The king turned to the crowd and smiled. Looti gave a little reverent bow as the Substitute Great Mole arrived. The crowd fell hush in awe of the beatific glove puppet.

The Mole spoke quietly to the king who smiled and nodded before clearing his throat. ‘Friends!’ he cried.
Vast applause, cheers and harroos from the goblin maidens answered him.

‘Friends!’ he added, regally. ‘The Substitute Great Mole reminds me – not that I need reminding about anything of course, so great am I – that this evening is All Sharks’ Eve, the day when we celebrate the fact that sharks don’t have legs or live on land. In this respect we owe our thanks to the sound judgement of that most holy demi-god Lord Shank, the Giver of Legs’. The king turned to Looti and led her forward. ‘The adviser shall recite from the lore of Lord Shank, chapter lots, verse a-few. Adviser,’ the king ushered his palanquin back to allow Looti centre stage. She smiled and cleared her throat before reading aloud.