O vos nos munda e arregla nostre vestimentos. Ma le momento in que vos ha finite, vos nos placia un altere vice in le cassa e vos claude le coperculo. Esque vos crede que nostre vita es agradabile?

Iste parolas faceva mal al marionettista proque ille amava su marionettes como un patre. Ille les faceva portar splendide vestimentos, que ille protegeva de omne damno.

Ille succuteva le capite e, reguardante le princessa, diceva dulcemente a illa: "Tu non ha le derecto de parlar assi. Del matino al nocte, mi pensamentos es sempre sur vos. Io elabora le melior obras pro vos, e vos es le marionettes le plus famose de omne le pais. Io non lo face pro me. Post toto, nemo me vide, e nemo me cognosce. Io solmente resta detra le scena," ille continuava, "ma vos ha le successo e vos lo merece. Io vole solmente le melior pro omne vos."

Con iste parolas, ille poneva le princessa in le cassa e rapidemente claudeva le coperculo. Ille non voleva audir altere recriminationes. Le princessa reposava illac, sur su lecto de villuto blau, sentiente se sol e triste. Que habeva il de bon esser protegite assi? Que habeva il de bon portar iste belle habitos? Illa voleva esser con le gente, con su amicos e companiones. Lacrimas rolava sur su genas, e tosto su singultos eveliava le altere marionettes.

"Le princessa plora," illos susurrava le un al altere. "Probabilemente, illa es multo triste," pensava le innocente del village, qui sempre cadeva sur le capite quando ille montava sur le scena.

"Isto non me surprende, post su querela con nostre magistro," exclamava le vetule seniora-marionette qui sempre debeva jocar le rolo del maga. Illa esseva multo invidiose de omne le applauso que recipeva le juvene princessa e non habeva ulle affection pro illa.

"Vermente, proque es illa infelice?" demandava le vetule femina. Si vos vole mi opinion," continuava illa, "nostre magistro debe tractar la multo plus severemente. Ille deberea dar a illa le rolo del maga a vices e obligar la a facer travalio dur in loco de vitiar la."

Le prince habeva un altere opinion. Ille se tornava verso su vicino, le mago, e diceva, "Nos es juvene solmente un vice. Quando va nos gauder del vita si non nunc? Omne nos debe clamar al magistro demandante que ille nos da plus libertate."

"Que nonsenso!" murmurava le mago, qui generalmente non voleva parlar. "Vos, le juvenes, non ha ni un sol idea sur le vita. Le libertate es un idea magnific! Ma, de que va vos viver? Vos deberea esser contente de que alicuno vos custodia e vos protege de difficultates. Libertate? Que stupiditate!" Tunc ille se tornava via e claudeva le oculos.

Finalmente le singultos del princessa cessava, e le pace e tranquillitate se retornava de novo in le cassa del marionettes. Ma durante que le alteres dormiva, le princessa se demandava como illa poterea render se libere e fugir ex su prision. Illa habeva multe tempore pro pensar.

Passava quasi duo dies ante que le magistro extraheva de novo su marionettes. Iste vice, le princessa comprehendeva que illes esseva in un citate plus grande. Le resonantia de claxones de automobiles e le strepito de trams plenava le aer durante que le magistro extraheva le marionettes un post le altere sur le tabula, preparante los pro lor proxime spectaculo.

Quando le tela finalmente se levava, le princessa poteva finalmente contemplar le mundo plen de colores del quales illa habeva essite private tante tempore. Illa voleva immerger se in le beltate que illa videva in le parve parco que jaceva ante illes, in le terreno de jocos in le distantia, in le boteca de repastos legier, e in le fonte de petra e le parterres de flores coperite de nive.

Super le capites del parve spectatores illa videva un juvene servitor de café qui esseva a pede in le porta del café, fumante un cigaretta. Le princessa le reguardava con admiration e su corde comenciava a palpitar de excitation. "Succurso!" illa critava al juvene. "Salva me!" Ma le juvene non pareva vider la.

In ille momento, le marionettista moveva le princessa a un altere postion sur le scena. "Sia un bon infante," ille diceva a illa. "Elimina ille expression lugubre de tu facie." Ma illa fingeva non haber le audite.

Comenciava le function, ma le princessa a pena poteva participar in illo. Incantate, illa oculava sovente le juvene homine qui concentrava su attention sur le spectaculo del marionettes con un surriso e pareva diverter se a causa de illo.

