The Puppet Who Would Not Bow

Chapter 1A Very Proud King

The puppet king wore a blue coat, a gold crown, and an expression that made every announcement look important.

His head was stuffed with wool. His crown was paper. His royal duties belonged to Chani's right hand.

At the end of the little play, he was supposed to bow.

Instead, he stopped halfway and stared down at the audience.

Gitty, who was rehearsing the baker, laughed.

"He thinks he's too important."

Chani tried again. Her hand bent inside the puppet, but the king's coat pulled tight.

The bow became a tiny nod.

"It isn't funny," Chani said.

The younger girls were coming after lunch.

Chapter 2Behind the Curtain

Their stage was a folding screen with a rectangular opening. A narrow ledge ran along the bottom, where puppets could rest while their owners changed hands.

Bubby had helped set it up in her sitting room. Her hair was covered by her soft brown scarf.

Chani and Gitty knelt on cushions behind the screen.

The king had bowed perfectly yesterday, before Chani added his long blue sleeves.

Gitty pointed at the crown.

"Perhaps that's too heavy."

Chani lifted it off and tried the bow again.

The king stopped in the same place.

His bare wool head looked rather chilly.

Chapter 3The Fast Answer

"You'll have to say he never bows," Gitty said. "Change the ending."

Chani looked at her written lines.

The king had spent the whole play learning to thank the baker. At the end, he bowed and returned the borrowed rolling pin.

A king who refused to bow would make the ending mean something else.

"We can't just change that," Chani said.

"Then bow harder."

Chani pushed her wrist forward. The folding screen gave a little wobble.

Bubby steadied it with one hand.

"No wrestling with the stage," she said.

Chani lowered the puppet. Her cheeks felt hot.

Chapter 4Above the Screen

Bubby asked Chani to try the bow where she could see the whole puppet.

Chani stood beside the screen, held the king in the air, and bent her wrist.

He bowed beautifully.

Gitty clapped once.

"Your Majesty has remembered his manners."

Chani slipped the crown back on.

He bowed again.

The crown was not stopping him. Neither was Chani's hand.

"Now try him in the opening," Bubby said.

Chani knelt on her cushion. The king rose into view, turned toward the baker, and began his bow.

He stopped.

Chapter 5One Loose Thread

Gitty watched from the audience side this time.

"Wait there," she said.

The back of the king's sleeve hung below his little body. Its loose hem caught on the corner of the ledge as Chani bent him forward.

When Chani lifted the puppet, the sleeve came free. When she lowered him to bow, it caught again.

Gitty pointed without pulling.

"The sleeve is holding him."

Chani peered around the screen. A loop of thread at the hem had slipped over a rough edge in the wood.

"I stitched that in a hurry," she said.

"I thought your hand was the trouble," Gitty answered.

Chapter 6A Shorter Sleeve

Bubby brought her sewing basket.

Chani removed the king from her hand and laid him on the table. Bubby tucked the long hem up and sewed the loose loop flat.

Then she felt the edge of the ledge.

"That little rough patch needs smoothing before anyone uses it again."

While Bubby took care of it, the girls rehearsed their words without the screen.

Gitty did not repeat her instruction to bow harder.

Instead, she asked, "Can I watch the sleeve on the next try?"

Chani nodded.

Chapter 7A Royal Thank-You

Back in the opening, the king bowed once. Then twice.

His sleeve stayed clear.

They tried the whole ending, including the rolling pin. Chani could move her hand without pulling the screen.

"I shouldn't have told you to push harder," Gitty said. "I hadn't seen what caught."

"You spotted it when you came around," Chani answered.

After lunch, the younger girls sat in a row on the rug.

The king thanked the baker, returned the rolling pin, and bowed low.

One little girl bowed back.

Gitty's baker nearly laughed into his flour sack.