A SPOTLIGHT once loved watching shadow theater plays. He had learned all the plots by heart, from “Karagoz the teacher” to “Karagoz the astronaut”, watching them over and over to the point that he had learned the script by heart. So much did he enjoy them that he had even learned to mimic the voices of the characters with such precision that the other electrical appliances mocked him.
“It’s about time I put on a play of my own and teach them a lesson”, the spotlight said one day and started gathering all the necessary equipment so as to impress the other electrical appliances with his talent. First, he bought the necessary puppets, that is, the all-time classic figures of Shadow Theater like Karagoz and Hacivat, all in the proper sizes: he outlined the figures in paper, colored the interior with attention to detail, cut the outline with a pair of scissors and fastened the different parts together using clips. Last but not least, he attached wooden sticks as handles to be able to properly direct the figures’ movement.
The second thing he took care of was the screen: he bought a piece of white cloth that was both big and thin enough that light could pass through it and the puppets would be visible. He, then, bought boards in different sizes, nailed them together and stretched the white cloth on top of them. Last but not least, he placed lights behind the screen so as to properly illuminate the scenes, and took care of the sound: he bought a cassette player to play each figure’s soundtrack, as well as a microphone and speakers with which he could be heard clearly till the back seats of the stage.
He, then, found suitable space to place the screen he had so diligently built, as well as rows of plastic chairs to accommodate his viewers. “Everything is ready…”, he said. “Well, almost, as I have to find a suitable plot now”. He went straight to his library and picked an old book filled with shadow theater scripts out of which he picked his old time favorite: “Alexander the Great and the Accursed Snake”. “I’ll definitely need somebody to help me”, the spotlight thought and asked the walkie – talkie to manipulate the figures during the play so he could focus on the plot. “I won’t let him do any of the voices, though”, the spotlight thought and announced his project to the other electrical appliances the same afternoon.
Excited, the next afternoon they all flocked to see what he had come up with. They all sat on the plastic chairs and waited for the show to start. A couple of minutes later the play’s soundtrack reached their ears, and the screen was filled with lights. “Hey, opa opa opa…”, was heard and the familiar figure of Karagoz appeared through the white cloth.
Just then, however, and as the soundtrack of Karagoz was still playing, the cassette player ran out of battery. Much to the spotlight’s bad luck, the microphone also broke, the speakers dropped silent, and the lamps started flashing until they dropped dead, as he had put them all together in haste and the power network was overloaded. “What a disaster!”, the spotlight exclaimed, only to see the strong wind that was blowing that day tear the white cloth he had hastily nailed on the screen. The walkie – talkie got so embarrassed for their misfortune that he covered his face.
“Seems like you ‘re unlucky today, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up. Since you know the play so well, you could simply… narrate!”, the radio suggested. Knowing how much he loved shadow theater, the other appliances agreed, and so did the spotlight so as to spare himself from the embarrassment, telling them the whole play by heart. He did so well that they were all left speechless and burst into applause. They even asked him to present the actual play the next day.
“Let’s give him a helping hand”, the electrical appliances said, and so each and every one undertook the piece of work they were most accustomed to: the lamp took care of the lighting, the Black & Decker the screen, the iron the white cloth, etc. While they were busy, the spotlight lectured the walkie talkie on how to mimic the voices of the different figures. Having all the time in their hands, they managed to do what the spotlight had done in a single afternoon all by himself with much more efficiency than he could have ever imagined.
When the time for the show came, and after giving the play a thorough rehearsal without viewers, the spotlight and the walkie – talkie gave their best selves. The show went so well that the electrical appliances burst into applause as soon as it was over, asking them to deliver more plays in the future.
From that day, our good spotlight learned that if he ever wanted to be good at something, he would have to give his full attention to it, and get others to help him with the rest.
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