After a gorilla escapes from a circus and captures Valerie, the little people help guide a puppeteer named Goalby in finding the beast. After Valerie is freed from the ape, Betty becomes caught in an animal trap and Goalby helps release her too. In doing so, he injures his hand and cannot perform. To repay him, Betty and Fitzhugh decide to be Goalby's marionettes until his hand heals. Meanwhile, Dan and Valerie are captured by Brady, the circus master; and he quickly realizes Goalby's puppet show is a farce. Instead of firing the puppeteer, Brady schemes to make a fortune off the realistic puppet act and forces Goalby to maintain the illusion. Goalby instead, tries to help Steve and Mark rescue their friends.