"AH!" Harold screamed. He dropped Slappy and Snappy and hugged himself.

Mahar gasped and quickly grabbed the puppets. "Son? Are you okay?" he asked.

"T-they...t-talked...all by themselves," the young boy managed to choke out. His father could see tears in his eyes and patted his shoulder, feeling a bit worried.

"Did they scare you?"

His son slowly nodded. "W-why did they do that?"

"Harold, let me explain." Mahar took out a remote control and showed him. "They are not alive. I was controlling them with this remote control. You see, Slappy and Snappy have an electric device in them that makes me control them with the controller."

Harold wiped away his tears. "It was you? You scared me, not the puppets?"

"Yes. I am sorry, son. I did not mean to frighten you. I was just having some fun with you and trying to cheer you up."

The boy hugged the maker tightly. "I forgive you, daddy."

Mahar smiled at his son and hugged him back, and then picked him up and carried him to his room. "Time for all good, little boys to go to bed," he told him.

"But dad, it is still daylight!" Harold protested.

His father chuckled. "But it will get dark really soon, and I want my boy to be all rested up for tomorrow." He set him down on his bed and started tucking him in.

"What are we doing tomorrow, dad?"

"Tomorrow, I am going to help you build your very own dummy."

"Really? We are not going to put an electric device in it though, are we?"

The maker kissed his son's head. "It is your dummy, Harold. If you do not want to have an electric device in your dummy, then we do not need to put in one."

Harold smiled and kissed Mahar's nose. "Thank you, daddy." He looked at the two puppets and kissed their wooden noses. "Goodnight, Slappy and Snappy."

Mahar finished tucking him in, and then walked out of his room and placed Slappy and Snappy on a table. "Why did you guys scare my son?" he asked the lifeless puppets.

The puppets did not move a muscle.

Their maker frowned and crossed his arms. "I have told you this once, and I will tell you again. My son cannot know that you are alive. It would freak him out, and he might stop loving me and not trust me anymore."

"So?" the puppet named Slappy finally spoke. "You will still have us."

"Yes, but I love and care for my son."

"Then what are we? Chopped liver?" the other puppet named Snappy spoke up.

"No, I care for you guys also," Mahar stated. "You are my creations, and I would feel real bad if anything happened to either one of you."

"Just tell the boy the truth about us," Slappy insisted. "He is going to know sooner or later."

"NEVER!" Mahar cried out. Slappy and Snappy were surprised by their maker's outburst.

He tried calming himself down. "I mean, no. It is best that he never knows that you two are alive."

"Why?" Snappy asked him. "He is your son. He would understand because he...loves...you. Plus, he likes us." Mahar just ignored him.

"He will find out soon enough," Slappy agreed. "And I am sure that he will understand. If not, then Snappy and I could be your new sons."

"You do not get it," Mahar said. "If I tell my son the truth, then I will never get to meet my grandson or granddaughter."

Slappy and Snappy raised their eyebrows. "Huh?"

"I have a feeling that my son will get married when he is older, and he will have a child of his own. However, if he finds out the truth about you guys, then he might never trust me again. Heck, he might cut me out of the family, and we will never see my grandson or granddaughter."

"And why should we be concerned about seeing your grandson or granddaughter?" Slappy questioned.

"Because if it is a boy, then you two will have a new friend."

"And what if it is a girl?" Snappy asked.

Mahar hesitated before speaking. "Then you two will have found your soulmate."