"Salva me!" implorava illa un altere vice, extendente le bracchios verso ille. A iste instante, illa sentiva le tirada del magistro, qui voleva tornar la verso le prince. "Io odia iste obra," diceva le princessa a se. "Io odia mi companiones. Io odia le magistro. E plus que toto, illa odiava su existentia. Su sol sperantia, illa diceva, esseva illac, con le juvene incognite.

Illa se tornava verso ille un altere vice, sin preoccupar se del maniera que le magistro usava pro manipular la. Rapidemente le cordas que dirigeva su brachios e su gambas se imbroliava inextricabilemente. Le marionettista jectava un reguardo menaciante a illa e la removeva del spectaculo. Sin dicer ullo, ille la mitteva al bordo del tabula e continuava su manipulation del altere marionettes pro continuar le representation.

Quanto al princessa, illa solmente pensava a escappar. Illa reguardava ultra le extremitate del tabula e verso le solo. Illa sentiva multe timor, ma illa sapeva que il non habeva ulle altere cosa que illa poteva facer. Illa debeva saltar si illa voleva complir su libertate.

Illa avantiava lentemente usque le bordo del tabula. Tunc, claudente le oculos, illa saltava in avante. Le cadita esseva vertiginose e pareva a illa durar un eternitate. Felicemente, illa atterrava sur un arbusto. Illac illa jaceva un momento, esturdite. Tunc illa essayava mover le manos e le pedes. Nullo pareva rompite. Ma como poterea illa partir de illac, illa se demandava.

Cercante un responsa, illa tosto audiva le applausos del infantes. Illes manifestava lor gaudio ruitosemente. Ma a illa isto jam non pareva importante. Illa habeva abandonate le successo pro le libertate.

Durante que le infantes retornava a lor jocos in le parco, un parve puella arrivava currente circum le arbusto. Le princessa la videva e jectava rapidemente sur le solo gelate su parve scarpa de satin blanc, exactemente ante le pedes del puera.

"Reguarda!" Le parve puera se deteneva, se inclinava, e recuperava le scarpa. Illa lo examinava, tornante lo con curiositate. Tunc illa dirigeva le vista sub le arbusto, sperante trovar le altere scarpa. Subitemente illa videva le princessa.

Pro un momento illa hesitava. Tunc illa prendeva le marionette, lo celava sub su avantal, e, transversante le corte de recreation, curreva verso le parve café. Durante que illa se precipitava al interior, le proprietaria levava le oculos.

"Finalmente tu ha arrivate!" illa la reprimendava. "Io te ha vocate tres vices." Sin attender un responsa, illa dirigeva su attention al machina pro facer café.

Le parve puera se sedeva a un tabula in le angulo le plus obscur del café. Illa oculava circum se e prendeva le marionette ex le loco ubi illa lo habeva celate sub su avantal. "Tu es mi invitata," diceva illa al princessa. Tu pote peter me un bibitura, sia café, the, o chocolate." Sur un tabula vicin, illa prendeva un parve urceo de crema, versava un pauco in un bicario e faceva biber le marionette.

Isto non esseva exactemente lo que le princessa sperava, ma al minus illa demonstrava que illa poteva functionar sin le magistro. Le princessa ballottava le capite a retro, e le parve puella effundeva le crema sur su habito rosate.

De ordinario, isto haberea molestate le princessa, ma in iste momento su attention esseva divertite per le ruito de voces forte que veniva del entrata. Illa recognosceva immediatemente le voce de su magistro e essayava celar se.

"Io vole mi marionette!" critava le vetule homine. "Alicuno lo ha robate!" Ma le proprietaria del café obstrueva le entrata con su corpore massive e replicava: "Vos ha multissime audacia, vagabundo! Primo vos me priva de omne mi clientes con vostre theatro, e tunc vos nos accusa de haber robate alique. Io va advocar le policia, vetule vagabundo immunde!"

Ma le marionettista non se moveva. "On ha vidite que vostre filia levava le marionette," ille diceva. "Le pueros in le parco me ha dicite que illa curreva usque hic con illo. Per favor, retorna me mi marionette. Illo es mi pecia le plus importante."

Le princessa e le parve puera, serrante se le un contra le altere in un angulo obscure del café, sequeva iste conversation con attention. Finalmente le puera se levava subito, sasiva le marionette, e glissava trans le porta in retro.

