Adapted for Readers Theater by Nadene Ruthenbeck
Characters: Narrator, Buggly Bear and Forrest
NARRATOR: Buggly Bear woke up from his winter nap with a start! - He had the hiccups. He had a very bad case of the hiccups. His friend Forrest came along and said,
FORREST: Hiccups! I know lots of cures!
BUGGLY: Hic!
FORREST: Hold your breath while I count to 100. - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10...
NARRATOR: But Forrest wasn't very good at counting over 10
FORREST: 14...20...37... Ummmm... 33...62...42...89...00....56...100!
BUGGLY: Hic!
FORREST: Well, that didn't work. I know, hang upside down and drink a bucket of honey.
BUGGLY: Hic, gurgle, hic!
FORREST: Oh, dear, let me try tickling...
BUGGLY: Hee, hee, hee, hic! Hee, hee, hic!
FORREST: Not that either. - I've got it. - Eat three loaves of Moose-Moss Bread!
NARRATOR: So Buggly did just that. But as he was finishing his last bite....
BUGGLY: Hic!
FORREST: May be if I sat on your stomach,
NARRATOR: Forrest tries that and
BUGGLY: HIC!
FORREST: I've got it - If you just forget about your hiccups, they'll go away. A little song and dance will get your mind off them. Here goes...Oh, do the mooshy-mashy, Eat potatoes squishy squashy. Lunchtime will be soon Underneath the moo-moo-moon!
NARRATOR: Forrest danced wildly through twenty-seven more verses. But it didn't work.
BUGGLY: Hic!
FOREST: I know - Hypnosis!...Your eyelids are growing heavy...You are in my powerrr...You are a chicken.
BUGGLY: Cluck.
FORREST: You are a chicken WITHOUT hiccups!
BUGGLY: Cluck-Hic
FORREST: I will not give up! - I will scare them out of you... Ummmm... What would scare a bear?....BOO!
BUGGLY: I hate this! Hic!
NARRATOR: Forrest tried his monster costume next.
FORREST: Grrrr, yahzah, yahzah!
BUGGLY: Wait a minute, I think...they're...Gone!...HIC!...Rats!
NARRATOR: Forrest thought for a while and then said,
FORREST: If this doesn't work, nothing will. - Swim back and forth across the river twenty times.
NARRATOR: Buggly does as Forrest says and slowly comes out of the river - very tired and -
BUGGLY: Hic!
NARRATOR: Just then Forrest slipped on a wet rock and fell into the water.
FORREST: Help, Help! I can't swim!
NARRATOR: The current swept him towards Headache Falls. Quickly, Buggly jumped into the water after Forrest and swam out towards him. - Forrest was almost at the edge of the Falls when Buggly grabbed him by the horns - just in time! Then he dragged Forrest back to shore. Forrest gasped.
FORREST: Thanks!
NARRATOR: Suddenly, Buggly sat up and yelled,
BUGGLY: My hiccups are gone! They are really gone!!
NARRATOR: Forrest smiled weakly...and the...
FORREST: Hic!!!
By
Kin Platt
Arranged for Readers Theater by Nadene Ruthenbeck. - For classroom use only.
CHARACTERS: Narrator, King Pooka Pooka, Big Max, Birds, Captain, Crocodile, Jumbo, and Jumbo’s family
NARRATOR: Big Max was the world’s greatest detective. Everyone knew it. The King of Pooka Pooka knew it. He called Big Max on the telephone.
KING POOKA POOKA: Come quickly! Someone has stolen Jumbo, my prize elephant.
BIG MAX: Do not worry. I will be right there. I will find him for you.
KING POOKA POOKA: Will you come by plane or boat?
BIG MAX: By umbrella.
NARRATOR: Big Max took a deep breath. He blew into his umbrella. The umbrella filled with air. And Big Max flew through the sky. On the way he met some birds.
BIRDS: We are flying south for the winter. What are you doing?
BIG MAX: I am looking for a missing elephant.
BIRDS: You won’t find him up here. But feel free to look around.
