Danika and Nathan were interviewing the performing troupes. They searched for one who could perform for ten coins for the duration of the fair and still be of good quality. When the juggler dropped the apple, he was throwing in the air, and smiled sheepishly at them they both screamed “Next” at the top of their lungs.

In came an old couple. They carried a little finger puppet stage together. Danika looked to the man with suspicion. Grandpa Thinker was known for taking other forms, after all. But when the man smiled at her without any high and mighty look following, she relaxed.

“We can only perform with the puppets. Our bones are too old to juggle and prance around.” Said the old woman without moving her lips. But the finger puppet moved and Danika was impressed.

“We are sorry, but we need performers who can entertain a crowd. Not just children.” Said Nathan, looking through the little names left on their list.

“We are volunteers, young man. Don’t take us out of the running.” Said the old man, again using the finger puppet to speak and not moving his lips. Danika and Nathan looked at each other. They huddled close and tried to not be heard by the puppeteers.

“What do you think, Nathan? They are good, but what if this is grandpa Thinker?” Asked Danika worried.

“He will wreck the fair mid-performance, that is what. We need to test them. We are already on the bad list. We have nothing to lose.” Said Nathan and Danika nodded.

“You will end up on the bad list if grandpa Thinker finds out you helped us.” Said Danika and she saw the man smiling.

“I’m already on it.” Said the puppet. The elderly woman next to him chuckled as if this was all some sort of a hidden joke.

“And what gifts would you get for Christmas then?” Asked Nathan. Grandpa Thinker called Yule Christmas stubbornly and he would surely get prideful at Nathan using the preferred name.

“Coal for Yule, as usual. Now, can we perform for the test or not?” Asked the old man, not a hint of pride in his voice. Nathan nodded. If the play was something only grandpa Thinker could understand they’ll catch him then.

“Once upon a time there lived a worker elf named Zippy.” Began the finger puppet of the man, now inside the stage. Nathan smiled. The tale of Zippy the elf was a Yule classic. Back before even grandpa Thinker found himself here.

The woman too played her part and they did a wonderful retelling of the best fairytale this world has to offer. Not once did their lips moved and at the end, they did a small bow with their finger puppets and got them out of the stage.

“Can you do this with bigger puppets or just with finger puppets?” Asked Danika, still lost in the memories of her childhood when her mother used to tell her about the worker elf who singlehandedly made all the presents for the children for Yule.

“We can also do this with string puppets.” Said the woman and she took out two puppets from her bag and handed them to Danika. She inspected them. They were big enough to be seen from far away and small enough to fit into the stage.

“And you are sure you don’t want money?” Asked Nathan. If they got a couple more volunteers then they could stretch the 10 coins very far.

“We only want to make the little girl who stands up for what is right happy.” Said the man, a faraway look on his face.

“Ok, sign the contract. The fair is in a week. You don’t happen to know some other volunteer performers, do you?” Asked Danika and the old man grinned.

“Know? They came with us! Worker elves and even regular elves. Straight from the forest of plenty!”

It had taken some negotiations for grandpa Thinker to hire actual elves from their home but he had gotten the best performing troupes for the fair. They were prepaid and if asked they would say their manager has gotten an anonymous contract for the job. Which was even the truth.

“That is wonderful!” Said Danika. Then she looked at the list with additional performers. They were all local troupes. “But they are not on our list.”

“They are shy. They don’t get to perform for humans very often. But they were moved by the efforts of little Theanore. We can call them in for a test.” Said the elderly woman.

“Yes, do that. Even if they are volunteers, we have to be fair to all contestants. If they are not up to standard, we can find them something else to do. But tell them we won’t send them away.” Said Danika. A group of worker elves came after a whistle from the man and the elderly couple went to the side to watch the show.

Oh, and what a show it was! Acrobatics the likes of which only a group of worker elves were capable. Juggling and little joke performances. By the end of the test, both Danika and Nathan had forgotten about the other performers. They simply wanted to see more.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we will stop this test here. We don’t want to spoil our routine for you. Do we get the job?” Asked the head worker elf.

“You do. Welcome on board. Do you have a place to stay?” Asked Danika. The publishing house has booked the inn for the volunteers outside of Mirstone.

“We do not. We will be thankful if you give us a room. We are tiny, as you see, so we don’t need much.” Said the worker elf and Danika asked them for their troupe’s name so she could add their names to the inn’s inhabitants.

Nathan began to collect his things when the elderly woman cleared her throat.

“We brought five more troupes with us. You will break their hearts if you don’t give them a chance, deary.”

A new troupe entered after another whistle of the elderly man and Danika and Nathan were dazzled anew. This time by actual elves.