Mary Bruna liberates the poor woman

Intimidated by Mary Bruna's stern demeanor, the young man slowly let the two dripping sponges slide back into the buckets and retreated backwards.

"Now, now, venerable sister, the carnival is a place of pleasure, recreation and joie de vivre. You shouldn't spoil the harmless fun of good-humored visitors."

Surprised, Mary Bruna looked to her side to see where the voice had come from. And saw ... nothing. Confused, she lowered her gaze to the ground and discovered a little man in a colorful three-piece suit. What he lacked in size, he made up for with the height of his top hat. He winked mischievously at her from below. But the nun was far too upset to be placated by him.

"Are you responsible for this humiliating display of an innocent young woman?"

"Yes, you could say that. My name is Trapp, at your service. I am the owner and manager of this modest entertainment establishment."

"Very good, Mr. Trapp. Then I would ask you most urgently to free this poor person from her shameful situation immediately."

"Alas! Unfortunately, I cannot fully comply with your request, as much as I would like to. After all, I am contractually obliged to keep all attractions accessible and in operation during the opening hours of the carnival. You see, my hands are tied here, so to speak."

Mary Bruna gritted her teeth. Contracts had to be adhered to, she understood. Otherwise the civilized world would fall into chaos.

"Is there really nothing you can do?"

"To my great regret, unfortunately not," he shook his head theatrically. But then his face brightened, "although ... perhaps ... oh, no ... that would hardly be appropriate."

"But please tell me if there's a possibility!"

Trapp cupped the fingertips of his two hands and looked innocent.

"Of course I can relieve the nice lady, who, as you can see, has already had her fair share of wet sponges, of her duties without having to close the throwing booth, if someone could be found to take her place."

"Yes, very good! Then please do so."

"Well, that's easier said than done. To my unspeakable shame, I have to confess that we haven't planned an understudy for this important role. And where are we going to find a replacement to take her place in a jiffy? Possibly even a volunteer?"

"Mr. Trapp, that's no problem at all. Of course I will make myself available to free the pitiful creature from its predicament. My faith and charity dictate that I do."

"Oh, you would really do that? What a generous offer."

Barely three minutes later, Maria Bruna wondered how she had ended up with her head and upper body stuck in a hole in the wooden back wall. It was so tight that her arms were pressed firmly against her sides and she could barely move. Somehow she couldn't shake off the feeling that she had deliberately fallen into a trap.