The Cats Tale

By David Winfield
Summary
The Christmas story seen through the eyes of inhabitants of the manger. Two Narrators
act the voices and the other cast members mime.
Cast
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Innee!er
"en
Cat
#ouse
Doney
#ary
$ose!h
%he!herds
Script
&The innee!er enters carrying a sac of grain. "e ladles some out into a bowl and !laces
on the ground.'
Narr.1( Choo) choo) choo* "ere choo) choo) choo*
&The hen a!!ears and runs across for the food. The cat lies slee!ing on a bale of hay
while a!!ro!riate introductory music !lays. %lowly she waes u!) stretches and loos
around. While this occurs the mouse a!!ears) looing on from a safe vantage !oint.'
Narr.2( #iaow*
Narr.1( +nd about time you woe u! and all. ,ou-re not .ust here to be an ornament you
now / you-re su!!osed to be woring. I .ust saw some signs of mice near the grain
sacs. That-s your de!artment you now.
Narr.2( 0h) don-t be too hard on me. I was u! most of the night after all. %urely I-m
entitled to a little cat1na! from time to time.
Narr.1( Na! indeed* I-ll bet you-ve been lying there for hours. &ics her off the bale'
C-mon) get earning your ee! or there-ll be limited rations for su!!er. &e2its'
Narr.2( I never noticed that my meals were !articularly large anyway. #ae them smaller
and they-ll disa!!ear com!letely.
Narr.1( Brrrc* Brrrc*
Narr.2( &cat .um!s in sur!rise' +nd where did you s!ring from3 %houldn-t be allowed)
frightening me lie that. ,ou now I don-t lie sudden noises. I-m of a nervous
dis!osition.
Narr.1( Don-t be such a scaredy1cat. "onestly) you mae such a fuss at times.
Narr.2( 0h) now you-re going to !ic on me) too. 4irst of all it-s our master the innee!er
and now it-s old dumb1cluc. Why don-t you go bac to your nest and lay an egg3
Narr.1( +t least that would mae me more useful than you are. 5oo at you) always
com!laining. ,ou-re such a wus !uss.
Narr.2( 0h yeh* ,ou want to mae something of it3 &sha!ing u! for a fight'
Narr.1( 0h !er1lease* That-s not the way to settle anything6 .ust ee! your claws in your
!aws and bac off. &leaves muttering' I-m sure I can find some more !leasant com!any
around here.
Narr.2( &calling off' I can see what the old rooster means by being hen1!eced. Blimmin-
chee. 0h well) time to freshen u! I su!!ose. &resumes seat on hay bale and starts to
clean and !reen'
Narr.1( "ee haw* &cat falls off the bale with a start'
Narr.2( What on earth was that3 &with shay voice' Who-s there3
Narr.1( "ee haw*
Narr.2( &cat bacs off' %how yourself whoever you are. &doney enters'
Narr.1( I say) this does loo rather comfortable. I thin this will do 7uite nicely) yes
indeed.
Narr.2( Who do you thin you are3 +nd what are you doing in my stable3
Narr.1( ,our stable3 ,ours3 I hardly thin you can claim ownershi! here itty.
Narr.2( 8itty* 8itty* I-ll than you for a little more res!ect you 9 you 9 you 9
Narr.1( Dere-s the name. Dere the doney. "as a nice ring to it don-t you thin3
Narr.2( Would have a better ring if they had called you +bel. &laughs' :et it) a1bell3 0h)
never mind. What are you doing here3
Narr.1( 5ooing for a bit of a rest actually) old cha!. I-ve had such a .ourney I thin I-m
suffering from hoof ache.
Narr.2( "ow far have you come3
Narr.1( 4rom Na;areth) would you believe. +nd with such a heavy load. %he was a real
weight) that lady. %omebody said she was with child but I didn-t see any ids about6 .ust a
fellow called $oe something. They-re looing for a room in your inn. I ho!e they get one
/ this would be .ust ideal as far as my accommodation goes.
Narr.2( ,ou<ll be lucy) s!ort / everything-s full u! right now) including us.
Narr.1( Don-t tell me. I couldn-t stand the thought of going any further tonight. I-m sure I
couldn-t cli! another clo!.
%ong ( =The Doney-s %ong>
&The doney is lying down aslee!. The cat is bac on her hay bale) trying to slee!.'
Narr.1( &snores'
Narr.2( 0y* Dere* "ow about a bit of hush.
Narr.1( &snores'
Narr.2( Doesn-t loo lie this-ll be much of a silent night.
Narr.1( &snoring dies down and sto!s'
Narr.2( That-s better. + bit of !eace and not before time. &The mouse suddenly to!!les
from his vantage !oint with a very large crash. The cat sits bolt u!right' What on earth
was that3 &goes to investigate) at which !oint the mouse scuttles across to the other side
of the stable and hides. The cat follows cautiously' Who-s that3
Narr.1( No one.
Narr.2( That-s all right then. &goes to wal away and then sto!s' Wait a minute) you can-t
fool me.
Narr.1( Can-t blame me for trying.
Narr.2( That sounds lie 9. ,es* ,ou-re a mouse.
Narr.1( %ort of. But only a little one.
Narr.2( &aside' Bite si;e we call it. C-mon out where I can see you.
Narr.1( But you might hurt me. What I-ve been told about you cats is not very nice.
Narr.2( ,ou don-t want to believe everything you hear. %ome of us are really 7uite
friendly. Come on out / I-d really lie to eat 9. meet you.
