Characters: Narrator Old Master Turkey Mayor Sheriff The Turkey and the Fat Mayor Setting: An interior setting SL easy chair, small table next to it with a newspaper lying on top and a telephone next to it. A large chest is DS on the floor. A fireplace is SL and a window is directly US. An exterior setting is SR trees, a well, and an anthill. The anthill can be as simple as a stool with a piece of fabric thrown over it. Scene begins with the Narrator positioned DSR either on a stool or standing. The Old Master and the Turkey are USR. Old Master is leaning on a cane. Narrator: Once, a poor old man had a Turkey who liked to strut up and down the road. The old man and Turkey were very hungry because it had been a long time since they had had a decent meal. Old Master: (Old, feeble, hungry voice) Oh, little Turkey, I don t know what we will do. We are both so hungry and I have neither food nor gold to buy our food. Please go out and see what you can find for us to eat. Maybe there are some wild flowers we can eat! Turkey nods to the master, turns away, then struts up and down the road. The Old Master exits SR. Narrator: One day, the Turkey found a gold nugget as large as your thumb lying in the middle of the road. Turkey searches the stage for something to eat and then spots a gold nugget. He picks it up to make sure it is what he thinks it is. Turkey: (with BIG smile & GREAT EXCITEMENT) Gobble, gobble, gobble. I'll take this to my hungry master! Mayor & sheriff enter SR after the narrator says, a Mayor happened to walk by. Narrator: Just as he was heading home with the gold, a Mayor happened to walk by. The Mayor was fat. In fact, he was very fat. A skinny Sheriff walked behind him but you couldn t see him because the Mayor was so fat. Mayor: (DEMANDS!!!) Turkey, give me that gold! I will take that gold home with me! Turkey: No you won't! Dialogue Stage Directions Mayor: (to the Sheriff) Get that gold for me! Necessary Actions
Sheriff chases Turkey around the stage, grabs him by the ankle, and wrestles the gold out of his hand. Sheriff pats the Mayor on the back and they exit SR with the gold. Turkey gets up angrily, brushes himself off, and follows the Mayor and Sheriff off stage SR. Narrator: The Mayor took the gold nugget to his home and put it in his large treasure chest. Then he sat down to read his paper. Mayor enters SR. He walks to chest on stage opens the chest and places the gold nugget in the chest. He closes the lid and then sits down on his chair and begins reading a newspaper that is lying on a table nearby. Turkey appears at window upstage. Turkey: (angrily to the mayor) Gobble, gobble, gobble, goo. Return my gold, or woe is you! Mayor: (The mayor jumps in surprise, then sees the turkey in the window. Angrily, he grabs the telephone and calls the Sheriff): Hello Sheriff! That pesky Turkey followed me home and is at my window asking for the gold! Get over here right now! Narrator: Well, that Sheriff hurried to the Mayor s house as fast as could. Sheriff enters SR and walks to the Mayor s house. Mayor: It s about time you got here! Now, take the turkey outside and drown him in the well! Sheriff walks to the window. Sheriff: So, you want your gold, huh? (sarcastically) Well, come along with me little turkey and you ll get your reward! The Sheriff grabs the Turkey by the neck and takes him to the well. Sheriff: (mean with authority!) You blasted Turkey. Now I ll drown you and you will quit being such a nuisance! Sheriff leans the Turkey over the well as if he has thrown him in and returns to the interior set. Sheriff: (with much satisfaction and renewed confidence) Well, Mayor. I think that will be the last we see of that pesky gobbler! I drowned him in the well, Mayor, and he won t be back! Mayor: Good, good. Very good, Sheriff. Now let me read! Mayor goes back to reading his paper. Narrator: As he fell into the well, the Turkey sucked up all the water in the well, filling his stomach to the brim. Then he flew back to his window perch.
