Compere: Dear guests, boys and girls and teachers. I’m glad to see you. This time we are going to see about animals. You know a lot of animals. Perhaps you know a few poems about them.
Girl: I love my cat,
It’s warm and fat.
My cat I s grey,
It likes to play.
Boy: I will not hurt my little dog,
But stroke and pat his head;
I like to see him wag his tail,
I like to see him fed.
Girl: Once I saw a little bird
Come hop, hop, hop,
And I cried, “Little bird,
Will you stop, stop, stop?”
I was going to the window
To say, “How do you do?”
And he shook his little tail
And away he flew.
Boy: Cuckoo, cuckoo, what do you do?
“In April I open my bill;
In May I sing all day;
In June I change my tune;
In July away I fly;
In August away I must.”
Girl: Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full;
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.
Boy: My dog is clever, strong and quick,
Its name is Spot, my name is Nick.
My dog is nice, my dog is gay,
We play together every day.
Through heavy snow, rain and fog
I go walking with my dog.
My father always tells me: “Mind,
The dog must not be left behind.”
Girl: I love little pussy,
Her coat is so warm,
And if I don’t hurt her
She’ll do me not harm.
So I’ll not pull her tail,
Or drive her away,
But pussy and I
Very gently will play.
She will sit by my side
And I’ll give her some food;
And pussy will love me
Because I am good.
Boy: Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
Little brown bird,
Was that your singing
Through the wood ringing?
Sweeter music
Never was heard!
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
Good news you bring:
Blossoms are waking,
Green leaves are braking,
Come and tell us
It is the spring!
Girl: When the snow is on the ground,
Little Robin Redbreast grieves;
For no berries can be found,
And on the trees there are no leaves.
The air is cold, the worms are hid,
For this poor bird what can be done?
We’ll strew him here some crumbs of bread,
And then then he’ll live till the snow is gone.
Boy: I wonder, have you ever heard
My parrot? He is a talking bird.
He says “Hallo” to any man,
Who says “Hallo” to him.
He eats and sleeps and talks again;
But in his dreams he sees
Palms and unknown jungle trees,
And hides from tropical rains.
Girl: I love all kinds of animals,
Dogs and cats and rabbits.
I love all kinds of animals,
I know their little habits.
Boy: If I had plenty of money,
Do you know what I would do?
I’d buy such lots of animals
And have my own little Zoo.
But they wouldn’t be in cages,
They’d be free to run around.
And there’s one thing they would know,
That thing is to be safe and sound.
Compere: Now we come to little play “How the Tail of the Fox became White”.
How the Tail of the Fox became White
Characters
The Bear.
The Wolf. The Old Woman.
The Fox. The Story-teller.
The Cocks.
The Hens.
Scene I
(An Old Woman walks slowly across the stage. She has a stick in her hand. )
Story-teller: One upon a time there was an old woman, who had a large farm. She had many cows, pigs and chickens. She had to take care of her animals and do all the housework. This was too much for her, so one day she went to find someone to help her.
(The story-teller goes off. The old woman appears from the right, the bear-from the left. )
Bear: Where are you going, lady?
Old Woman: I’m looking for someone to take care of my cows, sheep and pigs.
Bear: Ah! That’s just the work for me. I have wanted to find that kind of work for a long time.
Old Woman: Oh? I’m glad. Will you help me? But can you call the sheep to come home?
Bear: Yes, yes, just listen. (He calls loudly. ) Ouff! Ouff!
Old Woman (sadly): No, no, you will never do. Your voice will frighten all the sheep in the country. They will never come home. (She goes to the left and the Bear-to the right. In a few seconds she appears again and meets the Wolf. )
Wolf: Where are you going, lady?
Old Woman: I’m looking for someone to take care of my cows, sheep and pigs.
Wolf: Why not take me? That’s just the work for me.
Old Woman: Do you know how to call animals?
Wolf: Oh, yes, just listen. Ow-w-w! Ow-w-w!
Old Woman: Oh, you will not to do, your voice is so unpleasant that my cows will never come home. (They part. Soon the woman enters again. The Fox follows her. )
Fox (very politely): Where are you going, my good woman?
Old Woman: I’m looking for someone to take care of my animals.
Fox (happily): Ah! That’s just the work for me. My voice is very soft, and the animals will come at once when I call them.
Old Woman: Let me hear you call them.
Fox: Certainly. Tum-ta-ta, Tum-ta-ta-tum!
Old Woman: That’s very good, indeed. I’ll take you. (They go out. )
Scene II
Place: A room in the Old Woman’s house.
