Narrator: Long ago in
ancient
Enter Emperor
and Asparas
Emperor: Time seems to blend together. I need a way
to tell how much time is passing. What can be done about this?
Aspara 1: We need to break time up into segments.
Emperor: Yes. We could take 12 cycles of the moon
and call it a year.
Aspara 2: But how will we tell one year from the
next?
Emperor: Let’s name the years after animals. But
which animal names should we pick?
Aspara 3: How about having a race? The fastest
animals will have years named for them.
Emperor: Yes. There can be 12 year cycles. Thank
you, Asparas. Summon my soldiers.
Exit Asparas,
enter soldiers. All bow as they enter.
Emperor: Soldiers! Go to every corner of my
kingdom. Summon the animals to a race. Having a year named for them will honor
the winners.
Soldier 1: I will go to the jungle.
(Bows
and exits.)
Soldier 2:I will go to the grasslands.
(Bows
and exits.)
Soldier3: I will go to the river.
(Bows
and exits.)
Soldier 4: I will go to the mountains.
(Bows
and exits.)
Soldier 5: I will go to the farms.
(Bows
and exits.)
Emperor: Soon time will seem less monotonous.
Soldier 1: Hear me animals of the jungle. (The
Monkey, Tiger and Snake enter making animal noises.) Your Emperor summons
you to a race. The winners will have one of the years named for them.
Monkey: Whoo hoo! I’m going to win this race because
I am the best.
Tiger: Grrrr. I’m much stronger than you, you
little wretch. I can run 1000 miles in a night!
Snake: Hissss. Quiet you two. No one will win if
we don’t where this race starts and ends.
Soldier: Meet at the river early tomorrow morning.
The race runs along the river through the whole countryside and finishes across
the river at the Emperor’s Palace.
Snake: Ssssssss. We better set of now.
Exit all.
The Plains:
Soldier 2, Rabbit, Horse, and Dog
Soldier 2: Animals of the plains. Your Emperor
commands your presence.
(Enter Rabbit,
Horse, and Dog making animal noises.) The
Emperor commands you to race along the river and cross to the
Dog: This sounds like a PARTY.
Horse: I’m the fastest so, I’m bound to win.
Should I dress up to accept my prize?
Rabbit: Silly Horse. You would trip on fine
clothing. Besides, I’m rather fast myself. Race you to the river!
(Exit all.)
The River:
Soldier 3, Water Buffalo and Boar
Soldier: The Emperor sends his greetings. He is
planning a race in order to name the new years. The race will begin tomorrow
morning here and end across the river at the Emperor’s
Water Buffalo: I’m not the fastest animal, but I will try
my best. That is all the Emperor can ask of me.
Boar: Well friend, I’m not so fast either.
Perhaps we could keep each other company. Let’s try a few practice sprints.
(Exit all.)
The Mountains:
Soldier 4, Dragon and Goat
Soldier 4: Listen to me animals of the mountains. (Enter
Dragon and Goat making appropriate noises.) The Emperor wants all the
animals in the kingdom to race. He will name his new years after the fastest.
Goat: There are so many faster animals, but I am
very nimble. Perhaps I can win a place in the Emperor’s calendar.
Dragon: Follow me and you are sure to come in
second.
Goat: But I can’t fly the way you can.
Soldier 4: No matter how you travel be at the river
early tomorrow morning.
(Exit all.)
The Farm:
Soldier 5, Cat, Rat and Rooster
Soldier 5: Listen up. The Emperor commands you to
race along the river and cross to his
Cat: Since the race is not till tomorrow, I’ll
just go rest up for the race. Rat, remember to wake me
up before you leave for the river. (Walks off yawning.)
Rat: Yes, I will. Now I have to think of a way
that a creature as small as I am can win the race.
Rooster: Give it up, Rat. On the other hand, a
handsome fellow such as myself must be able to win
somehow. (Walks off crowing.)
Rat: Soldier, can you tell me what large animals
are going to be in the race.
Soldier 5: I believe Horse, Dragon, Tiger and Water
Buffalo will be racing. Now I must leave to report to the Emperor. (Exit Soldier.)
Rat: Horse is not too fond of me. Tiger can be
very bad tempered. Dragon is too clever to trick. Maybe I can get Water Buffalo
to carry me on his back. Yes, I think that’s what I’ll do. And Cat can fend for
herself. I ‘m going to head for the river now. (Exit Rat.)
Narrator: And that
is what Rat did. He left Cat sleeping in the barn. Good natured Water Buffalo
agreed to carry him on his back. The animals raced through the countryside.
(Have one
person change the sets and two other people hand each other puppets as if they
are running across the screen. Finally put on the river set and the Emperor’s
Water Buffalo: Look, Rat. We are almost there. This
current is very strong.
Rat: Good going, Water Buffalo. I’ll just jump
off here.
Emperor: The Rat is first. The first year is named
for Rat. (Exit Rat.)
Water Buffalo: That’s not fair. I did all the work!
Emperor: Don’t be angry. Rat is very clever. You
will be the second year. (Exit Water Buffalo.)
Tiger: The current is very strong. I was pushed
downstream.
Emperor: You are a strong swimmer. You will be my
third year.
Rabbit: I hopped from stone to stone to get
across. And then I floated on a log.
Emperor: How clever of you. You are the fourth year.
(Exit Rabbit.)
(Enter Dragon.)
Why are you fifth mighty
Dragon?
Dragon: I saw little Rabbit struggling so I stayed
be hind to make sure he would be okay. Then I blew the log he was riding to the
shore.
Emperor: That was kind. (Exit
Dragon.) (There is the sound of Hissing and whinnying.)Here
comes horse. No Snake startled him. Snake is number six and Horse is number
seven. (Enter Snake and Horse.)
Horse: That was not fair, Snake. You startled me.
Snake: I was just trying to avoid your heavy
hooves. (Exit Snake and Horse.)
Emperor: Here come three animals. (Enter Goat
bahing.)
Goat: Monkey, Rooster and I found a raft. (Enter
Monkey.)
Monkey: We helped each other to finish the race. (Enter
Rooster crowing.)
Rooster: It was my idea. (Exit
Goat, Monkey and Rooster.)
Emperor: Are you the last? I need two more years. (Enter
Dog.)
Dog: Am I too late? I stopped to chase some
frogs and almost forgot about the race.
Emperor: No. You are number eleven. (Enter Boar,
Oinking.) Welcome, Boar. You are the twelfth and final animal. (Exit Dog and Boar.) I better go start the party.
(Enter cat, mewing pitifully.)
Cat: Am I too late? I slept late this morning
and the river was so treacherous. I’m all wet and half drowned.
Emperor: I’m sorry little Cat, but there are only
twelve years in my cycle. However, you are welcome to join the party.
Cat: I hope that nasty Rat is there I want to
give him a piece of my mind. Achoo! (Exit Emperor and
Cat.)
Narrator: And that is the story of the Chinese
Zodiac. And now you also know why Cat and Rat are enemies.