BIG MAX: Thank you.
NARRATOR: They flew over a ship.
BIG MAX: I smell something burning.
BIRDS: Sorry we can’t help you. Birds can’t smell.
NARRATOR: Big Max flew down to the ship. He spoke to the captain.
BIG MAX: Pardon me. I smell something burning.
NARRATOR: The captain laughed.
CAPTAIN: Ha, Ha. That is the smoke from the smokestacks.
BIG MAX: No, this smoke is coming from your pocket!
CAPTAIN: My pipe! I forgot it was still lit. You are a great detective!
BIG MAX: I try to be.
NARRATOR: Big Max flew on. It began to rain.
BIG MAX: It’s a good thing I travel by umbrella!
NARRATOR: When he came to Pooka Pooka, Big Max flew down. The King was waiting for him.
KING: That is a great way to travel.
BIG MAX: Well, it got me here.
NARRATOR: The King led Big Max to the palace.
KING: I will give you anything I have if you will find Jumbo.
BIG MAX: I will find him. You can be sure of that!
NARRATOR: The King showed Big Max a room full of rubies. He showed him a room full of emeralds. He showed him a room full of gold.
KING: Do you charge a lot?
BIG MAX: Not that much. By the way, who would want to steal Jumbo?
KING: Just about everybody because Jumbo is the best elephant
in the whole world.
BIG MAX: How old is he?
KING: He will be four years old tomorrow.
BIG MAX: Ahhh….
KING: Is that a clue?
BIG MAX: We shall see. - Was Jumbo happy here?
KING: He was very happy – until a week ago.
BIG MAX: What happened then?
KING: He became sad. And that was the first time he had been sad since I got him.
BIG MAX: And when did you get him?
KING: Almost a year ago.
BIG MAX: Take me to where you last saw Jumbo.
NARRATOR: The King led Big Max outside. He opened a lock on the gate.
KING: Here, in this courtyard.
NARRATOR: Big Max looked all around. He looked up at the high walls.
BIG MAX: Hmmm, elephants cannot climb walls.
NARRATOR: Big Max looked at the gate.
BIG MAX: Was the gate locked?
KING: Yes, and I have the only key.
BIG MAX: Hmmm, elephants cannot open locks.
NARRATOR: Big Max looked at the ground and suddenly…
BIG MAX: Jumbo was not stolen!
KING: How do you know?
BIG MAX: There are no footprints except Jumbo’s.
KING: Then how did he get out
BIG MAX: We shall see. Hmmm, I see a clue. - The ground is wet. Did it rain?
KING: It always rains in Pooka Pooka. Perhaps you are not such a great detective after all!
BIG MAX: We shall see.
NARRATOR: It was very hot. Big Max sat down to think.
BIG MAX: What a wonderful idea. An ice chair for hot days!
KING: Jumbo likes to sit on ice too. That is why I always have so much ice in here.
BIG MAX: I do not see much ice. - Only little pieces!
NARRATOR: Big Max looked down. He was sitting on the ground.
BIG MAX: This ice melts very fast! What is on the other side of the wall?
KING: A high hill.
BIG MAX: Ha! Now I know how Jumbo did it. We must look outside the wall. Hurry!
NARRATOR: They hurried outside the wall. They hurried down the hill.
BIG MAX: Ha! - I was right! Look here. There are tracks.
KING: You are right!
BIG MAX: These could be Jumbo’s tracks. We must follow them!
NARRATOR: They followed the tracks.
BIG MAX: If we find out where Jumbo went, we may find out why he went.
KING: I see.
BIG MAX: Ha! I see another clue. I see tears.
NARRATOR: The King looked at the clue.
KING: I do not know why Jumbo was so unhappy.
BIG MAX: We shall see. You know, if we know why Jumbo went, then we will know where he went.
KING: I see. You are a great detective.
BIG MAX: Look and think. That is the secret.
NARRATOR: They followed the trail of the tracks. They followed the trail of the tears. They walked all night. They walked all the next day. The trail went uphill. They followed it. Suddenly, Big Max stopped.
