Characters (4) – Narrators(2) man wife

NARRATOR 1 – Long ago there was a farmer who thought that his work was much too hard. Every night when he came home, he asked his wife ..

MAN – No one works as hard as I do. Wife, what do you do all day while I work so hard in the fields?

WIFE – I have to churn the butter, boil porridge, watch the baby and keep the house clean. Keeping house is hard work.

MAN – That is so easy! I wish I had nothing to do but churn butter, boil porridge and keep the house clean.

NARRATOR 1 – So one night the man’s wife said …

WIFE – I am tired of hearing you say how hard you work. Tomorrow you can stay home and keep house. I will go and work in the fields.

MAN – Good ! Boiling porridge, churning butter and watching the baby will be easy!

WIFE – You will also have to carry water from the well and wash clothes.

MAN – That’s easy ! I can do all that !

NARRATOR 2 – The next morning the wife went to rake hay and the man stayed home.

MAN - First, I shall churn butter. All I have to do is put cream in the churn, sit down and move the stick up and down. Soon the cream will turn into butter.

NARRATOR 2 – The man filled the churn with cream. All of a sudden he remembered that he had not seen the baby since his wife left.

MAN – How terrible ! I hope the baby isn’t lost.

NARRATOR 1 – He looked for the baby in the yard. Then he ran down to the river. There he found the baby playing in a boat on the bank of the river. He picked her up and hurried back to the house to do his churning.

NARRATOR 2 - When he went into the kitchen he saw the pig beside the churn. The pig had knocked over the churn and the cream was running out all over the room.

MAN – You mean old pig ! Look what you have done. Get out!

NARRATOR 1 – The man’s angry cries scared the pig. It ran out the door.

MAN – Now I have more work to do. I have to clean up this mess.

NARRATOR 1 – He got some water from the well to clean up the floor. He put more cream in the churn. Just then he heard the cow mooing outside.

MAN – How terrible ! I forgot to give the cow some water and she has not had a bite of grass since yesterday. I must get some water for the cow to drink.

NARRATOR 2 – He carried the heavy churn with him so that the pig could not knock it over again. When the man reached for the rope that hung in the well, he tipped the churn over and spilled the cream out of the churn.

MAN – Now look what has happened. How will I ever be able to churn butter?

NARRATOR 2 - That made him angry. At last he pulled up some water for the cow.

MAN – Now that the cow has enough water, I must take her to a grassy field to eat.

NARRATOR 1 – Just then he remembered that the baby was all alone in the house.

MAN – This is terrible! She could get too close to the fireplace and get burned. But what shall I do with the cow?

NARRATOR 1 – He looked up at the grass that grew on the roof of the house.

MAN – I know what to do! I’ll put the cow on the roof. There is plenty of grass for her to eat up there.

NARRATOR 2 – He put a wide board to the roof so that he could get the cow on the roof. After the cow started to eat grass, the man went back inside to check on the baby.

MAN – I still haven’t finished churning and it is almost time for my wife to come home. I must make some porridge.

NARRATOR 2 – He filled the porridge pot with water and hung it in the fireplace. Then he remembered the cow up on the roof.

MAN – This is terrible! The cow may fall off the roof and hurt herself.

NARRATOR 1 – So he got a long rope and climbed up on the roof again.

MAN – I shall tie one end of the rope around the cow’s horns. Then I can drop the other end of the rope down the chimney.

NARRATOR 1 – He went back in the house, took the rope that hung down the chimney and tied the end of the rope around his leg.

MAN – There ! This rope is tied to my leg and to the cow’s horns. She can’t fall and get hurt. Now I can make the porridge.

NARRATOR 2 – Just then the cow fell off the roof. She hung from the roof by the rope on her horns. There she hung outside the house mooing loudly.

NARRATOR 1 - The rope on the man’s leg pulled him up the chimney and there he hung upside down above the porridge pot.

MAN – Help me ! I’m in the chimney and I can’t get down! Help!!

NARRATOR 1 – The man shouted for help. the cow mooed loudly and the baby cried.

WIFE – What is happening? Why is there so much noise ?

NARRATOR 2 – She dropped the rake and ran home.

WIFE – Why is the cow hanging from the roof?

NARRATOR 2 – She quickly cut the rope and the cow fell down to the ground. Then she heard a loud splash inside the house. She ran in and saw the man hanging in the chimney with his head in the porridge pot.

NARRATOR 1 - Never again did the farmer ask his wife what she did all day.

NARRATOR 2 – Never again did he want to stay home and keep house.