HANSY AND GRITTY (3)

"So… What are we going to do?" He called out to the lady who went inside her room.

"Puppet show." Beaming, she raised the ragdolls that she had sown herself, handmade.

Xue Guangxi fell silent at first, scrutinizing the dolls. "You made those?"

"Yes." A smile was still evident in her clear face.

"Wow, you are talented, indeed!!!" He reached out for one of the dolls and studied it further. "If it's up to me, I would it custom-made outside. You have talented hands, Sola."

"Hehehe. Thanks." She cupped her one hand on her chin and tilted her head. "You flatter me. The kids helped me in this."

"Woah… Talent surely runs in the family. So… How should we go about it?" He probed.

"Here's the script. Read through." She went inside her room again, and when she resurfaced, she handed the notebook with her plans to the young man.

"Mhmm…" Lost in thoughts, Xue Guangxi scrunched his handsome face.

"What's wrong? Is it not good enough?" Worry crossed the woman's face. Her smile disappeared.

"Mmmm… Can we tweak it up a bit? Let's spice it up."

---

The morning games ended at around eleven in the morning. The families retired to their respective room assignments for an hour to rest. Afterward, lunch in a buffet style was served at the venue's function room.

After lunch, the participants were free to do whatever they intend to do, but they would have to reconvene in the afternoon for the talent show.

By three in the afternoon, most of the guardians and students were already seated in the huge function room. Some wore costumes, and some brought their props – both big and small, colorful and plain – with them. They came in various forms and colors, but all of them shared one thing in common. They were all nervous but excited for the show.

The roster for the performance was selected via draw lots. As lucky as it was talented, Kang Sola drew the last number. They were the finale.

"You call that lucky? We should have volunteered to present first." Xue Guangxi complained while they were walking on the way to the function hall. "Now we have to wait for everyone to finish before us."

"It's okay!! Save the best for last!!! Hehehehe!!!" Kang Sola turned to the kids, "Right, Xiao Lihua, Xiao Lingitan?"

"Yes, Aunty!!! I am so excited!!!!" The little girl exclaimed with a shrill voice.

Kang Sola dived and kissed her cheek with a soft peck.

"Me too!!! Me too!!!" The boy joined in. She wrapped one arm around him then ruffled his hair.

"We're excited too!!!" Chen Lingfang butted in with his gruff voice. He held his wife's hand in his as they walked side-by-side.

The nannies followed from behind, and with the driver, they pushed a trolly carrying the mini stage made up of thin plywood. It was also created by none other than their in-house artist, Kang Sola. It was a plain box three feet long and two feet tall, with attached curtains at the side, and a backdrop of black fabric. The hollow area in the middle would be where the dolls would be staged.

"We'll have it captured on camera." Jiang Biyu commented with dreamy eyes while clapping her hands together. "I'm sure your maternal grandparents would request a copy of it. It's going to be a treasure of a lifetime!!!"

"We're going to rewatch it too. Several times." Chen Lingfang nodded in agreement.

"Now, I am super nervous." Kang Sola smiled with a slightly weakened enthusiasm. She faked a shiver.

Everyone laughed.

They seated themselves at the farther left corner of the hall. Viewing wasn't a problem since projectors showing the live performance at the front were placed at either side of the halls to ensure everyone had a good view of the performances.

Finally, their turn came. Xue Guangxi, Kang Sola, and the twins all gathered in front. The nannies and driver had set up the mini stage and placed it on top of a larger table in front.

Then, from the bag that she carried, Kang Sola retrieved each of the dolls and handed them to her co-presenters.

The nannies joined them backstage. They were in charge of lighting and sound effects and in operating the smoke machine. Kang Sola prepared everything beforehand, even the background music in all of the scenes. All they needed to do was to click on some of the buttons at specified timings. That, too, was practiced at home.

She started with the narrative. "Hundreds of years ago, in a land unfamiliar to us all, there lived a boy named Hansel and a girl named Gretel." The puppets of a boy and a girl showed up on stage. The dolls had sticks attached to them on their limbs which enabled them to be controlled by the twins however they liked. Chen Lingtian controlled the little boy puppet, Hansel, and Chen Lihua, the little girl puppet, Gretel.

Kang Sola continued. "Hansel and Gretel were twins and lived with their father near the woods. Their father was a woodcutter."

The puppet of the father showed up, controlled by Xue Guangxi. He did some funny and goofy ad-libs which made the crowd burst into laughter.

"They were poor but happy because they were contented with the simple life that they preferred." Kang Sola continued. "Except that Hansel and Gretel always grew terribly bored and curious when their father left them at home to do his day-job in the woods."

"One day, the twins decided to talk to their father and convince him to bring them with him to his work."

"The girl, Gretel, attacked her father with her sweet talks and charms, acting so cute and adorable and irresistible in front of their father."

The little girl puppet. Gretel, controlled by Chen Lihua circled the puppet father and threw hugs and kisses and did cute poses as was in the storyline. "Please, please, please, Daddy dear!!"

Chen Lingtian voiced over his puppet and said, "We promise to behave, Father! I will also help you with your work!" And raised the puppet's right hand.

Kang Sola continued, "The Father obliged and the very next day, he went to work and brought his kids with him."

"As promised, Hansel and Gretel behaved properly while they observed the magnificence of the forest. They played with themselves not far from where their father was. However, in the woods, in the middle of the day, Gretel saw a beautiful yellow butterfly with eccentric designs of curvy lines and colorful red and blue circles on its wings. She reached up and captured it… and followed it."

The same butterfly, animatedly flapping its wings joined in the stage. The puppet Gretel moved about in the stage, chasing the butterfly. The stage's background color changed into something magical.

"No, Gretel!!! We shouldn't wander in the woods!!!" Chen Lihua delivered his lines well, with the emotions the scene required. "Gretel, wait for me, Gretel!!!"

Kang Sola continued the narration, "The boy and the girl… Can anyone guess?" She turned to the crowd for audience participation. The children from the audience answered her, "They got lost!!!"

One of the students shouted a spoiler, "Now they will find the bread and house in the middle of the forest!!!"

Several children giggled and squeaked thinking that they knew what would happen next.

Kang Sola grinned and exchanged excited looks with Xue Guangxi.