BIG MAX: Wait! Something is wrong. We are following the wrong trail. Hurry!
NARRATOR: They went down the hill. They hurried. Then they heard a loud sound.
CROCODILE: AAAAAAARGH!
KING: What was that?
BIG MAX: Well, let us think. It was not an elephant.
Elephants do not sound like that. They do not say AAAAAAARGH!
Hmmm, just as I thought.
These are not elephant tears. These are crocodile tears.
They are bigger than elephant tears. Let us think. – This path has
long sharp white teeth. It has a long red tongue. It has crocodile
tears instead of elephant tears. So it must be a crocodile.
NARRATOR: Big Max turned around.
BIG MAX: I was right. It is a crocodile. See for yourself.
KING: I take your word for it.
BIG MAX: It is a good thing I came by umbrella. He cannot bite now!
NARRATOR: Big Max stuck his umbrella into the open mouth of the alligator. Then he pushed the crocodile into the water and took out his umbrella.
BIG MAX: You nearly fooled me with that wrong clue.
CROCODILE: I’m so sorry.
NARRATOR: A big tear rolled out of his eye.
KING: Look, he is crying. That means he’s sorry.
BIG MAX: A crocodile’s tears can fool you. He is crying because he did not have us for dinner.
CROCODILE: Don’t remind me.
NARRATOR: And he cried some more. Big Max and the King went back to the right trail. They walked through the jungle. Suddenly, they heard a lot of noise. The noise got louder. It was so loud that the ground shook. And the trees shook. Big Max and the King of Pooka Pooka shook.
KING: We must turn back. It is an earthquake!
BIG MAX: No, it is not an earthquake. It is a party.
KING: A party?
BIG MAX: An elephant party.
NARRATOR: He pointed through the trees.
BIG MAX: Look.
NARRATOR: There were a lot of elephants. They were dancing. They danced so hard that the ground shook.
KING: There is Jumbo! I see him. He is dancing too.
NARRATOR: Big Max smiled
BIG MAX: Another case solved. It is a birthday party for Jumbo. That is why he went away. – To spend his birthday with his family.
NARRATOR: The King ran to Jumbo.
KING: Happy birthday, Jumbo.
JUMBO: How did you find me?
KING: Ask Big Max.
BIG MAX: We followed your trail to find out where you went and to find out why you went.
KING: I would still like to know how he went.
BIG MAX: It was the ice. Jumbo took the cakes of ice. He put one on top of another. He made steps out of them. He fooled me at first, because there were no steps to see - only some melting ice. But this is what happened: Jumbo walked up the steps of ice. He walked to the top of the wall. Behind the wall was a high hill. He walked over the wall and down the hill.
JUMBO: Yes, that’s it.
KING: Now I know how you went and where you went and why you went. But I did not know a birthday party was so important.
BIG MAX: It is for elephants. Elephants like to be together
– especially on birthdays.
KING: I am sorry I did not know. Next year I will invite
all your family to a birthday party at the palace. That way
we can all be together. (Turning to Big Max) You are a very
great detective, Big Max. You can have any of my treasures as a reward
for finding Jumbo.
BIG MAX: If you don’t mind, I would rather have a piece of Jumbo’s birthday cake.
KING: I don’t mind.
NARRATOR: Jumbo gave Big Max and the King pieces of cake.
KING: My, what good cake!
NARRATOR: Then he ate another piece. And then one more and
JUMBO: Don’t eat too much or I won’t be able to carry you back to Pooka Pooka.
NARRATOR: So, the King stopped eating cake.
KING: Happy birthday, Jumbo.
JUMBO’S FAMILY: Happy birthday, Jumbo.
BIG MAX: Happy birthday, Jumbo.
NARRATOR: He took a deep breath and blew into his umbrella.
BIG MAX: And goodbye!
NARRATO: said the greatest detective in the world!
Please send inquiries / comments to: rsvp@ic.mankato.mn.us.