Illac, detra le edificio, omne esseva in un stato de abandono. Cassas vacue coperiva le solo, e juxta un rango de receptaculos de antiqualia jaceva multe serviettes immunde e micas de tortas.

"Si ille puera me dispone hic, io va morir de disgusto," diceva a se le princessa, abattite. Ma le parve puera la portava circum le angulo del edificio e se approximava a un automobile parcate illac. Rapidemente illa aperiva le porta e introduceva le marionette in le cassa de guantos del vehiculo. Tunc illa claudeva le porta del auto e curreva verso su amicos.

Le princessa habeva essite stipate in le medio del vetule brochures de viage e mappas de stratas. Le cassa de guantos habeva le odor de bira e tabaco vetule. Illa grimassava. Isto non esseva de ulle maniera lo que illa habeva expectate.

Un periodo de horas passava usque illa finalmente audiva passos. Tunc on aperiva le porta del automobile e alicuno penetrava a in le interior del auto. Durante que le motor se activava, le princessa comenciava a tremular a causa del idea que on la portava via, verso un mundo discognoscite.

Illa se fortiava a recuperar le calma, ma subito illa se sentiva terrificate quando un mano de homine cercava al hasardo in le cassa de guantos. Illa essayava retirar se al fundo del cassa, applanante se quando illa poteva pro evitar le mano, ma il non habeva assatis spatio. Subitemente le digitos del mano la sasiva per le spatula e la extraheva ex le cassa.

"Como diabolo ha tu arrivate hic?" exclamava le conductor del automobile, stupefacite, frenante subito su vehiculo.

Le princessa levava le oculos verso ille, e su timores cambiava a in gaudio. Le homine qui la habeva in su duo manos esseva mesmo su heroe, le mesme juvene homine que illa habeva supplicate a adjuvar la a escappar durante le spectaculo. Le princessa rubesceva de embarasso. Illa sapeva que illa pareva disordinate e mal pectinate.

"Vos debe perdonar mi apparentia," implorava illa. "Mi escappata non essava facile. Io mesme perdeva un scarpa," illa addeva, consciente que ille la observava del pedes al capite.

Su digitos toccava su facie de porcelana. Illos esseva aspere, de nulle modo como illos de su magistro, e su ungulas esseva rumpite. Ma pro illa illo non esseva importante proque illa amava su heroe. Illa mesmo voleva imbraciar le, ma illa sapeva que isto non esserea decente.

Le juvene la girava diverse vices, examinante la. Ma le cordas que la susteneva se imbroliava. Ille tunc la levava e sin ulle altere pensamento la pendeva del retrovisor de su automobile.

Durante que le automobile viagiava sur le stratas del citate, le princessa finalmente habeva le opportunitate de vider le mundo. Illa discoperiva le vitrinas del belle botecas gaimente decorate e le magazin del modista de cappellos, e illa voleva vader illac pro facer compras.

Illa videva gente sedite in le tabulas del café e illa ardorosemente voleva esser inter omne illes. Il pareva que su desiros esseva al puncto de realitate quando le juvene stoppava su automobile ante un boteca ubi esseva un gruppo de su amicos. "Vole vos viagiar alicubi?" ille critava a illes.

Durante que illes intrava in le automobile, un ex illes notava le presentia del princessa. "Ubi ha tu acquirite ille marionette?" demandeva ille.

"Un dama de grande classe," diceva un altere, "que nunquam essera impertinente con te."

"Nos non sapeva que tu habeva relationes social con gente tan distinguite," burlava un tertie. "Lassa me examinar la, me permitte tu?"

Audiente iste parolas, le juvene sentate in le sede de passagero avante detachava le marionette e la dava a su amicos. Illes non esseva multo delicate durante que illes la passava inter se. Isto esseva multo disagradabile pro le princessa, qui comenciava a singultar.

"Per favor, stoppa les," supplicava illa a su salvator. "Io te ama e ha confidentia in te proque tu me ha salvate. Ma tu amicos es rudissime e brutal. Vide como illes me succute e face polluer mi vestimentos belle con lor digitos immunde."

Ma su heroe non respondeva. Ille solmente surrideva a lor commentarios, ben que ille pareva un pauco inquiete e irritate a causa de lor bromas.

Ma su amicos non stoppava. Al contrario, lor commentarios stupide sur ille e le princessa deveniva vermente maligne. Ille se tornava e sasiva le marionette ex le manos de illes e lo jectava trans le fenestra.

