Little Dramas for Primary Grades

<h2 class='c008'>ADVENTURES OF THE FIRST SPRING</h2> <div class='figcenter id002'> <ANTIMG src='images/p086.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center c002'> <div><span class='sc'>Characters</span></div> </div></div> <div class='lg-container-b'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'><em>Mr. Sparrow</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Mrs. Sparrow</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Crocus</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Mary</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Pussy Willow</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Fern</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Violet</em></div> <div class='line'><em>Children</em></div> </div></div> </div> <div class='dl_1'> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Mr. Sparrow.</em></span> There! I’m glad enough to see the last of that snow. Chirp, chirp! Did you notice, my dear Mrs. Sparrow, how quickly it melted at the last?</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Mrs. Sparrow.</em></span> Yes, it seemed in a great hurry to go. It did the same <span class="pagenum" id='Page_87'>87</span>thing last year when the warm days came.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Mr. Sparrow.</em></span> Yes, yes, it always does—and don’t you know why? How could the little worms and green things come up out of the ground if the snow stayed all summer long? And then what should we do for good things to eat?</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Mrs. Sparrow.</em></span> Oh, yes, of course!</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Mr. Sparrow.</em></span> I see a worm now. You stay right here and I’ll get him for you. [<em>He flies down and carries away the worm.</em>]</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Violet.</em></span> That’s good. Worms are such dreadful creatures; always wriggling about one’s feet. I wonder what they are good for. Dear <span class="pagenum" id='Page_88'>88</span>me, there’s Miss Crocus. Good morning! Did you have a good sleep?</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Crocus.</em></span> Yes, indeed. But I can’t unroll my petals far enough, I just want to stretch and stretch.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Violet.</em></span> But it’s good to be back in the sunshine again.</p> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center'> <div>[<em>Two children enter the woods.</em>]</div> </div></div> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>First child.</em></span> Oh, just see what I’ve found, a violet—a real one—and it’s a white one, too. Won’t Mary be glad.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Second Child.</em></span> Oh, oh, can’t you find another?</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>First Child.</em></span> No, there is just this one. I am going to take it up by the roots. Then it won’t wither.</p> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center'> <div><span class="pagenum" id='Page_89'>89</span>[<em>Child digs up violet and puts it in her basket with the other flowers.</em>]</div> </div></div> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Pussy Willow.</em></span> [<em>In basket.</em>] Dear me! What does this mean? Why, Violet, you’ve got some dirt in my eye and on my nice new fur.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Fern.</em></span> [<em>In basket.</em>] It Serves you right for being so proud. You think yourself better and prettier than others. Something always happens to any one who does that.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Pussy Willow.</em></span> I wasn’t speaking to you.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Violet.</em></span> Oh, please don’t quarrel. I am sure I am sorry if I have hurt any one. It was not my fault. I didn’t want to come here a bit. How I wish I could get out.</p> <span class="pagenum" id='Page_90'>90</span> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Fern.</em></span> Humph! Little good it will do to get out. I think these are the very people that Mr. Oak Tree was telling me about. They come every year looking for ferns and flowers. He says some of my ancestors for many generations have gone the same way. They always choose the finest, at any rate.</p> <div class='nf-center-c1'> <div class='nf-center'> <div>[<em>At Home.</em>]</div> </div></div> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>First Child.</em></span> Oh, Mary, I found the sweetest little violet for you—a white one. I dug it up with all its roots, so it will not wither.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Mary.</em></span> How lovely! You are very kind to bring me such beautiful flowers.</p> </div> <div class='figcenter id002'> <span class="pagenum" id='Page_91'>91</span> <ANTIMG src='images/p091.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></div> <div class='dl_1'> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Second Child.</em></span> It’s the first one that came up.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Mary.</em></span> How I’d love to hunt for the violets! But it’s hard for any one who is lame to go to the woods. I don’t suppose I shall ever go there myself.</p> <span class="pagenum" id='Page_92'>92</span> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>First Child.</em></span> Yes, you shall. Some day we’ll all go together.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Mary.</em></span> Poor little flower! I wonder if it was sorry to leave its place in the woods to stay with me in this room. Please give it some water to drink. Then it will go on living.</p> <p><span class='dl_1'><em>Violet.</em></span> How thankful I am that I came. Just a few days later and I might have withered there in the meadow. I would have been of no use to any one. Now I can make this little girl happy. I am so glad I grew. The best of all is to make some one happy.</p> </div> <div class='lg-container-r'> <div class='linegroup'> <div class='group'> <div class='line'>—Adapted.</div> </div></div> </div> <span class="pagenum" id='Page_93'>93</span> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />