According to the hand-scrawled sign, the next puppet performance would take place in less than 15 minutes.  As Felix glanced around for a prime viewing spot, Clarisse caught up to him while tucking a part of her anatomy back into her dress.  Only then did he realize he may have missed out on something good.  Prior to any spoken words, she cuffed him on the right shoulder.  An expression of<i>What was that for? </i>greeted her in return.  “That’s for ditching me,” she accused, albeit with a rascally smile.  For good measure, she smacked him again.  “Do you have any idea how hard it is to run in a dress like this?” she asked, still adjusting herself.  He smirked wolfishly, and then replied, “Sorry I missed it.”  She considered a third whack but resisted.<br/><br/>Had there been rows of seats, where Felix chose to sit would have put them roughly in the third row.  Instead, he plopped down onto the grass with Clarisse soon joining him.  Six minutes to ShowTime, and more people began milling about, mostly children with one or both of their parents in tow.  The majority of the kids was of toddler age, and one such beauty with curly brown locks caught his eye.  She sidled over to him, not to be denied by her mother who tried (and failed) to keep her away from Felix and Clarisse.<br/><br/>“I tink we might see a dwagon today,” she confidently predicted.  He beamed at her, and then answered, “I sure hope so, and if we do, I bet his name will be Puff.”  The mention of this name lit her up brighter than a Fourth of July fireworks show.  “I know Puff!” she bragged, somewhat louder than necessary.  “He’s a. . .he’s a madgeic dwagon.  And. . .and he lives in Hon. . .Hon. . .Hunny Leaf.”  She was wrong, of course, as to where Puff resided.  He was not, however, about to correct a cute-as-a-button Mini-Maiden (for she was also dolled up in costume) for something so trivial.  Besides, she was pretty close in pronouncing Puff’s habitat.<br/><br/>A lone trumpet signaled the show was about to begin.  The little urchin, meanwhile, was still standing and it suddenly dawned on her that she needed a seat.  Well, one was right there in front of her, and she muscled her way onto Felix’s cross-legged lap.  He glimpsed toward her mother, and all the woman could do was wince as if her daughter was inflicting some kind of horrible pain on him.  Holding up an open palm, he mouthed the words,<i>She’s fine.  </i>She smiled appreciatively with a gentle nod.<br/><br/>No sooner had the puppet show started, it seemed, than it was over.  Alas, in order to rescue the fair princess, the brave knight had slain the evil dragon.  As applause and merriment could be heard from the other children, Mini-Maiden removed herself from his lap to face him.  “Dey hurt Pu. . .Pu. . .”  As her lower lip quivered uncontrollably, tears rapidly filled her eyes.  Although she tried her darnedest, Felix knew this was a battle she would not win.  Sure enough, the dam burst and the flood ensued.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.  Already he could feel the gathering wetness in that area.  Once again, he reassured her mother that all was fine.<br/><br/>As her weeping continued, one of the puppeteers peeked around the curtain to see what was amiss.  Eye contact with Felix established, she merely pointed at the dragon puppet occupying her right hand.  Following a simple nod from him, she shot him the can-do sign and ducked behind the curtain.<br/><br/>A lone trumpet signaled the show was about to begin.  Again.  Those who had shuffled away from the makeshift stage, turned and hurried back to their original “seats.”  Felix patted her back and whispered, “Look,” into her ear.  Turning, he saw her cutie-pie face was a mixture of tears and snot.  Which, of course, meant it was now also on his t-shirt.  Good thing it was a black one, and not a white one.  Clarisse handed her a Kleenex to wipe her eyes and blow her nose, preferably in that order.  After a quick clean-up, she reclaimed her original spot on his lap.<br/><br/>No sooner had the puppet show started, it seemed, than it was over.  Again.  This time, however, the princess, the knight,<i>and </i>the dragon all exited stage left.  He figured this was on account of it being Adopt-A-Dragon-Month or summat.  The curtain closed and Felix could’ve sworn that the applause was much louder this time around.  Mini-Maiden removed herself from his lap to face him again.  A smile that could illuminate the darkest of caves now greeted him.  That, he thought, was well worth the price of admission.  She hugged him again and squealed, “Puff is otay!  Puff is otay!”<br/><br/>Having enjoyed the new-and-improved happy ending, everyone was all smiles now, especially Mini-Maiden and Felix.  The child’s mother thanked them profusely, repeating how awesome he and Clarisse were.  Before heading off to somewhere else within the fair’s confines, Felix approached the pair of puppeteers, and discreetly slipped them two $20 bills.  Protestations followed, until he insisted that it was all worth it to see his little friend smile instead of cry.  They agreed and sincerely thanked him for the generous “tip,” since that’s what Felix had called it.<br/><br/>Lazily strolling through the fairgrounds, Felix suggested they head over to The Pirate’s Cove, to which Clarisse did not object.  A few steps later, and she said, “What you said and did with that little girl, that was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen.”  Following a shrug and a shake of his head, he responded, “Meh, was noth. . .”  It was nigh on impossible for him to complete his sentence when she stuffed her tongue into his mouth.  Still, he thought it extremely rude to not return her kiss, so he did.  Return her kiss, that is.<br/><br/>Tasty IPA still in his system.  Check.  Delicious bratwurst consumed.  Check.  A pair of endings to a puppet show.  Check.  A sweetie-pie new friend.  Check.  A passionate kiss with a buxom blonde.  Check.  This was turning out to be quite the day, and he still had The Pirate’s Cove with Clarisse to look forward to.<br/><br/>Talk about perfect timing.  Just past 12:40, Clarisse and Felix had found a table at a somewhat choice location, as the prior couple had just departed.  Clinking their pint glasses of<i>Tricerahops IPA </i>(what else?!), a boisterous Jack Sparrow was clearly in his element, entertaining the raucous crowd.  Whatever Jack was saying was completely lost on him, as the radiant redhead next to the pirate enchanted his senses.  A stiff nudge from Clarisse brought him back to the here-and-now.