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Little Dramas for Primary Grades cover

Little Dramas for Primary Grades

Chapter 41: THE MAGPIE’S NEST
By Ada M. Skinner
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About This Book

A collection of brief, teacher-friendly scripts and dramatic readers intended for beginning primary grades that present simple scenes, animal fables, folk tales, and short adaptations. Each piece includes character lists, directions, and stage cues adaptable to classroom performance; selections aim to develop oral reading, imagination, and interpretive skills. Contents range from nursery dramas and moral fables to seasonal pieces and adaptations of well-known short stories and legends, offering varied roles for young children and practical material for classroom dramatization.

THE MAGPIE’S NEST

Characters
Magpie
Thrush
Blackbird
Wise Owl
Starling
Sparrow
Turtledove

Thrush. Oh, Mrs. Magpie, I wish you would teach us how you build your nest. Every one says your nest is made better than any other.

Magpie. Is that true? Indeed! Come nearer then, and I will show you how I do it. [Birds draw near.] You see I take some mud and make a round cake with it.

Thrush. Oh, that’s how it’s done! I can make one now. [Flies away.]

Magpie. Oh! the thrush went too soon. It is not yet done. Now I lay some twigs in the mud this way and that way, this way and that way.

Blackbird. I see! I see! [Flies away.]

Magpie. What! Has the blackbird gone, too? Next another layer of mud—twigs and mud, twigs and mud.

Wise Owl. Oh, that’s very easy! [Flies off.]

Magpie. Does the wise owl think that’s all? Now more twigs round the outside. Up and down; in and out; round and round.

Sparrow. The very thing. [Flies off.]

Magpie. Oh! but the nest is not lined yet. I make it soft and warm inside with feathers.

Starling. That suits me. [Flies off.]

Magpie. Has the starling gone, too? It will take just one minute more.

Turtledove. Take two, Tousey, take two-o-o.

Magpie. One is enough.

Turtledove. Take two, Tousey, take two-o-o.

Magpie. One is enough, I tell you. Oh! are they all gone but you, silly turtledove? And I have just finished my nest. None of them will make a nest like mine.