BACK KINGDOM 5'3m4f Salvation allegory: Children of the King (Scene: Throne room, Queen, Mrs Twig, Miss Cook enter together, stand along the path to the throne) QUEEN - Oh, dear, the King will not be happy about this. He will not be happy at all. AIDE -- (enters, pounds walking stick on floor, shouts) The king is coming. The king is coming. Make way for the King. (crosses to throne) KING -- (enters, walks slowly to throne, nodding to each person who bows, sits on throne, nods to Aide) AIDE -- The king is on his throne. Let those having business before the king draw near and be heard. KING -- Wait a minute. Wait a minute. This is the Kingdom of Perfection, the happiest kingdom on Earth. Why are there no smiling faces in my kingdom this morning? AIDE -- I'm afraid that the news is not good, your majesty. (shouts) Send in the prisoners. AMY --- (enters) Hi, Daddy. BOB --- (follows) Hi, Dad. KING -- Children, when I am on the throne, you must call me "Your majesty". AMY & BOB --- Yes, your majesty. (bow) KING -- (looks around) Can anyone tell me why my children are being held prisoner? AIDE -- They have broken the laws of the kingdom, your majesty. KING -- Children, what do you have to say about this? AMY --- It's no big deal, Daddy.... I mean, Your Majesty. BOB --- Yeah, Dad, I don't know what all the fuss is about. KING -- We shall see. (to Aide) Read the charges. AIDE -- (reads from scroll) The princess is charged with cheating on her test at school. KING -- This sounds pretty serious to me. Would you care to explain? AMY --- Well, it was just a weekly quiz. KING -- Who is the accuser here? QUEEN - This is Mrs Twig, our daughter's teacher. KING -- Mrs Twig, is this true. Did my daughter really cheat in school? TWIG -- She was taking a test and I saw her look at her neighbor's test for an answer. When I looked on their tests both had the same wrong answer. KING -- That's cheating! Cheating is not allowed in our perfect kingdom! Princess, what do you have to say for yourself? AMY --- I forgot to study for the test, but I didn't want to admit it to anyone, so I cheated. KING -- This kind of selfishness has no place in the Kingdom of Perfection. Read the charge against my son. AIDE -- (reads from scroll) The prince is charged with greed and disobedience. BOB --- He makes it sound like something really serious. It isn't like I was stealing from the poor or anything. What's all this fuss over a few cookies, Dad? I mean, Your Majesty. KING -- Who is the accuser here? QUEEN - Both the royal cook and I are the accusers in this case, your majesty. KING -- Please`explain. QUEEN - The royal cook had just baked a batch of cookies and the prince had already eaten several of them before I told him that more cookies would spoil his appetite for dinner. KING -- But he ate more cookies anyway? COOK -- Yes, your majesty, when he thought I wasn't watching, the prince ate two more cookies and put a handful of cookies into his pockets. KING -- Children, do you know the name of this kingdom? BOB & AMY --- Perfection. KING -- That's right, The name of this Kingdom is Perfection. The reason people move to this kingdom when they could live anywhere else in the whole world is because this is the happiest kingdom on earth. The reason this kingdom is happy is because everything here is perfect. People in this kingdom are kind and generous with one another. If they were not, this would not be a perfect kingdom, and noone would want to live here. I can't let you get away with being selfish in a perfect kingdom. BOB --- Yeah, but it was just a handful of cookies. AMY --- It was just a stupid test, Daddy.... Your majesty. KING -- Children, even the slightest hint selfishness creates unhappiness. And in order to insure that this kingdom remains a happy place to live, we can't allow ANY selfishness no matter how small it seems to you. (to Aide) What is the penalty for this kind of selfishness? AIDE -- (reads from scroll) The law calls for the selfish people to be banished the kingdom forever, your majesty. ALL --- (gasp) KING -- Banished from the kingdom?! AIDE -- That's the way the law reads, your majesty. The wording is very clear. KING -- You mean expel them?! Kick them out?! AIDE -- Yes, Your Majesty. KING -- This won't do! This won't do at all! These children are the heirs to my throne. They will rule this kingdom some day. AIDE -- There may be a way out of this predicament, Your Majesty. KING -- Oh? How so? AIDE -- The Bible says "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." KING -- You mean, a spanking for the prince and princess?! ALL --- (gasp) AIDE -- That was the solution in ancient times, your majesty. That way the price was paid for selfishness, so perfection and happiness could be maintained in the Kingdom of Perfection. KING -- (deep breath) Very well, I hereby pass the sentence of spanking for my selfish children. ALL --- (gasp) AMY --- Daddy, no! BOB --- Ah, come on, Dad! AIDE -- Are you sure this is what you want to do, your majesty? KING -- I have only two choices in this case. Either the children must be banished from the Kingdom of Perfection forever for their selfishness or they must be severely punished. I don't see any other way to maintain the perfection and happiness of the kingdom, do you? AIDE -- I suppose not, Your Majesty. KING -- My queen? MOM --- As painful as it is to see my children punished, I don't see any other way. KING -- Well then, the penalty for selfishness is spanking and the penalty will be carried out immediately.... (removes his royal robe, drops it on the throne, removes his crown) ....On me. ALL --- (gasp) AIDE -- Did you say that YOU will take their punishment, Your Majesty? KING -- (exiting) That's right. I will step down from my throne and take the punishment for my children so that they may remain in my kingdom forever. ALL --- (bow as King passes, then follow King) AMY --- (exiting tearfully) I'm sorry, Daddy. AIDE -- (steps toward audience, pounds walking stick) Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. The King has taken the punishment for his children. Let the kingdom rejoice and be glad in his sacrifice. (exits) ©2007 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.fea.net/bobsnook email: bobsnook@fea.net BACK |