Story-teller: All went for a few days. In the morning the fox drove the sheep and cows to the field. He fed the pigs and looked after the ducks and chickens. But one morning the Old Woman missed her little black pig.
Old Woman (with a broom in her hand): Where is my little Black Pig, Mr. Fox?
Fox: He is out in the field. He will soon come home.
Old Woman: And where is the old black hen and her little chickens?
Fox: Oh, she found a new nest down by the river. (The Woman goes out. )
Story-teller: Now imagine you are looking at the Yard behind th Old Woman’s house. There is a can of milk in the yard. The cocks and hens are eating corn. The Fox comes in and tries to catch a hen.
Cocks and Hens (running about): Chuck-chuck-chuck! Ca-darcut! Ca-darcut! (The Fox catches a hen. The woman comes back with a broom in her hands. She see the fox with a hen in his mouth. )
Old Woman: You cruel fox! You’re a thief! (She throws the broom at him. ) You ate my little black pig and my old black hen and her chickens. Shame on you! (The fox tries to run away but upsets a full can of milk. )
Story-teller: Look at the Fox! The tip of his tail has touched the milk on the ground and it has become white. (The Fox runs away. )
Story-teller: The Fox ran off into the forest and as fast as he could; and to this day the tip of a fox’s tail is always white.
Curtain.
Compere: What do you think? Was the Old Woman clever or wasn’t she? Why wasn’t she? I hope you liked the play. Now I want you to sing the song “Old John Brown’s farm”.
Old John Brown’s Farm
1. Old John Brown, he had a farm,
Oh-I-oh-I-oh!
And in that farm he had some ducks,
Oh-I-oh-I-oh!
With a quack-quack here,
And a quack-quack there,
Here a quack,
There a quack,
Everywhere a quack-quack.
2. Old John Brown, he had a farm,
Oh-I-oh-I-oh!
And in that farm he had some chicks,
Oh-I-oh-I-oh!
With a chuck-chuck here,
And a chuck-chuck there,
Here a chuck,
There a chuck,
Everywhere a chuck-chuck.
Quack-quack here,
And quack-quack there,
Here a quack,
There a quack,
Everywhere a quack-quack.
3. Old John Brown, he had a farm,
Oh-I-oh-I-oh!
And in that farm he had some dogs,
Oh-I-oh-I-oh!
With a bow-wow here,
And a bow-wow there,
Here a bow,
There a wow,
Everywhere a bow-wow.
Chuck-chuck here,
And a chuck-chuck there,
Here a chuck,
There a chuck,
Everywhere a chuck-chuck.
Quack-quack here,
And a quack-quack there,
Here a quack,
There a quack,
Everywhere a quack-quack.
Compere: I liked the song and you sang well. Now we’ll see who is the best in saying these tongue-twisters.
1. Pat’s Black cat is Pat’s Black hat.
2. A girl sees six big grey geese.
3. A cup of nice coffee in a nice coffee-cup.
4. Snow is so snowy when it is snowing.
Compere:Now, guess the riddles about animals:
1. I have a bushy tail,
Sometimes I’m grey and sometimes I’m red,
I like nuts.
What am I?
(A squirrel. )
2. This animal is small,
It lives in the woods
And runs very fast.
It is afraid of everything.
What animal is it?
(A hare. )
3. It doesn’t speak,
Nor does it sing,
Or at the door-bell
Give a ring,
But still it lets
Its master know
Someone wants to see him.
(A dog. )
4. There is an animal that has a beautiful yellow skin with black stripes on it. It is a very fierce wild animal. It lives mostly in hot countries.
(A tiger. )
5. I’m grey and I’m very big, I live in the jungle, but you can also find me at the Zoo or in the circus. I don’t eat meat. I like vegetables, leaves, grass and fruit.
(An elephant. )
6. I am red and I have a fine bushy tail, I like meat, I hunt and eat small animals.
(A fox. )
7. A very funny animal which moves very quickly. It can hang by its tail.
(A monkey. )
8. My long, thin legs
Are good and fast;
I like to gallop and to run.
Oh, yes, I think it is great fun.
(A horse. )
9. He is not a tailor but carries needles with him.
(A hedgehog. )
10. I’m a little bird
Dressed in grey,
I hope here and there
And never go away.
(A sparrow. )
11. It’s grey, but it isn’t a wolf,
Long-eared, but not a hare,
With hoofs, but not a horse.
What is it?
(A camel. )
Our party is over! Thank you, children! Good bye!
