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List of Characters
Lion- A proud, pompous character who likes to act as the hero. He is very beautiful and strong, which contributes to his pride. Has a very idealistic outlook on things. Has a rivalry with Bear.
Bear- A strong, hot-tempered character that used fighting to solve his problems. He is considered to be a bit dim-witted. Has a rivalry with Lion.
Fox- A sly, cunning character. Other characters are willing to seek him out for help because of his intelligence. Is a very good orator and can easily convince people to see his side.
Wolf- A cruel, greedy character that will do anything in order to get what he wants. He acts very sycophantic towards Lion. He has a bad history with Buffalo and has bullied small animals in the past.
Buffalo- A very introverted character that prefers to stay out of current affairs. He can be very self-centered sometimes, priding self-preservation over everything else. However, he is very hard-working. He holds a grudge against Wolf.
Antelope- A timid character. He is weaker than most of the other animals, and is often jealous of their strength.
Dog- A quiet character. Prefers to act rather than to just speak.
Mouse- Citizen of the forest.
Rabbit- Citizen of the forest.
Squirrel- Citizen of the forest.
Prologue: In the tropical dry forests of Southeast Asia, there was a village of animals. Their existence was a peaceful one until disaster struck. The forest was plagued by a long draught. A group of the forest’s mightiest animals came together to come up with a solution to the situation. This is their tale.
Act I, Scene I
Scene opens in an open field. There is a large, round, stone table sitting in the middle of the scene. Bear, Lion, Wolf, Buffalo, Antelope, and Dog are all sitting around the table (left to right in that order). They are having a meeting to discuss the problems in the forest.
Curtain up.
Lion- Our forest is in a state of disarray. What are we going to do? The dry season is lasting far longer than we expected. Our crops are beginning to wither away, and our drinking water is in short supply—
Fox enters. All eyes turn to Fox.
Fox: Urgent news! The southern part of our forest has been burned to a crisp!
Everyone Gasps
Fox: It seemed that the fire didn’t stop until it reached the desert region of the southern border.
Lion: But that’s where we stored our food! Who did this?
Fox: I don’t know! I can’t believe that it would have been started by one of our citizens.
Wolf: It would have to be. In the past, only lightning has managed to start a storm, and there hasn’t been a thunderstorm for a long time.
Lion: We need to get to the bottom of this. Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended .
Bear: We need to attack who did this! Coward, hear me now, we will bury you !
Lion rolls his eyes.
Lion: Okay, but we have no idea who did this. Who are we going to bury? Let's try common sense. A novel concept .
Bear gives an irritated grunt.
Bear: You just oppose all war, don’t you?
Lion: I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. We need to get down to the bottom of whatever caused this and negotiate. I am the eternal optimist. I think that, over time, people respond to civility and – rational argument .
Bear: They burned a section of our forest! This could be considered an act of terror. I don’t negotiate with terrorists. I destroy them .
Lion and Bear continue to argue. Antelope and Buffalo begin a conversation.
Buffalo: Look at those two bickering, like calves. Even when it comes to the well-being of our forest, they can’t manage to put aside their differences to come up with a solution. Really, these small differences shouldn’t matter. If things are going in the same general direction, then we should just go with it.
Antelope: Though I’d say that honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress .
Buffalo: Yes, but there’s a difference between honest disagreement and that.
Buffalo points to Bear and Lion who are still arguing.
Antelope: I assume that they are just upset by the fire. After all, that was their entire food supply.
Buffalo: Personally, I could care less about the food supply being set on fire. I don’t eat berries, I don’t eat fruit, I don’t eat fish, and I certainly don’t eat meat. Grass is good enough for me, and I still have some to eat. (Aside to himself) Maybe this isn’t all bad. Their food supply is gone, but there’s still enough grass for me. Maybe one day they will all become weak with starvation, and I’ll be strong.
Antelope: (Aside to himself) Maybe you have enough grass to eat, but after you eat, there isn’t very much left for me.
Bear is pounding his paw against the ground.
Bear: This is getting us nowhere! We need a plan.
Lion: Given the current state of our forest, maybe it would be better for us if we relocated. We could start a new village in a more prosperous area.
Wolf: That’s a great idea! Lion, you always come up with good ideas.
Fox: We will need someone to go find this new world. Who will go?
Everybody looks around until Bear breaks the silence.
Bear: We need to find someone to go. But I have to defend our forest and protect us from invaders.
Lion: I agree, we do need to find someone to go. But in such hard times, I need to stay here to be able to help everyone through this. I am the pillar of support for our forest; if I leave morale will go down. Our citizens will become scared, and panicked if I leave.
