Boy on a string 線上男孩

For thousands of years, people have used puppets as both fun toys and a way to teach others. Puppets were first used in ancient Greece, but the use of puppets has spread all over the world. Each place has its own history of using puppets and its own ways to use them.

This picture shows a group of women from Laos putting on a puppet show to teach people about bird flu and how to prevent it. The puppets they are using are called marionettes, which were first used in France. Marionettes are puppets with strings attached to them. A person can pull the strings to make the puppet move. One of the most famous marionettes of all time is Pinocchio, the puppet who wanted to be a real boy.

Some marionettes are very simple, with strings that make only their arms and legs move. However, there are also marionettes made with some electronic parts so that many other body parts, such as their eyes and mouths, can move as well!(Emily Shih, Staff Writer)

數千年來，木偶被人們當作是有趣的玩具或教導的工具。木偶的使用首次源於古代希臘，之後流傳至世界各地，而且各處都有自己使用木偶的歷史和獨特的使用方式。

這張照片中是一群寮國婦女以木偶秀教導有關禽流感的知識以及防範之道。她們使用的木偶叫做傀儡。發源於法國的傀儡，是繫有繩索的木偶，人可以藉由拉扯繩索來牽動木偶。有史以來最著名的木偶之一就是皮諾丘，它是想要成為真實男孩的小木偶。

有的傀儡非常簡單，只有手腳能靠著線來動作，然而，也有一些傀儡在身體許多部位都裝上電子儀器，所以連眼睛和嘴巴等部位也能動。

（翻譯︰鄭湘儀）