Amelia’s Puppet Stage

Amelia has a fox puppet and a story to tell. She wants a stage for the kitchen table. Mum brings a large piece of clean card. “What will your audience need to see?” she asks.

Amelia draws a wide window on the card. Mum cuts the opening while Amelia chooses a cloth for the bottom edge. Soon the fox can peep through the window and wave at Mum.

Amelia stands the flat card on the table. She puts the puppet behind it. As the fox moves forward, the stage tips over. Mum catches it before it reaches the edge.

They lay the stage flat and look at its narrow bottom edge. “It does not have much to stand on,” says Amelia. Mum folds a scrap of card into a wide triangular support.

Amelia holds the stage while Mum tapes the support to the back. The support opens out onto the table. From the front, the window still looks clear. The fox has room to move behind it.

They stand the stage up again, well back from the table edge. Amelia makes the fox wave slowly. This time the card stays upright. She tries a bigger wave, and the support holds.

Dad comes to watch. Amelia begins her story, keeping her hand behind the window. The fox loses a pretend sandwich and asks the audience for help. Dad points to the little cloth pocket.

The fox finds its lunch, and everyone laughs. Amelia peeps around the side. “My stage stayed up for the whole story,” she says. She folds the support carefully when the show is over.