Omne isto occurreva tan rapidemente que le princessa non comprendeva lo que illes habeva facite a illa ante que subsideva le pulvore altiate per le automobile durante que illo partiva. Illa jaceva illac, in un fossato al latere del strata juxta un vetule latta oxydate, su membros severmente contundite e su vestimentos multo divellite.

Gradualmente le pluvia e le nive la interrava plus profundemente in le terra blande. Tosto, isto la coperiva quasi como un tumba, impediente que illa audiva le passos del vetule marionettista qui vadeva con su cassa, le corde rumpite, durante que ille cercava su marionette le plus belle.

---

The Old Puppeteer

Every year, just before Christmas, the old puppeteer came into the small town. He set up his theater in the middle of the marketplace. Young people sat on the steps of the town hall to take in his show, while older people hurried away from one small store to another, from the shoemaker to the florist, to the dimestore, or to the small cafe for a cup of hot chocolate.

The children, their eyes wide open in wonder, took in the kidnapping of the princess by the magician. Then, when the young prince suddenly appeared before the canvas painted with trees and asked where the princess was being held captive, all the children cried out, "In the magician's castle. In the magician's castle."

Tears of joy ran down their faces when the villain, defeated at last, freed his beautiful victim and disappeared into a never-ending cave. Then the gallant prince carried her away to his castle.

For the puppeteer, the joy of his young spectators was more important than the small number of coins thrown by passers-by into the hat in front of his stage.

With profound satisfaction he heard the bravos and the applause at the end of the show. He then put the puppets on the table, straightened out the long strings that he used to control their movements, and put their clothes in order.

"Today, you put on a really good show," he said to them with a smile. "Truly an exceptional effort. Well done, my friend," he added, brushing the prince's green costume. Afterwards, he rounded his lips and blew lightly on the hat and its curved feather to avoid damaging its light embroidery.

The magician puppet, even while lying down on the table, inspired fear with his red cap and his suit of black silk below. "You mustn't go too far," the puppeteer said to him. "The little children are very frightened of you. If you lay it on too thick, they could run away, and we certainly don't want that."

The magician did not answer. On the contrary. Apparently a bit irritated, he turned away as the pupeteer put him away in a box covered with the blue velvet which he made especially for his marionettes. There all of them were quietly lying, one next to the other, except for the princess.

Softly the puppeteer's hands brushed lightly against the fine features of her porcelain face. Then he straightened out her silky hair and adjusted her collar of fine lace. Her pink silk dress rustled lightly when he took it into his hands.

"You are getting more beautiful every day," he murmured, allowing her to make some dance steps on the table. The princess took a bow and lifted her silk skirt with one of her hands, bringing her white silk shoes into view.

"That's enough for now," said the puppeteer, who was going to put her into the box, but she looked at him in supplication.

"Let me dance a little," she implored. "I don't like to be locked in that box. It is so dark and annoying there. Besides, no one can see how beautiful I am," she added coquettishly.

After saying this, she made some pirouettes in a circle until her dress draped around her as if it were the outside of a bell. "Why don't you let us have some fun from time to time?" she rebuked him. "We always have to be at your beck and call. Sometimes we have a rehearsal, sometimes a show. Or you clean us up and straighten out our clothes. But once you have finished, you put us in the box once again and you close the lid. Do you really think that we like this kind of life?"

These words really hurt the puppeteer because he loved his marionettes like a father. He dressed them in splendid clothes, which he protected from any kind of damage.

He shook his head and, looking at the princess, said to her sweetly, "You have no right to talk like that. From morning to night my thoughts are always on all of you. I make up the best plays for you, and you are the most famous marionettes in the entire country. I don't do it for myself. After all, nobody sees me, and no one reocgnizes me. I stay completely behind the scenes," he continued, "but you are the ones with the success, and you deserve it. I want only the best for all of you."

With these words he put the princess in the box and rapidly closed the lid. He didn't want to hear any other complaints. The princess rested there on her bed of blue velvet, feeling sad and alone. What good was it to be so tightly protected? What good was it to wear such beautiful clothes? She wanted to be out with people, with her friends and companions. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and soon her sobs awakened the other marionettes.

"The princess is crying," they murmured to one another. "She is most likely very sad," thought the village idiot, who always fell on his head when he went onto the stage.

"This doesn't surprise me after her quarrel with our master," exclaimed the old lady marionette, who always played the part of the witch. She was very envious of all the applause the young princess got and had no good feelings for her at all.

