THE HONEST WOODCUTTER

CHARACTERS:

NARRATOR

WOODCUTTER

FAIRY

SCRIPT:

 NARRATOR: Once upon a time in a forest there lived a poor woodcutter who worked hard to support his family.

 WOODCUTTER: Thank God I am healthy, and I can work to earn money to buy food for my family. 

NARRATOR: One day he was cutting trees when he felt tired and decided to rest for a while.

  WOODCUTTER: I´ll sit on the ground to rest for a few minutes.

 NARRATOR: But when he was about to leave his ax on the floor, he stumbled with a rock and the ax fell into the river.

 WOODCUTTER: Oh no!.  I lost my ax!. The river is so deep that I will not be able to get it!.  What am I going to do?.  How am I going to support my family?.

 NARRATOR: Then he just stared helplessly into the water, when suddenly a beautiful lady emerged from the lake.

 WOODCUTTER: Who are you?.

 FAIRY: I am the fairy from the lake. I come out of the water when I hear a sad voice.  What is wrong?.

 WOODCUTTER: I lost my ax.  It´s in the water.

 FAIRY: I´ll get it for you.

 NARRATOR: The fairy went inside the water and came out with a silver ax.

 FAIRY: Is this your ax?.

 NARRATOR: The woodcutter thought of all the things he could buy for his family if he sold that silver ax.  But it didn´t belong to him.

 WOODCUTTER: No, mine has a wooden handle.

 FAIRY: Let me get it, then.

 NARRATOR: The fairy went again inside the water and came out with another ax.

 FAIRY: Is this yours?.

 WOODCUTTER: No!  That ax is made of gold.  It´s worth more than mine.

 FAIRY: I´ll leave it here, and let me go again inside the water.

 NARRATOR: When the fairy came out of the water, she had the woodcutter´s ax.

 WOODCUTTER: Ah, that is my ax!. Without any doubt, that is my old ax!.

 FAIRY: This is your ax, but you can also have the other two.  They are a gift from the river because you have told the truth.

 WOODCUTTER: Oh, thank you!.

 NARRATOR: And that night the woodcutter went home with his three axes.

 WOODCUTTER: I am happy, now my family will have everything they need.

 THE END

Author:  Jean de La Fontaine (July 8, 1621 – April 13, 1695) He was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century.

Adapted by: K I D S I N C O

Moral Value:  Honesty