Another story of Chinese puppets is one that comes from the old city of Ping at the time it was besieged by a great warrior and his army. It happened that the king of Ping had a very crafty adviser. This adviser told the king to send for his chief marionette maker and order him to make a very large and beautiful marionette, one that could dance on the walls of the city, and this the king did. When the wives of the soldiers of the besieging army saw the beauty and grace of this marionette dancer, they became so jealous that they made their husbands give up the siege and march away at once. It is always interesting to see how human puppets are, no matter when or where you find them. In China, some were aristocrats and lived at Court with the Emperor and the royal family. They wore beautiful robes and gave a great deal of thought to their speech and manners. Others were very religious and lived with the priests in the temples; still others seemed to have liked the out of doors, to travel and to meet and to please the common people, and to be very much like them in all their thoughts and ways. When these plebeian marionettes traveled, they took little with them for they were poor and had few clothes and possessions. This made travel very easy. Sometimes a small box would hold the stage, properties, and all the puppets. The master of the puppets stood inside a blue cloth sack when he gave his play. These traveling puppets were apt to be rough and ready. They loved to make the people laugh, but best of all they loved to please the children. They gave plays about everyday life, about animals that could talk, and about great Chinese heroes. They touched the hearts of the people. PERSIA Puppets have helped even to make friends out of enemies, as you may see in this old Persian story. One day, a puppet play was being given before the Emperor Ogotai. In this play the showman thought he would please His Majesty by showing him some of his enemies, the Chinese, being dragged along tied to the tails of horses. Instead of pleasing the Emperor, this cruelty greatly distressed him. He ordered the showman to come to his palace. When the showman came, the Emperor showed him many beautiful things that had been made by Chinese and Persian artists, explaining to the showman that both the Chinese and Persian people loved beautiful things. He endeavored to make the showman understand that if he had respect for the art of the Chinese people, he could not be their enemy. JAPAN