"Really, why is she so unhappy?" asked the old woman. "If you want my opinion," she went on, "our master should treat her much more severely. He should give her the role of the witch at times and force her to do some hard work instead of spoiling her."

The prince felt differentlly. He turned toward his neighbor, the magician, and said, "We are young only once. When are we going to enjoy life if not now? We should all complain to the master and demand that he give us more freedom."

"What nonsense," murmured the magician, who was generally reluctant to speak. "You young people have absolutely no idea of what life is like. Liberty is a magnificent idea, but what are we going to live off of? You should be happy that somebody is taking care of you and keeping you away from harm. Freedom? What crap!" Then he turned away and closed his eyes.

Finally, the princess stopped sobbing, and peace and tranquillity returned once again in the puppets' box. But while the others slept, the princess wondered how she could free herself and run away from her prison. She had a lot of time to think.

Almost two days went by before the puppeteer took his marionettes once again out of their box. This time the princess understood that they were in a bigger city. The sound of automobile horns and the noise of streetcars filled the air while the puppeteer took out the marionettes one after another and put them on a table to get them ready for their next show.

When the curtain finally went up, the princess was finally able to take in a world filled with colors that she hadn't seen for such a long time. She wanted to become a part of the beauty that she saw in the park in front of them, the playground in the distance, the snack shop, the stone fountain, and the flower beds covered with snow.

Above the heads of the children in the audience she saw a young waiter smoking a cigarette. The princess looked on in admiration, and her heart started to beat faster because of the excitement. "Help! Save me!" she cried out extending one of her hands toward him, but the young man didn't seem to see her.

At that moment the puppeteer moved the princess to another part of the stage. "Be a good girl," he said to her. "Wipe away that sad expression from your face." But she pretended that she didn't hear him.

The show started, but the princess could hardly bring herself to put her heart into it. Enchanted, she often looked at the smiling young man who kept his eyes on the puppet show and seemed to have fun watching it.

"Save me," she implored once again, extending her arms toward him. She then felt the master tugging on her in an effort to get her to turn toward the prince. "I hate this play," the princess said to herself. "I hate my companions. I hate the master. And more than anything else, she hated her existence. Her only hope, she decided, was over there with the young man she didn't know.

She turned toward him once again, without worrying about how the master was manipulating her. The strings that controlled her arms and legs got hopelessly tangled up. The puppeteer gave her a menacing look and removed her from the scene. Without saying anything, he put her on the edge of the table and continued manipulating the other puppets to keep the show going.

As for the princess, she only thought about getting away. She looked beyond the edge of the table and toward the floor. She was very afraid, but she knew that there was nothing else she could do. She had to jump if she wanted to set herself free.

She moved slowly toward the edge of the table. Then, closing her eyes, she jumped forward. The fall made her dizzy and seemed to last an eternity. Fortunately, she landed on a bush. She spent a moment lying there, stunned by her fall. Then she tried to move her hands and feet. Nothing seemed broken. But how could she get out of there, she wondered.

Looking for an answer, she soon heard the children's applause. They displayed their joy with wild abandon. But that no longer seemed at all important to her. She walked away from success for the sake of her freedom.

While the children went back to their games in the park, a little girl came running around the bush. The princess saw her and quickly threw to the floor one of her little white shoes, right in front of the girl's feet.

"Hey, take a look at that!" The little girl stopped, bent down, and picked up the shoe. She looked at it closely, turning it around out of curiosity.

Then she directed her gaze to the bottom of the bush, hoping to find the other shoe. Suddenly, she saw the princess.

For a moment she hesitated. Then she picked up the marionette, hid it under her apron, and, making her way across the playground, ran toward the small cafe. As she rushed inside, the woman who owned the place raised her eyes.

"Finally, you've come back," she scolded. "I've called you three different times." Without waiting for an answer, she directed her attention to the coffeemaker.

The little girl sat down at a table in the darkest corner of the cafe. She looked around and took the marionette out from where she had hidden it under her apron. "You're my guest," she said to the princess. You can ask me for something to drink, whether coffee, tea, or chocolate." On a neighboring table, she picked up a small pitcher of cream, poured out a little into a glass, and gave it to the marionette to drink.

This wasn't exactly what the princess wanted, but at least it showed that she could get along without her master. She pushed her head back, and the little girl poured the cream onto her pink dress.

