FOLK AND FAIRY TALE SCRIPTS, 4-ADULT
PLEASE, SCROLL DOWN FOR SCRIPT TITLES,
PLOT DESCRIPTIONS, AND SAMPLE PAGES
All scripts are $14.95 except for special packages and collections. For more information about pricing, ordering, and discounts, please click HERE.
If you wish to order a script(s) from this catalog page, record script title(s) and identification number(s), go back to the HOME page and click ORDER FORM at the left hand side of the screen. Fill out form for immediate e-mailing or print for faxing or mailing. You may also telephone your order: (Summer) 604-925-1989 or (Winter) 760-674-1728 or e-mail lois@scriptsforschools.com.
1-10 CLEVER LUCY
Poor John Carver is a farmer who has a hard time feeding his family. But John is married to Lucy, and Lucy is a mighty clever lady. With the family down to its last roasted chicken, Lucy engages in some clever mathematics and produces more than enough food to feed them all. The tale ends happily as John becomes a successful farmer - all because of Lucy's cleverness. Be prepared for a lively discussion of this tale! EDUCATIONAL NOTES: Adapted from a well-known Russian tale, a woman is asked to divide a goose for a wealthy baron and ends up profiting through her cleverness. In the English version of this same story, the clever woman is replaced by an Irish tramp in a story called "Dividing the Chicken." (6 Readers).
View sample pages HERE.
----------------------------------------
I -11 THE HAPPY MAN
King Landor is faced with a seventeen year old son who has lost the will to live. Old Jack, who lives in a small hut high in the hills, is summoned to speak to the boy and prescribe a remedy. Finally, Old Jack tells the king to "find a truly happy man and have him change shirts" with his son. As King Landor finds out, finding a truly happy man is difficult. When he finally finds one, the outcome is totally unexpected, ironic and bizarre. EDUCATIONAL NOTES: The story of a luck-bringing shirt has its origins in a Greek legend about Alexander the Great. From Greece, the story found its way to Europe and the Orient. An Italian version of the story, "The Happy Man's Shirt", can be found in Italian Folktales, Pantheon, New York, 1981. Hans Christian Andersen used a similar motif in his story "The Shoes of Happiness". (5 Readers)
View sample pages HERE.
----------------------------------------
I -13 THE TRICKSY MOUNTAIN ELVES
Set in the mountain country. An innkeeper and his very capable wife find their inn invaded by invisible tricksy mountain elves. Knowing that the elves love meatloaf and never, ever eat breakfast, helps the pair outsmart their unwanted guests. A cheese pie baked in a jar lid, a chicken casserole baked in an egg shell, and a meatloaf baked in a sewing thimble are part of the plan. EDUCATIONAL NOTES: Adapted from an old world-wide favorite! Here's the tale about a clever woman who rids her home of unwanted invader elves. Another version, "Eggshell Pudding" can be found in Tell Me Another Tale by Jean Chapman, Hodder and Stoughton (Australia), 1976. (6 Readers)
View sample pages HERE.
-----------------------------------------
I -14 THE FAST SKIPPIN' POT
Back in the days when "pigs could whistle and pots could talk," a poor hungry husband and wife trade their skinny pig for an old cooking pot and are finally blessed with good fortune. The magical pot skips off to find adventure, tricks a troll, an ogre, and a witch into parting with their most prized possessions, and skips everyone off to the hinterlands in a vat of hamburger soup. EDUCATIONAL NOTES: This story had its origins in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, which have spawned at least three versions. Shades of Jack and the Beanstalk: traded pot brings wealth midst much adventure! The script has been adapted from "The Talking Pot" found in Danish Fairy and Folk Tales by Christian Bay, Harper, 1899. (6 Readers)
View sample pages HERE.
-------------------------------------------
I - 5 THE KING OF THE CATS
Set along a rocky coast. A grave-digger returns home to tell of his eerie encounter with nine black cats who marched through the fog to deliver a message: "Tell Tom Toldrum that Tim Tildrum is dead. Tell him, or your life won't be worth living!" The poor grave-digger doesn't even know a Tom Toldrum. His wife and old cat listen carefully as the tension mounts. This story is a jump-tale. If read correctly, all listeners should be scared enough to "jump" at the story's end. EDUCATIONAL NOTES: "The King of the Cats" is a suspenseful English fairy tale which makes a good Halloween story. This script features sinister talking cats who deliver a confusing message to a terrified gravedigger! Several versions of this tale have been collected in England. The names Tom Tildrum and Tim Toldrum appear in an English version by Joseph Jacobs, More English Fairy Tales, 1894. (6 Readers)
View sample pages HERE.
