Here's the outline of my play.

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SAVED ON A RAINY DAY

RECOMMENDED AGE GROUP: LEVEL 3 (Years 1 and 2)

CHARACTERS

ANJA, SHANJA and YLENJA – three little frogs

A LADYBIRD

TWO BIRDS

A WORM

A TORTOISE

A SNAIL

TWO CHIPMUNKS

As there are only eleven characters, different students can play the parts of Anja, Shanja and Ylenja in the various scenes, and other animal characters can be added in the forest background.

SYNOPSIS

The three frogs live in a shack near a lake. It’s Saturday morning and the place needs tidying up, but Anja, who is a little arrogant, decides to take her daily walk instead and leaves her two sisters at home doing the housework.

As she walks through the forest, she meets several animals that teach her how they live in nature under different weather conditions (sun, rain, hail and snow), along with moral values such as humbleness and kindness. Thanks to her encounters with these animals, Anja realizes she has been mean to her sisters, who may be in danger since their little hut could have been destroyed by the heavy hailstones, and she tries to run back home to save them. However, she can’t move because her legs skid on the frozen ground. When her pride has turned into generosity, it is her sisters who rescue her by towing her into the lake with a string.

Eventually, the frogs sit on the ground watching the snow fall.  Although they’ve lost their home, they’re grateful for being alive. But they still learn a final lesson: two chipmunks that pass by remind them that winter is a time of retreat and contemplation, and kindly offer them their burrow as a shelter to hibernate.

CHARACTER OBJECTIVES

ANJA: An arrogant frog that wants to live life her own way. She eventually understands the need for cooperation and relationships.

SHANJA and YLENJA: Anja’s sisters; they are hard-working and patient with Anja. They want to help her get back home when she gets stuck on the iced ground.

LADYBIRD: It leads a simple life in the forest and represents the beauty of nature. Anja wants to eat it, but lets it go because of its beauty.

TWO BIRDS: They represent freedom and make Anja aware of the chances of rain that day.

WORM: A very emotional character that lives in the wetland. Anja tries to eat it, but it manages to escape underground.

TORTOISE: It wants to carry Anja back to her hut. It symbolizes toughness and kindness.

SNAIL: It tries to escape the heavy hailstones as its shell is too fragile. It makes Anja think of the fragility of her own home.

CHIPMUNKS: Very generous characters, they offer their burrow for the frogs to hibernate in. They also represent awareness of the different seasons in nature.

SCENE BREAKDOWN

Scene 1: Early Saturday morning in the frogs’ shack. Shanja and Ylenja try to get Anja round to tidying up before going out for their daily walk, but Anja refuses to listen and gets away.

Scene 2: In the forest. Anja meets a ladybird. When she’s about to eat it, she realizes how beautiful it is and decides to let go of it.

Then two birds land on a tree branch and Anja feels envy for their freedom. They speak about the drawbacks of such freedom and comment on the strange shade of orange in the sky and the chances of rain.

Scene 3: In the wetland by the lake; it starts raining heavily. Anja wants to catch a worm she finds, which seems to be crying. The worm explains why it always seems to be crying and manages to escape from the frog’s mouth and hide underground.

 Scene 4: Back in the forest; big hailstones falling. Anja meets a tortoise walking slowly and is amazed at the hardness of its shell. It offers to carry her back home on its back, but Anja proudly rejects its help.

Next she comes across a snail that is trying to run away from the hailstones because they could damage its shell. Anja realizes it is nearly as fragile as their shack and thinks that her sisters could be in danger. The fragility of the snail has finally softened her heart.

Scene 5: The ground is covered in ice. Anja wants to go back home to save her sisters, but her feet skid on the iced ground. Just when she’s about to give up, her sisters appear on the other side of the lake and rescue her.

Scene 6: By the lake; it is now snowing. The three frogs are sitting by the lake, watching the snow fall and feeling grateful for their fate. Two chipmunks happen to pass by and remind the frogs of the need to hibernate in wintertime. As the frogs reply that they have nowhere to go, the chipmunks suggest they all spend the cold season underground in their burrow.