Ordinarily, this would not have bothered the princess, but at this moment she was distracted by the sound of loud voices coming from the entrance. She immediately recognized the voice of her master and tried to hide.

"I want my marionette," cried the old man. "Someone has stolen her!" But the owner of the cafe blocked the entrance with her massive body and replied, "You've got a lot of nerve, you bum! First you take away my customers with your theater, and then you accuse us of stealing something. I'm gonna call the police, you filthy old tramp!"

But the puppeteer did not move. "Someone saw your daughter running away with the marionette," he said. "The boys in the park told me that she ran with it all the way here. Please, give me back my marionette. It is my most important piece."

The princess and the little girl, holding themselves tightly together in a dark corner of the cafe, attentively followed the conversation. Finally, the little girl got up suddenly, grabbed hold of the marionette, and slipped out through the back door.

There, behind the building, everything was in a state of abandon. Empty boxes covered the ground, and next to a row of garbage cans there were a lot of dirty napkins and pastry crumbs.

"If that girl lets go of me here, I'll die of mortification," the princess, utterly dejected, said to herself. But the little girl took her around the corner of the building and went toward an automobile parked nearby. She quickly opened the door and put the marionette into the glove compartment of the car. She then closed the door and ran toward some friends of hers.

The princess had been thrust into the middle of some old travel brochures and street maps. The glove compartment smelled like beer and stale tobacco. She wrinkled her nose. This was not at all what she had expected.

A few hours went by until she finally heard some steps. Then someone opened the car door and went inside. While the engine started up, the princess started trembling in fear as she realized that she was being taken away toward an unknown world.

She made herself calm down, but suddenly she felt terrified whan a man's hand probed around randomly in the glove compartment. She tried to move as far as she could to the back, flattening herself as much as she could to avoid the hand, but there wasn't enough space. Suddenly the fingers of the hand grabbed her by the shoulders and took her out of the glove compartment.

"How on earth did you get in here?" exclaimed the driver of the car in amazement as he suddenly put on the brakes.

As she raised her eyes toward him, the princess felt her fears give way toward a rush of happiness. The man who had her in his two hands was even her hero, the man she had begged to help her escape during the show. The princess blushed in embarrassment. She knew that she was a mess--especially her hair.

"You must excuse me for the way I look," she implored. "My escape wasn't all that easy. I even lost a shoe," she added, noticing that he was looking her over from head to toe.

His fingers touched her porcelain face. They were rough--not at all like her master's, and his fingernails were all broken. But for her that wasn't important because she loved her hero. She even wanted to hug him, but she knew doing so would not be proper at all.

The young man looked her over, turning her around several times. But the strings that supported her got into a tangle. He then picked her up and, without thinking any further, hung her from the rearview mirror of his car.

While the automobile rolled through the streets of the city, the princess finally had a chance to see the world. She discovered the gaily decorated display windows of the beautiful stores and the milliner's shop, and she wanted to do some shopping there.

She saw people seated at the cafe tables in animated conversations, and she longed to join them. It seemed that her longings were about to be realized when the young man stopped his car in front of a store where some of his friends had gathered. "Can I give you a lift?" he yelled out to them.

While they got into the car, one of them took note of the princess. "Where did you get that puppet?" he asked.

"A high-class dame," said another, "who will never talk back to you."

"We didn't know that you socialized with such high-society people," teased a third. "Let me take a look at her, will you?"

On hearing these words, the young man in the front passenger seat took down the marionette and gave it to his friends. They were rather rough as they passed it around. This greatly bothered the princess, who started to sob.

"Please stop them," she said to her savior. "I love you and trust you because you have rescued me. But your friends are rough and rude. Look at how they are shaking me and getting my beautiful clothes dirty with their filthy fingers."

But her hero did not answer. He only smiled at their remarks, though he seemed a bit irritated at their clowning around.

But his friends did not stop. On the contrary. Their stupid remarks about him and the princess started to get really nasty. He turned around and grabbed the marionette from their hands and threw it out the window.

All this happened so fast that the princess did not grasp what was going on until the dust raised by the automobile settled down as it drove away. She was lying in a ditch next to a rusty can, her arms and legs all scratched up and her clothes ripped apart.

Gradually, the rain and the snow buried her deeper in the soft dirt. Soon she was all covered up as if buried in a grave, and she couldn't hear the steps of the old puppeteer as he went by with his box, heartbroken as he looked for his most beautiful puppet.

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