Despite loud and repeated audience warnings, an area puppet was attacked by a dragon during a performance of The Bronze Bananas in the children's section of the Ogden Public Library Sunday.
The puppet, Milton The Monkey, is in serious but stable condition with extensive cloth injuries.
According to police, audience members warned Milton "at least a half dozen times" that Drago, a Ogden-area dragon whose magic bronze bananas Milton had just stolen, was behind him. Each time, however, Milton refused to heed the warnings, boasting that Drago would never dare to attack him.
As Drago neared Milton, the monkey stopped in mid-sentence and looked around as though he heard something, but quickly returned to boasting about the banana theft, which only agitated the audience further.
As the dragon opened his jaws, Milton finally appeared to hear the warnings. "What? You say there's a big mean dragon behind me? Oh, come on, I don't believe you," he said.
"We insisted it was true," said audience member and mother of three Sherri Price, "so Milton finally turned around to look, but Drago then shifted to the other side so that the puppet could not see him. We then told Milton to look in the other direction, but when he did Drago only returned to his original position behind Milton."
The monkey then accused the audience of "just being jealous," and returned to inspecting his stolen bronze bananas. It was then that the dragon struck, severely shaking Milton in his felt-lined jaws and forcing the monkey to return the treasure.
Ogden police chief Duane Gordon said the attack could easily have been avoided. "When I come to schools to talk to kids about the importance of dragon safety, one of the first things I tell them is, always be sure to turn around completely if you think a dragon is stalking you," said Gordon, who happened to attend Sunday's show with his three-year-old son. "This monkey did not do so, and now he's paying for it."
According to leading puppet psychologist Dr. Gary Wizowski, violence has grown increasingly common in the puppet world. "Puppets have very limited free will," said Wizowski, whose clients include such celebrity puppets as Howdy Doody and Brown the Owl. "They are controlled by strings or by a human hand, and are continually forced to mouth the words of others. In addition, their environment is limited to the small, cramped puppet-theater stage. As a result, many puppets develop deep feelings of helplessness, anger and frustration, feelings that can very easily lead to violence."
Ogden Public Library officials offer a more direct explanation for the latest case of puppet-on-puppet violence.
"It's unfortunate that Milton didn't pay attention to the audience and was attacked by the dragon," assistant library director Lisa Jeppsen said. "But if he hadn't been such a greedy, stubborn little monkey who didn't want to share, it would never have happened."
Nevertheless, library officials have ordered beefed-up security for next week's performance of Mr. Boo Bear, Queen Bee and The Stolen Honey.
"That show could be serious trouble," said John Carter, head of security for the library. "A lot of the puppets want to get their hands on that honey."
Carter said the library is still investigating a March 25 stick-beating incident involving local puppets Punch and Judy, and no arrests have been made in connection with the gruesome boiling of a wolf last January.
The puppet, Milton The Monkey, is in serious but stable condition with extensive cloth injuries.
According to police, audience members warned Milton "at least a half dozen times" that Drago, a Ogden-area dragon whose magic bronze bananas Milton had just stolen, was behind him. Each time, however, Milton refused to heed the warnings, boasting that Drago would never dare to attack him.
As Drago neared Milton, the monkey stopped in mid-sentence and looked around as though he heard something, but quickly returned to boasting about the banana theft, which only agitated the audience further.
As the dragon opened his jaws, Milton finally appeared to hear the warnings. "What? You say there's a big mean dragon behind me? Oh, come on, I don't believe you," he said.
"We insisted it was true," said audience member and mother of three Sherri Price, "so Milton finally turned around to look, but Drago then shifted to the other side so that the puppet could not see him. We then told Milton to look in the other direction, but when he did Drago only returned to his original position behind Milton."
The monkey then accused the audience of "just being jealous," and returned to inspecting his stolen bronze bananas. It was then that the dragon struck, severely shaking Milton in his felt-lined jaws and forcing the monkey to return the treasure.
Ogden police chief Duane Gordon said the attack could easily have been avoided. "When I come to schools to talk to kids about the importance of dragon safety, one of the first things I tell them is, always be sure to turn around completely if you think a dragon is stalking you," said Gordon, who happened to attend Sunday's show with his three-year-old son. "This monkey did not do so, and now he's paying for it."
According to leading puppet psychologist Dr. Gary Wizowski, violence has grown increasingly common in the puppet world. "Puppets have very limited free will," said Wizowski, whose clients include such celebrity puppets as Howdy Doody and Brown the Owl. "They are controlled by strings or by a human hand, and are continually forced to mouth the words of others. In addition, their environment is limited to the small, cramped puppet-theater stage. As a result, many puppets develop deep feelings of helplessness, anger and frustration, feelings that can very easily lead to violence."
Ogden Public Library officials offer a more direct explanation for the latest case of puppet-on-puppet violence.
"It's unfortunate that Milton didn't pay attention to the audience and was attacked by the dragon," assistant library director Lisa Jeppsen said. "But if he hadn't been such a greedy, stubborn little monkey who didn't want to share, it would never have happened."
Nevertheless, library officials have ordered beefed-up security for next week's performance of Mr. Boo Bear, Queen Bee and The Stolen Honey.
"That show could be serious trouble," said John Carter, head of security for the library. "A lot of the puppets want to get their hands on that honey."
Carter said the library is still investigating a March 25 stick-beating incident involving local puppets Punch and Judy, and no arrests have been made in connection with the gruesome boiling of a wolf last January.
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