Douglas the Dragon Play
Page 5
(The Mayor gives a loud belch of satisfaction)
BLACKSMITH JONES:
“Nor a Mother McNally, or a Frances McNally! No sooner than the coffin of one Granny McNally has been buried beneath the sod, the cradle of a newborn Frances McNally is being rocked.......and there’s always another female McNally in line ready to move up a generation. Folk ‘round here call it the ‘McNally Assembly Line!’”
Both Mayor and blacksmith laugh, and as they do so, a 90-year-old woman dressed in shawl and moving slowly with the aid of a walking stick approaches.
GRANNY McNALLY: (Assertive voice)
“Good morning, Mayor - blacksmith. Have either of you seen our Frances? She’s never to be found when you want her and is forever under your feet when you don’t!”
THE MAYOR OF MARFIELD:
“I haven’t, Granny McNally. Sorry.”
BLACKSMITH JONES:
“I saw her fighting with Fred Larkin’s lad half an hour ago, Granny McNally. They were knocking lumps out of each other. I had to pull them apart before she broke young Larkin’s nose again. She was…” (Pause)
GRANNY McNALLY:
“She was what, blacksmith? You were saying. Come on, man, spit it out!”
BLACKSMITH JONES:
“She was on fire with rage, is what I was about to say, Granny McNally. So full of anger, bringing her down. Most….........unladylike, if you pardon me saying so.”
GRANNY McNALLY:
“Tut! That girl! She’ll put her family to shame and me and her poor mother in an early grave if she doesn’t grow out of it soon.”
“I pity her poor mother. Mind you ... and don’t say I told you so......., but her mother was no better at her age, come to think of it. What goes around comes around. That’s what I say!”
“Too much anger inside her. That’s her problem. Too much anger! It’s as though she’s frightened to let the world see the love she has to give, so she hides it behind her anger.”
THE MAYOR OF MARFIELD:
“What’s to be done with her, Granny McNally? What’s to be done?”
GRANNY McNALLY:
“Talking! That’s the only recipe I know. Lots of talking and much soul searching. One way or another, she must be persuaded to open her heart and let the love in. Only then will she be able to let the anger out! ”
Granny McNally then burst’s into song and sings ‘Follow Your Heart’. Alternately, another song may be sung if the Producer prefers.
GRANNY McNALLY:
“Anyway; I can’t stop swapping stories with you two all day. I’ve too much to do and too little time left to do it in. See you.”
THE MAYOR OF MARFIELD:
“See you, Granny McNally.”
BLACKSMITH JONES:
“I’ll send your Frances home if I lay eyes on her again, Granny McNally. Bye now.”
The Mayor and blacksmith continue with their conversation, while nearby, in the far corner of the
Village Square, an 11-year-old boy and his widowed mother are talking.
DOUGLAS’S MOTHER: (Stern voice)
“Okay, Douglas. Okay! You can go to the long grass at the edge of the village, but no farther! And don’t be late for tea! And don’t dare bring back any more strays! We’ve got two cats, four dogs, a three-legged pony, a poorly goose and a white rat! Our house is like a farmyard. And before you come home, call to the bakers and get a loaf of bread. We’re out!”
DOUGLAS THE BOY:
“Thanks Mum. I’ll not be late and I won’t forget the bread.”
DOUGLAS’S MOTHER:
“And don’t forget; no more strays! I know you love animals, Son, but enough is enough! We’ve got two cats, four…............”
DOUGLAS THE BOY: (Running off)
“Bye, Mum. See you later. Bye!”
As both boy and mother leave the stage in opposite directions, the curtain comes down to end the scene and prepare for the next.
Act One: Scene Two
The Narrator appears in front of curtain to address the audience while the next scene is being prepared.
THE NARRATOR: (Gentle voice)
“Every mother knows that when her infant is born, there is a brief period before it opens it eyes for first sight of the world. The very first smell it has is of its mother, and the first face it sets eyes on, is its mother. And from this first attachment, no newborn lets their mother out of their sight!”
“Thus this bond between mother and newborn is established by smell, touch and sight. That is how it is. That is how it’s always been!”
The curtain is raised, revealing the baby dragon blindly crawling through the long grass on the road to the Village of Marfield, with closed eyes and following its sense of smell. As the baby dragon crawls towards Marfield, Douglas the Boy is approaching in the opposite direction. The boy is stroking an injured frog with a damaged foot he found as he comes across the baby dragon at his feet.
THE BABY DRAGON: (Sensing the presence of another)
“Snort, snort, snort.”
DOUGLAS THE BOY: (Bends down and pats the dragon on its head lovingly)
“Well... well! What have we here? Hello, fella. Aren’t you a strange- looking creature? I’ve seen all sorts in my time, but never anything like you. What are you doing out here on your own, and where’s your mum?”
As the boy affectionately pats the baby dragon on its head, the dragon lifts up its head, opens its eyes for the first time, sees Douglas and snorts lovingly; ‘believing the boy to be its mother.’
DOUGLAS THE BOY:
“You’re gorgeous, fella; green, spiky and simply gorgeous!”
At this point, the frog that is being held in the boy’s other hand croaks twice, as if to ask, “Aren’t I gorgeous too?”
“And you’re gorgeous also, frog!”
“If…... if only I could take you home with me and add you to my….... but mum would never allow me. You see, fella, I’ve already got two cats, four dogs, a three-legged pony, a poorly goose and a white rat!”
At this point, the frog croaks twice, as if to assert, “And me!”
“Oh, and a frog with a damaged foot! Mum says that I’ve already turned our house into a farmyard.”
(Sorry-for-self voice) “If…..........if only dad was still alive, I bet he’d let me. Dad loved all animals. He’d never turn one away. Anyway, must go now, fella. I’m already late and…..... The bread! I’ve forgotten mum’s loaf. She’ll kill me. Bye now. Bye!”
As the boy turns to run off back home with the frog in his hand, the baby dragon follows him like a shadow he can’t shake off. Sensing that he’s being followed, the boy turns around and is annoyed with his stalker.
DOUGLAS THE BOY: (Stern voice and wagging finger of disapproval)
“Are you hard of hearing, Cloth Ears? I’ve already told you, I can’t take you home with me! Mum won’t allow me. I would if I could, but I can’t. Look, I’m already late. Now stay there, Spiky!”