Clara
- When Clara Wintermute wakes up, she's all excited because it's her birthday and she cannot wait for the puppet master Grisini to show up and perform at her party.
- She gets up and walks past all of her siblings' toys, which she's not supposed to touch. Then, she looks at her birthday dress, which is lovely but childish. She's turning 12 this year and isn't looking forward to next year when she'll have to wear a corset like a proper young lady.
- Agnes comes into the room and helps her get ready for the day. Agnes is the maid and obviously thinks Clara is super spoiled—she says she doesn't understand why Clara would want some seedy foreigner to come perform at her party. As if.
- Clara is surprised her father let Professor Grisini perform at the party. She originally saw the puppet caravan a while back, and she was taken with the puppets and the two children working with Grisini. In particular, the girl smiled and was nice to Clara.
- When Clara first asked her father if she could have them at the party, he said that she couldn't because foreigners are dirty and often ill.
- But when Clara cried, her father conceded defeat. Even though Clara is a pampered rich girl, she doesn't cry often, so when she does, her father listens.
- As Agnes does Clara's hair, Clara asks if her mother bought presents for the Others—which is what she calls her brothers and sisters. For some reason, this makes her unhappy.
- Then, Clara asks Agnes for a birthday present: She wants to take tea with the children who work for Grisini's puppet caravan, to hang out with them socially for just a little bit.
- Agnes says her mother wouldn't like that, but she eventually gives in and tells Clara that she'll give her a tea tray while the children are setting up the show.
- That's when Clara's mother comes into the room and looks displeased that she's not yet fully dressed.
- She also gives her daughter her birthday present—a golden, oval locket with a sapphire at the center. Clara gasps, and her mother tells her to open the locket and see what's inside.