FOLK & FAIRY TALES

Middle and Lower Grades; 3 female, 2 male; several male or female extras; 40 minutes.
Adaptation of the classic fairy tale starring inquisitive siblings, a wicked witch, gingerbread children, and more. Based on Engelbert Humperdinck's opera.

Lower Grades; 10 male/female; 10 minutes.
Who is going to carry the King's heavy drum? The wily spider has a creative solution and the foolish monkey speaks out of turn.

Middle and Lower Grades; Missing Camel: 2 male, 1 female, and at least 5 male or female. 10 minutes. Senor Coyote and Mama Rabbit: 1 male, 1 female, and at least 5 male or female, 10 minutes. Thoughtful and interesting African and Mexican folktales set in the desert where humans and animals use their wit and wile to survive in harsh conditions.

Middle and Lower Grades; Radio play for reading; 2 male, 3 female, and 1 male or female for narrator; 10 minutes. A never-satisfied wife and a talking fish help teach a lesson in being grateful for what you have, in a fun tale that’s nothing to carp about.

Middle and Lower Grades; 9 female, 7 male, 1 male or female, and extras; 20 minutes. A South American folktale in which kindness is rewarded when a boy helps a spider in distress and the spider returns the favor in a very special way.

Middle and Lower Grades; 4 male, 6 female, male and female extras; 15 minutes. Peruvian folktale in which a greedy baker tries to charge villagers for smelling the good smells of his bakery and a wise judge determines what a fair price should be.

Middle and Lower Grades. Battle Between Sun and Sky: 4 male or female and as many extras as desired; 10 minutes. How Coconuts Came to Samoa: 2 male, 2 female, 2 male or female, and as many extras as desired; 10 minutes. Two short stories from the Pacific Islands that help explain the ways of nature.

Lower Grades; 10 male or female and as many male and female extras as desired; 10 minutes. A Chinese folktale that shows that good sense and smart thinking are better than all the gold in the world.

Lower Grades; 2 female, 1 male, 1 male or female; 15 minutes. The magic of Christmas shines in a poor fisherman's hut in this adaptation of a charming French folktale.

Middle and Lower Grades; 5 female or male; 15 minutes. A charming Japanese folktale that explores the importance of friendship: how easy it is to lose a friend over a silly disagreement, and how important it is to work things out and share.

Lower Grades; 3 male; 1 female; 5 male or female; as many male and female as desired for Guards and Citizens. 15 minutes.

Aesop's tale in which a slave's life is spared because of his kindness to a fearsome lion.

Middle and Lower Grades. Three plays in one: Play 1, Crocodile Gives Monkey a Ride, 2 male or female, 10 minutes; Play 2, Trapping the Jaguar, 1 male, 2 male or female, 15 minutes; Play 3, Wild Woman, 4 male, 3 female, 7 male or female, 20 minutes.
Set in different types of rainforests, three folktales of mystery and magic, featuring characters with pluck, ingenuity, and common sense.

Middle and Lower Grades; 5 female, 2 male, 3 male and/or female; 20 minutes.
A really clever and fun "Irish" version of the Cinderella story, complete with leprechauns and a lot of audience participation.

Middle and Lower Grades; 34 male and female; 25 minutes.
A wonderful spoof of a make-believe television show—complete with funny advertisements—with nursery rhyme characters participating in the competition and solving the mystery of the missing sheep.

Middle and Lower Grades; 6 male and female; 15 minutes.
Two new brides have to combine smart thinking and common sense in a test demanded by their mother-in-law. The two young women do what is asked of them, and more, setting the stage for a long life of family harmony.

Middle Grades; 20 male and female; 15 minutes.
Beloved nursery rhyme character and the Big Bad Wolf square off in a Mother Goose Land election.

Middle Grades; 13+ actors: 7 female, 4 male, 2 male or female, as many male and female as desired for Chorus; 30 minutes.
The myth of Persephone, and how the seasons came to be, told two ways: one traditional, one in rap.

Middle & Lower Grades. 8 actors: male or female; 20 minutes. Villagers are convinced by the Mayor to buy a gold-giving cow from a passerby, only to find that the poor creature can barely even give any milk. The villagers, of course, realize their mistake, but somehow draw the wrong conclusion. How silly.

Middle and Lower Grades; 4 male, 4 female, 4 male or female; 25 minutes. Talented animal joins in Mexican Christmas celebration.