The Enormous Turnip
CHARACTERS
Mr Johnson
Mrs Lizzie Johnson
Ben Johnson
Katie Johnson
Pip the dog
Lola the cat
The white mouse
4 Narrators
Scene 1
(It is night time. Mr Johnson is standing in his beautiful garden. He is looking at a seed which he has in the palm of his hand. He bends down and plants the seed in the earth. Then he yawns and goes into the house.)
Narrator 1. Mr Johnson has got a big garden. There are flowers and fruit trees in the garden. There are vegetables under the trees.
Narrator 2. Mr Johnson has got a seed. It’s a small turnip seed. He puts the seed into the earth and goes to bed.
Narrator 3. In the night the turnip grows and grows and grows. It grows very, very big.
Narrators 1, 2 and 3. It is ENORMOUS!
Scene 2
(The following morning Mr Johnson is in his garden. The turnip has grown during the night and now it is enormous. He is standing, proudly, with his hand on the turnip stroking it’s smooth skin.)
Narrator 4. In the morning Mr Johnson is in the garden. He puts his hand on the enormous turnip.
Mr Johnson. What a wonderful, enormous turnip!
(Mr Johnson tries to pull the turnip out of the earth. He stops, it’s too difficult for him to pull our alone.)
Narrator 1. Mr Johnson pulls the turnip but… nothing happens! He pulls and he pulls and he pulls. But… nothing happens!
Narrators 1, 2, 3 and 4. The turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson calls his wife. Mrs Johnson is digging in the garden. She stops work and goes to her husband.)
Narrator 2. Mr Johnson calls his wife, Lizzie.
Mr Johnson. Come here, Lizzie. Come and help me. This turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson holds the leaves of the turnip. Mrs Johnson holds Mr Johnson round his waist and they both pull.)
Narrator 3. Mr Johnson and his wife Lizzie pull and pull and pull. But … nothing happens!
Narrators 1, 2, 3 and 4. The turnip is too big!
(Mr and Mrs Johnson stop pulling, Mr Johnson sits down, they can’t pull up the turnip alone. Mr Johnson sees his son Ben sitting on the wall watching them. Mr Johnson calls Ben. Ben jumps off the wall and goes to help.)
Narrator 4. Mr Johnson calls his son, Ben.
Mr Johnson. Come here, Ben. Come and help us. This turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson holds the leaves of the turnip. Mrs Johnson holds Mr Johnson round his waist, Ben holds his mother’s apron strings and they all pull but the turnip stays firmly in the earth. They all fall down and Mrs Johnson goes into the house for a jug of water, everyone is very hot and thirsty.)
Narrator 1. Mr Johnson, his wife Lizzie and his son Ben pull and pull and pull. But … nothing happens!
Narrators 1, 2, 3 and 4. The turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson sees his daughter Katie on the other side of the wall, he calls for her to come and help. She jumps over the wall and goes to help.)
Narrator 2. Mr Johnson calls his daughter, Katie.
Mr Johnson. Come here, Katie. Come and help us. This turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson holds the leaves of the turnip. Mrs Johnson holds Mr Johnson round his waist, Ben holds his mother’s apron strings, Katie holds the back Ben’s jacket and they all pull but the turnip stays firmly in the earth.)
Narrator 3. Mr Johnson, his wife Lizzie, his son Ben and his daughter Katie pull and pull and pull. But… nothing happens!
Narrators 1, 2, 3 and 4. The turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson sees his dog Pip sitting under a tree. He calls and Pip comes to help.)
Narrator 4. Mr Johnson calls his dog, Pip.
Mr Johnson. Come here, Pip. Come and help us. This turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson holds the leaves of the turnip. Mrs Johnson holds Mr Johnson round his waist, Ben holds his mother’s apron strings, Katie holds the back Ben’s jacket, Pip holds the hem of Katie’s dress in his teeth and they all pull but the turnip stays firmly in the earth. Everyone is exhausted.)
Narrator 1. Mr Johnson, his wife Lizzie, his son Ben, his daughter Katie and his dog Pip pull and pull and pull. But… nothing happens!
Narrators 1, 2, 3 and 4. The turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson sees his cat Lola sitting on the wall. He calls her and she comes to help.)
Narrator 2. Mr Johnson calls his cat, Lola.
Mr Johnson. Come here, Lola. Come and help us. This turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson holds the leaves of the turnip. Mrs Johnson holds Mr Johnson round his waist, Ben holds his mother’s apron strings, Katie holds the back Ben’s jacket, Pip holds the hem of Katie’s dress in his teeth Lola holds Pip’s tail in her teeth and they all pull but the turnip stays firmly in the earth.)
Narrator 3. Mr Johnson, his wife Lizzie, his son Ben, his daughter Katie, his dog Pip and his cat Lola pull and pull and pull. But… nothing happens!
Narrators 1, 2, 3 and 4. The turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson sees a little white mouse sitting under the tree. He calls the mouse and asks her to come and help.)
Narrator 4. A little white mouse is under the apple tree. The little mouse looks at Mr Johnson and his family.
Narrator 1. Mr Johnson calls the mouse.
Mr Johnson. Come here, little white mouse. Come and help us. This turnip is too big!
(Mr Johnson holds the leaves of the turnip. Mrs Johnson holds Mr Johnson round his waist, Ben holds his mother’s apron strings, Katie holds the back Ben’s jacket, Pip holds the hem of Katie’s dress in his teeth Lola holds Pips tail in her teeth, the little white mouse holds Lola’s tail with her front paws and they all pull until the turnip pops out of the earth. They all fall down laughing!)
Narrator 2. Mr Johnson, his wife Lizzie, his son Ben, his daughter Katie, his dog Pip, his cat Lola and the little mouse pull and pull and pull and…
Narrators 1, 2, 3 and 4. POP! The enormous turnip comes out of the earth!
Mrs Johnson. Come and help me cook this wonderful, enormous turnip!
Scene 3
(Everyone is now in the kitchen sitting at the table eating and enjoying the delicious turnip.)
Narrator 3. She goes into the house with Mr Johnson, her son Ben, her daughter Katie, her dog Pip, her cat Lola and the little white mouse.
Narrator 4. Mr Johnson, Ben, Katie, Pip, Lola and the little white mouse help Mrs Johnson cook the enormous turnip.
Narrator 1. Mr Johnson, Mrs Johnson, Ben, Katie, Pip, Lola and the little white mouse eat the enormous turnip.
Mr Johnson, Mrs Johnson, Ben, Katie, Pip, Lola and the little white mouse. This turnip is delicious!