Wolf: You are both right. You both have very important duties here, and I must help you with those duties.
Fox looks around.
Fox: Then who can go?
Buffalo: Don’t look at me. I’m perfectly content to stay here. I get 3 square bites a day. Sure, the grass is a bit yellow, but it’s good enough for me. It doesn’t matter if it’s green grass or yellow grass; grass that fills my stomach is good grass .
Antelope: Well, I really want to go. But I’m afraid that I won’t do this well. If I fail at this task then I will be letting everyone down.
Fox glares at everyone.
Fox: These are hard times. We may be out of food by tomorrow morning, and you are all still here talking about all useless things?
The animals are irritated, especially bear, but Dog intervenes before anyone can say anything.
Dog: This is a very important task. We are in need of a new place to go and need to find it quickly. If is inconvenient for the rest of you to go, then I’ll go if you all agree to it.
Lion: That sounds like a great idea.
Bear: Yes, it’s a good idea.
Buffalo: I agree.
Antelope: Me too.
Wolf: Remember to come back quickly. Don’t waste any time.
Fox: Sounds like a good plan. Good luck, Dog.
Dog walks off stage.
Fox: That took too much effort for us just to find someone to send on an expedition. We need to crown a king. We have never needed one before, but we are in a crisis situation right now. If we had a king, the king could just mandate someone to go do something, and that would be the end of it. There wouldn’t be this much argument.
Bear: That sounds like a great idea. And I think that the king should be someone who is the best fighter. (Aside to himself) This could work out very nicely for me. I am the strongest out of this group, and I’m the best fighter. I could take on anyone who dared to challenge me.
Lion: I agree. Many things would be much easier if we had a king. (Aside to himself) Naturally, I am the best fit to be king. This would be good for me.
Wolf: I think this could be good for our forest. But I think that the king should also have a second-in-command as well. That way, the king can deal with all of the large, important issues, where the second-in-command can help him with the daily tasks. Things would run much more smoothly. I think that I would be a good fit for being the second-in-command.
Buffalo snorts and laughs with derision.
Buffalo: You? You’re not qualified to be in a position of leadership. For one, you’re cruel. Not to mention, you have tried to change the forest’s historical records to cover up your past mistakes. Plus, you are still occupying my territory.
Antelope: And you have bullied a lot of small animals!
Wolf holds up his paws in a gesture of peace.
Wolf: Some things are in the past, and—
Bear: Shut up! We aren’t here to talk about you right now. We’re here to talk about the kingship!
Buffalo: Well, if we’re talking about the kingship, I don’t think that we need a king. We should be able to take care of our own matters without having someone else get involved.
Antelope: I don’t think we need a king. It’s better to discuss problems in a group like the way that we do now.
Fox: Then let’s vote on it. A show of paws or hoofs for who wants to have a king?
Lion, Bear, Wolf, and Fox all raise their paws.
Fox: All opposed?
Antelope raises his hoof.
Everyone looks at Buffalo.
Buffalo: I abstain from voting, but I still stand by what I said. We should not meddle in the affairs of others. We need to learn to manage ourselves.
Fox: Well, the final tally is four for having a king, one against, and one who has abstained. Majority votes for us to have a king. So now, we need to decide which one of us is best for the role.
Bear: I think that I should be the king. I can defend our forest. I am the strongest out of all of us, and I can beat anyone in a fight.
Bear looks over everyone in the room, daring any to challenge him.
Lion: Wait, a minute. I think that I can be a better choice.
Bear: Are you challenging me to fight?
Bear tenses up and is getting ready for a fight.
Fox: Whoa now, let’s calm down. We’re voting for a king, not getting ready for a fight.
Bear: But I am the strongest! I am the best fit to be king!
Takes shoe off and starts hitting the table with it.
Lion: There are other aspects to being king. One must have a strategic mind as well as the ability to fight.
Bear: I know how to fight, if you are unconvinced then come at me. I would be the best leader.
Lion: I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together. Also, a shoe is fit for wearing. A shoe is not for hitting tables. Nor, is it used for throwing at people.
Bear still looks very angry and looks like he wants a fight.
Fox: Let’s discuss this calmly; we’re all civilized animals here. We should be able to make this decision together as a group. Why don’t we meet back here at another time to vote on who should be our king?
Lion: Fox is right; we should take some time off and thing about this. (Aside to himself) And maybe I can think of a better way to become king. This should be enough for me to come up with a good idea.
Bear: All right.
Curtain Down. Fox, Lion, Antelope, Bear, Wolf, and Buffalo exit. |
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