------------------------------------------
I - 6 MISERY'S TREE
Set in apple-growing country. An old woman named Misery owns one prized possession: a magnificent apple tree. The tree, however, does not make Misery happy. Village children steal her apples and ignore her when she warns, "Go on home and let me be. Stay away from Misery!" In the end, the tree, an enchanted visitor, and a granted wish help Misery outsmart both the children and DEATH'S messenger when he, too, tries to steal an apple. EDUCATIONAL NOTES: This tale originates from a motif which personifies death and also explains why misery remains in the world. A Portuguese and a Puerto Rican version feature a pear tree as the central symbol. In both versions the central character, Aunt Misery, traps local village boys in her tree in order to teach them a lesson about stealing. A Flanders version features an apple tree and Misery traps children, parents, and various animals in the branches of her tree. (6 Readers)
View sample pages HERE.
--------------------------------------------------------
I - 7 THE RAT PRINCESS
A Rat King decides that his exceptional daughter must marry "only the most powerful in all the world." He sets forth on a journey to find the perfect husband. By journey's end, the King has learned an important lesson about power from the sun, the cloud, the wind, the stone wall, and an ordinary gray rat whom his daughter has secretly loved all along. EDUCATIONAL NOTES: There are countless versions of the motif, rodent searches for strongest husband, dating back to the 15th/16th centuries. A French version has a rat turned into a princess by a fairy. Sun, cloud, wind and mountain are likely bridegrooms, but the princess is turned back into a rat and weds a rat. In Japanese and Burmese versions, a mouse seeks a husband. In Korea a mole is the central figure. (7 Readers)
View sample pages HERE.
----------------------------------------------------------
I - 8 SILLY, SILLY, SILLY
Thomas Stern is engaged to his neighbor, Mary Sillatoe, and thinks she might be the "silliest girl in the world." He goes off on a quest to find someone sillier, and does. He not only meets an old gent who is trying to plant a puppy so it will grow into a dogwood tree, but also meets a fair maiden trying to make a suit of armor from old love letters, and a lad trying to rake the moon's reflection out of a pond of water. Thomas retuns home to marry Mary, knowing there are other people in the world sillier than she. EDUCATIONAL NOTES: This adapted script from the English noodle story about a young man searching for someone sillier than his bride-to-be is a classic tale known throughout the world. Another version, "The Three Sillies" can be found in British Foktales by Katharine Briggs. Many known variants of the tale exist, but the Grimm version, "Clever Elsie", is probably the most well-known. (8 Readers)
View sample pages HERE.
--------------------------------------------------------
I - 20 SILLY WILLY GOOSE WAR
"Once upon a time, a farmer's wife went out to her garden to dig carrots. Instead, she dug up a pot of gold." Sounds simple enough, but the plot thickens as greedy kinfolk descend upon the farm hoping to get their hands on the treasure. There is no solution but to declare a Silly Willy Goose War! You've got to read this one to believe it! EDUCATIONAL NOTES: An adaptation of "The Silly Goose War", a folk tale from Latvia in which clever parents outwit a "clueless" son and keep a fortune in gold away from greedy relatives. The Latvian version by Mae J. Durham, can be found in Tit for Tat and Other Latvian Folk Tales, Brace and World, 1967. (6 Readers)
View sample pages HERE.
---------------------------------------------------------
I - 28 THE ROLY RICE BALLS
Japanese folklore contains many stories about kind people who live next door to mean people. In this version of that theme, a poor but kind old man follows three rice balls as they roll into a hole. The rice balls lead him to a tiny land under the earth which is inhabited by millions of mice. The mice give the man a magical golden rice-pounding mallet to thank him for sharing his rice balls with them. From that day on, the mallet provides food for the man. His greedy neighbour, however, trys to trick the mice into giving him a mallet, and ends up with mud, slime, slugs, and other "horrid things!" EDUCATIONAL NOTES: This script comes from a Japanese folklore rich in stories about kind old men living next door to mean old men. The familiar motif: "dropped ball (basket) leads to adventure when recovery is attempted" has been used throughout the world. A recent version by Margaret R. MacDonald, "Roly Poly Rice Ball," can be found in Twenty Tellable Tales, H.W. Wilson, 1986. (5 Readers)
View sample pages HERE.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I - 92 THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF
A Shared Reading Script Based on a Well-Known Folk Tale.
8 Solo Readers: Narrator, Shepherd Boy, Sun, Goatherd, Villager 1, Villager 2, Villager 3, Villager 4.
Readers Chorus: Flock of Sheep
This version of the old tale, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, may be read and performed by a combination of ages and/or reading levels. Because the Flock of Sheep may consist of as many sheep as you’d like to include, you might use a whole kindergarten class (or other younger readers) for the Sheep Readers Chorus lines, then assign individual solo reading parts to 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.
8 ½ pages in length.
View sample text HERE.
--------------------------------------
I-93 SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE: THE UNTOLD STORY
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.
For more information, please click HERE.
--------------------------------------