Turkey: Oh empty stomach of mine, drink up the water and I ll feel fine! Turkey pantomimes drinking all the water in the well and swallows with a gulp! Turkey then flies to the window again. Turkey: (to the Mayor angrily), gobble, gobble, goo. Return my gold, or woe is you! Mayor: (more angry than before) Sheriff, I thought you said oh throw the Turkey into the fireplace and burn him! Sheriff looks nervously to the Mayor, then turns and grabs the Turkey at the window and leads him to the fireplace. He pushes him into the fire. Narrator: The Turkey quickly found a way to save himself! He emptied his stomach of all the well water! Turkey (facing the audience and pantomiming that it is very hot): Stomach so full, empty the water and save my soul! The Turkey pantomimes having a very large stomach and spewing water into the fire all around him. Then he flies back up to the window. Turkey: (to the Mayor, angrily) gobble, gobble, gobble, goo. Return my gold or woe is you! Mayor: (in a rage) Sheriff, you put that Turkey on the hill of red ants outside my house and let the ants bite him to death! Sheriff: (frustrated and very afraid of the angry Mayor) Yes, Mayor! This time I will make sure I take care of him! Sheriff runs to the window and the Turkey jumps down. Sheriff chases the Turkey around the room but finally catches him and drags him by the neck out to the anthill. He sits the Turkey down on the anthill, claps his hands together as if all finished and heads back into the house. Sheriff: (with much satisfaction and renewed confidence) That ought to do the trick, Mayor. Those red ants will be the end of him for sure! Turkey: Oh empty stomach of mine, eat all the red ants, and I ll feel fine! Narrator: The Turkey sucked up all those red biting ants lickety split! Then he returned to the window. Turkey pantomimes sucking up all the red ants in the anthill and then returns to his spot at the window. Turkey: (to the Mayor angrily) Gobble, gobble, goo. Return my gold or woe is you! Narrator: The fat Mayor saw the Turkey back at the window and was so angry he didn t know what
to do. Mayor: (motioning to the Sheriff to come over to speak privately and speaking in a stage whisper): (with anger & concern) Sheriff, what are we going to do? We can t seem to get rid of this feathered fowl! Sheriff: (Proud of his/her ideas &with much satisfaction and renewed confidence) Well, sir, we could pull out all of his feathers or we could cut off his head.or (pause) you could sit on him! Narrator: The Mayor thought about this strategy for a moment and then said: Mayor: (Sees the light) That s just what I ll do! I ll sit on him, yes, yes, that should do the trick! Bring him here, Sheriff! The Sheriff waits until narrator tells the story, and does the following actions as the narrator speaks them--sneaks up on the Turkey, who jumps down just as the Sheriff gets next to him. The Sheriff grabs the Turkey by the neck drags the him over to the Mayor s chair. Narrator: The Sheriff quietly sneaked up on that Turkey and grabbed him by the neck. Then, that great, fat Mayor STOOD UP with SUCH EFFORT while the Sheriff placed the Turkey on the chair where the Mayor had been sitting. (Smile as you say this) A smile came over the Mayor s face he was satisfied that he had finally gotten rid of that troublesome Turkey! The Mayor stands up and sits down on the Turkey while the narrator speaks. Then, he smiles, looking satisfied that he has squished the Turkey. Mayor: (with great satisfaction) There! If that doesn t get rid of this Turkey, I don t know what will! Narrator: But that crafty Turkey wasn t finished yet. He opened his mouth and all the red ants began to crawl out and bite the fat Mayor. Turkey: Stomach so full, empty the ants and save my soul (he opens his mouth and blows out hard, pantomiming emptying his stomach of the ants & making a raspberry sound. As soon as mayor is off of you, fly to the window). Mayor: (jumping off the Turkey and pantomiming that he is being bitten over and over again by red ants by itching and slapping himself): Yeow! Ouch, oh ouch, ouch, ouch! Sheriff, ouch, oh ouch, ouch! Sheriff, return the gold nugget to the Turkey! (He continues jumping and running around as if being bitten by ants.) Sheriff: (opening the treasure chest) O.k., Turkey, here! Here is your gold! (The Sheriff runs after the Mayor who runs off SR yelping and itching) Narrator: The Turkey jumped down from his window perch and looked inside the treasure chest. Turkey: Oh empty stomach of mine; eat all the treasure and I ll feel fine! (The Turkey pantomimes sucking up all the treasure as his stomach gets larger, except the gold nugget which he picks up and holds up to admire. Then he struts off SR).
Narrator: (Wait until the turkey has viewed the gold with satisfaction.) His empty stomach ate up all the treasure, and the Turkey strutted home. He and his old master lived comfortably ever after.