Narr.1( ,ou-re not going to do anything nasty3
Narr.2( +s if I would. The very thought. In fact I-m really vegetarian so you-re 7uite safe.
Narr.1( If you !romise....
Narr.2( ?romise. Word of honour. +ll that stuff.
&The mouse cautiously emerges. #eanwhile the cat is tucing a serviette into her collar.'
Narr.1( What-s that you-re wearing3
Narr.2( Wouldn-t want to get any mouse crumbs on my coat) now would I3 &grabs hold of
the mouse'
Narr.1( But you !romised.
Narr.2( Did I3 #ust have sli!!ed my mind. %orry. Where was I3 0h yes) lunch.
Narr.1( &nocs loudly on door'
Narr.2( 0h* &cat gives a startled .um! and dro!s the mouse who scurries off' This is really
getting annoying) all these noises / and bad for my heart I-m sure. This was su!!osed to
be my mealtime as well. Who is that rat1a1tat1tatting anyway3
%ong ( =There isn-t any room>
&Door o!ens and #ary and $ose!h enter. The cat has resumed her !osition on the bale of
hay.'
Narr.2( +re you sure this is where he said3
Narr.1( I thin so. It was good that he thought of it under the circumstances.
Narr.2( 0ooh* &#ary clutches her stomach'
Narr.1( +re you all right3
Narr.2( ,es) but I don-t thin this baby-s going to be long in coming.
Narr.1( "ere) loo lie down. This hay should mae a fairly comfortable bed. &sees the cat'
%hoo) moggie.
Narr.2( &indignantly' #oggie3 #oggie3 I-ll have you now that I am of royal descent.
The ?haraoh-s court no less. #oggie indeed.
Narr.1( We might not have a room) but at least this is a bed of sorts. %hame we miss out
on the dining room though.
Narr.2( Don-t tell me your !roblems. ,ou-re the reason I-m going hungry at !resent.
Narr.1( It-s good to rest) that was a tiring .ourney. #ust have been even worse for #ary)
I-m glad she-s slee!ing now. But I-m afraid the toughest !art is still to come 1 when her
labour begins.
Narr.2( 5abour3 ,ou-re going to !ut her to wor3 What sort of a cruel) heartless fellow
are you3
Narr.1( It-s a real shame she had to come all this way) but when the authorities say @+
census will be taen@) you can-t really argue.
Narr.2( What is this cha! on about3 <Bout time he came to his own senses if you as me.
Narr.1( Well !uss) won-t be long now. I guess tonight will be the night.A
Narr.2( Tonight-ll be what night3 ,ou really are confusing me. I wish you could
understand me) there are a few 7uestions I-d lie some answers to.
Narr.1( It is so !eaceful here. %lee! on #ary) I-ll .ust be as 7uiet as a little mouse.
Narr.2( #ouse* Don-t remind me. But that-ll have to wait) obviously something !retty
im!ortant is about to tae !lace around here) and whatever it is I don-t want to miss it.
Narr.1( Will you loo at those stars) how wonderful.
%ong ( =+ %tarry Night>
&#ary is now seated on the hay bale cradling a baby. $ose!h stands) looing on.'
Narr.2( %o that-s what he was on about / a itten. Well) of sorts. It-s a big one) though.
Narr.1( +h choo*
Narr.2( +ha* #y lunch is bac. C-mon in little mouse) things have really been ha!!ening
since you disa!!eared.
Narr.1( Bh uh* ,ou-re not gonna catch me out twice in a row.
Narr.2( It-s all right 1 really. There-s so much e2citement around here I really seem to
have lost my a!!etite. 5oo) see who-s .ust arrived now.
&The she!herds enter and neel before the new born baby.'
Narr.1( Who are they3 "aven-t seen them around here before.
Narr.2( I thin they call them shee! herds) or something lie that. They live .ust outside of
town.
Narr.1( I-ve never been outside of town) what-s it lie3
Narr.2( It-s !retty em!ty) no houses or anything lie that. +nd big6 it stretches way) way
off into the distance.
Narr.1( ,ou really now a lot don-t you3
Narr.2( I su!!ose you could say I-ve been around.
Narr.1( Those shee! thingummies must have been around) too) then. I-ve never been
anywhere lie that. &sniffs' Not since my mother went away. 0ne day she .ust didn-t
come home and no1one nows what ha!!ened to her.
Narr.2( &embarrassed aside' ?erha!s some of us now.
Narr.1( It-s not much fun being on your own.
Narr.2( 0h come on little cha!) cheer u!. 5oo) how about I tae care of you from now
on. &with sudden realisation' What am I saying3
Narr.1( Would you really3 No going bac on your word again.
Narr.2( No. I hate to imagine what the others will thin. ?robably say I-ve gone soft or
something. But who cares. This really is a night for unusual things to ha!!en.
Narr.1( I-m glad that lady came in here 1 and had her baby. We might never have become
friends otherwise.
Narr.2( ,ou-re right) little friend. Isn-t it strange) he-s only been here for a few minutes
but already that baby-s changed things for us. I wonder if he-ll ever mae a difference for
anyone else3
%ong ( =The Cat and the #ouse>
...........................................
Co!yright David Winfield 2AA1) all rights reserved.
This scri!t may be used free) !rovided no entrance fee is charged. In return for free
!erformance) the author would lie to be told when the scri!t is used. "e may be
contacted at daven.oC2tra.co.n;