I-93 SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE: THE UNTOLD STORY
A Shared Reading Script Based on a Well-Known Rhyme.
6 Solo Readers: Narrator 1, Narrator 2, King, Queen, Maid, Knave
Readers Chorus: Flock of Blackbirds (as few or as many as you'd like)
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Too old for nursery rhymes? Maybe not. In this version a King, Queen, Maid, and Knave take this tale in a whole new direction!
The king spends all his Counting House dollars (or loonies, if you are Canadian) on twenty four Bumbleberry pies. The queen spends her quarters on large amounts of bread and honey. The maid spends her dimes hiring the gardener's boy to help her hang the clothes. Eventually, they have nothing to show for their purchases.
A chorus of blackbirds continually warn our characters to save for "a rainy day". Only the knave takes their advice and hides his pennies away. When that rainy day finally comes, the characters sing their own songs of "money and ways to save or spend it." Yes, the story has a moral - and that is how they end it.
This script may be read and performed by a combination of ages and/or reading levels. Because the Flock of Blackbirds may consist of as many birds as you’d like to include, you might use a whole kindergarten class (or other younger readers) for the Birds Readers Chorus lines, then assign individual solo reading parts to the appropriate readers of varying ages.
Simple costume pieces and/or props, creative gestures, and use of facial expressions work well with this script and will help define each character.
Student (Reader) Version is 7 ½ pages in length.
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A sample from the Teacher Version of this script:
...Narrator 1 enters and stands on one side of the music stand line, Narrator 2 enters and stands on the other side. They face the audience, hold their reading scripts in their hands, and wear signs displaying their roles: NARRATOR.
The Flock of Blackbirds fly in noisily, (“Caw, caw. Caw, caw”) and sit on the floor in front and to each side of the music stands holding their reading scripts in their hands. They face the audience. Each wears a sign that says BLACKBIRD.
When all readers are in position, the reading begins:
Narrator 1: Early one Monday morning, a royal king went to his counting house and found it filled with silver dollars. He was delighted to have saved so much money!
(Substitute “loonies” above and below for Canadian version).
Narrator 2: The queen and palace staff were eating breakfast in the courtyard below. A flock of blackbirds nested in the trees nearby.
Flock of Blackbirds: Caw, caw. Caw, caw!
Narrator 2: The king ran to a window and called out.
King quickly turns to face audience, mimes running in place, then stops, looks out over his music stand at birds sitting on the floor in front of him, then at audience, and calls out:
King: My bank is filled with dollars!
Queen turns to face audience.
Queen: How nice for you dear. What will you buy?
Flock of Blackbirds: Four and twenty bumbleberries
Baked in a pie!
It’s the only thing to buy.
Caw, caw! Bumbleberries
Baked in a pie!
Knave turns to face audience.
Knave: Good idea. I love bumbleberry pie.
Maid turns to face audience.
Maid: I will cut it open and serve it to the king.
King: And I will eat each gooey bite of every slice you bring.
All Royals and Palace Staff: Sing a song of dollars.
King: Dollars, yes hooray!
Flock of Blackbirds: But save a few in case we have a rainy, rainy day.
Narrator 1: The king didn't listen to this advice. He got carried away. He spent all of his dollars on twenty four bumbleberry pies.
Narrator 2: The palace cook told the king she had no room to store that many pies in the pantry. So, she gave most of them away to the hungry townspeople.
Knave: The king was not happy. His money was gone and he had little to show for it.
King: Talk about a blue Monday.
King, Queen, Maid, and Knave turn backs to audience as birds read the following:
Flock of Blackbirds: Cheer up king. No more sorrow. Let's look forward to tomorrow!
Narrator 1: On Tuesday morning the queen checked her purse and found it crammed with quarters.
Narrator 2: She was delighted to have saved so much money! The king and staff were drinking tea on the palace patio, so she ran to the window and called out.
Queen quickly turns to face audience, mimes running in place, then stops, looks out over her music stand at birds sitting on the floor in front of her, then at audience, and calls out:
Queen: My purse is crammed with quarters!
King turns to face audience.
King: How nice for you dear. What will you buy?
Flock of Blackbirds: Four and twenty bumbleberries
Baked in a pie!
It’s the only thing to buy.
Caw, caw! Bumbleberries
Baked in a pie!
King: Hey, I've already bought that!
Knave turns to face audience.
Knave: It's true, it's true.
Maid turns to face audience.
Maid: A copy-cat's not funny.
Queen: Don't worry. I'll go shopping, but I'll buy bread and honey.
All Royals and Palace Staff: Sing a song of quarters.
Queen: Quarters, yes hooray!
Flock of Blackbirds: But save a few in case we have a rainy, rainy day.
Narrator 1: The queen didn't listen to this advice. She got carried away. She spent all of her quarters on enough bread and honey to feed an army.
Narrator 2: The palace butler knew the bread would soon grow mould, so he ate all of it as quickly as he could.
Knave: The queen was not happy. Her money was gone and so was her bread and honey.
Queen: Talk about a terrible Tuesday.
King, Queen, Maid, and Knave turn backs to audience as birds read the following:
Flock of Blackbirds: Cheer up Queen. No more sorrow. Let's look forward to tomorrow!
Narrator 1: On Wednesday morning the maid checked her sock and found it was stuffed with dimes. She was delighted to have saved so much money!
Continued...
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