From the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Lion and the Mouse
Characters: ThreeStorytellers, Lion, Mouse, Elephants, Giraffes, Snake/s, Owls. You can have asmany elephants, giraffes, snakes and owls as you want.
(Stage Directions:all the animals are in a semi-circle on the stage; they are grouped accordingto their animal type. Storytellers can be placed on the right or the left ofthe stage.)
Storyteller 1: One hot day a lion was asleep ina cave. (Lion is sleeping in the centreof the stage.)
Storyteller 2: Suddenly a little mouse ran overhis paw. (Mouse comes scampering out quickly and touches the Lion's paw.)
Storyteller 3: The lion woke up with a loudroar. He grabbed the mouse with his paw and said ... (Lion wakes up and grabs the mouse.)
Lion: I'm going to kill you and eatyou up. (Lion roars loudly.)
Mouse: Squeak, Squeak! Please, Mr.Lion, Please don't eat me. Some day I will help you.
Lion: Ha, Ha, Ha! You, help me! Don'tmake me laugh, but I'm not that hungry so I will let you go. (Lion pushes the mouse away.)
Storyteller 1: The lion laughed and laughed andthe mouse ran home.
Storyteller 2: A few days later the lion wasout in the jungle.
Lion: I think I will scare my friends.I am very scary because I'm King of the Jungle. (He goes to each group of animals and roars at them. All the animalsare scared and move away from him.)
Storyteller 3: Suddenly the lion got caught ina trap and said... (He is in the centreof stage when he falls to his knees.)
Lion: Oh dear, how will I get out ofhere? (Lion looks around the stagedesperately.)
Storyteller 1: After a while he heard someelephants. (Elephants move from the semi-circle and they circle the lion. They mustmake sure the audience can see their faces.)
Lion: Elephants, elephants, pleasehelp me.
Elephants: Oh No! We will not help you. (Elephants trundle off back to the otheranimals.)
Storyteller 2: Then a few giraffes passed by.He cried ... (Giraffes leave thesemi-circle and move behind the lion.)
Lion: Giraffes, Giraffes, please helpme.(Lion looks up at the giraffes.)
Giraffes: Oh no, we will not help you. (Giraffes go back to their place in thesemi-circle.)
Storyteller 3: The lion grew cold and hungry (the lion shivers and rubs his stomach)and began to think he would never get home to his nice, warm cave. Then heheard the hissing of snakes. (Snake(s) moves towards the centre of thestage near the lion.)
Lion: Snakes, snakes, please help me. (The lion looks up at the snakes.)
Snakes: Ssssssssss, oh no we will nothelp you, sssssssssssssssss. (Snakes goback to the semi-circle.)
Storyteller 1: As night came the lion began tocry.
Lion: Boo hoo, I am stuck in this trapand none of my friends will help me.
Storyteller 2: Then he heard some owls hootingin the trees. (Owls move centre stage,towards the lion.)
Lion: Owls, Owls, please help me. (Lion looks up at the owls.)
Owls: Tu Whit, Tu Whoo, owls, owls, wewill not help youuuuuuuuuuu. (Owls goback to the semi-circle.)
Storyteller 3: The lion was very sad. (Lion starts crying.) He didn't knowwhat to do. Then he heard the squeaking of a mouse.
Mouse: Squeak, squeak! Why are youcrying Mr. Lion? (Mouse comes from behind the other animals.)
Lion: I'm stuck in this trap andnobody will help me.
Mouse: I will help you.
From the Inside Flap
The following are the collection of plays in Stage Start.
The Lion and the Mouse
The Little Red Hen
The Gingerbread Man
The Ants and the Grasshopper
The Enormous Turnip
Chicken Licken
The Hare and the Tortoise
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
The Ugly Duckling
The Boy who cried Wolf
Chinese New Year
The Lonely Dragon
How the Zebra got his Stripes
The Selfish Giant
The Land of Trolls and Gargoyles
NoExcuse
Caught in the Act
Anne of Green Gables
At Doctor's Crowne
A Winter's Night
About the Author
Julie Meighan is a lecturer in Dramain Education at the Cork Institute of Technology. She has taught Drama to allage groups and levels. She is the author of the Amazon bestselling Drama Start: Drama Activities, Plays and Monologues forYoung Children (Ages 3 -8) ISBN978-0956896605 and Drama Start Two: Drama Activities and Plays for Children (Ages 9 -12) ISBN978-0-9568966-1-2.
![Stage Start: 20 Plays for Children by [Julie Meighan]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/41erMVG+tsL._SY346_.jpg)
