Archives: Christmas Pack #12
What Is a Gift?
The Land of Sharing: A Play
Index for this SectionThe Land of Sharing
A Play
by Hope Douglas Harle-Mould
Introduction
A visit to The Land Where No One Has Anything teaches children and adults alike about true sharing. This play is useful as a church, community or home production. It can be used at a Christmas festival, a workshop, a special Christmas event or a family gathering.
CHARACTERS:
Narrator
Douglas, 11 years old
Dorie, 7 years old
Father
Myo, 11 years old
Various children of all ages
SCENE ONE
Set: A simple living room with some Christmas decorations (include a Christmas tree if you wish)
Props: A telephone and toys, such as building blocks, cars, trucks, dolls, etc.
NARRATOR: [Enters and stands in front of Dorie and Douglas who are playing together on the floor.] There was once a place known as The Land of Sharing. In that land lived a boy named Douglas. Douglas was wonderful when it came to sharing. He shared everything all the time - well, enough of the time that it seemed to him like all the time. He knew that God wanted people to share and that by sharing, people learned better how to work together and get along. In fact, sharing seemed to make people happier. [Moves off stage.]
FATHER: [Enters, sits on floor and begins playing with children.] What are you two doing?
DORIE: [Pointing to a toy truck Douglas is holding] I want to play with that!
DOUGLAS: [Looking from Dorie to Father] I'll share it later, I'm playing with it now!
FATHER: Well, Dorie, maybe you'll get a truck of your own for Christmas. You know Christmas is coming soon.
DORIE: That would be great! How far away is Christmas?
FATHER: Not very far. In fact, we don't have much time left to get ready. We still have to finish buying presents, including some toys to give to poor children.
DOUGLAS: Can I help pick out toys they might like?
FATHER: Sure, Douglas, I'm glad you like to share. Do you know that there is a place where no one ever shares? It is known as The Land Where No One Has Anything. There are many people there who are very poor. [Phone rings and father goes to answer it.]
DOUGLAS: It's sad that the people there are so poor. I wish we could share with them.
DORIE: Me too! Do you know where The Land Where No One Has Anything is?
DOUGLAS: No, but I'll find out!
CURTAIN CLOSES
v v v
SCENE TWO
Set: A dirt-covered vacant lot where children are playing with pebbles
Props: Small bags of pebbles, a bicycle
NARRATOR: [Enters and stands left stage, watching Douglas as he enters on bicycle] Douglas rode his bicycle all morning long the next day. He braked to a stop at the top of a hill. [Douglas stops right stage] There down below, he saw a place he had never seen before - it had to be The Land Where No One Has Anything. There didn't seem to be any swings or monkey bars, but the children were laughing and shouting as they tossed and rolled bright, shining pebbles into a series of holes they had dug in the ground. [Children laugh and shout in background as narrator moves off stage; Douglas rides down the hill, stopping center stage]
DOUGLAS: [Talking to himself] This place looks strange. I think I've gone too far.
MYO: [Carries a small bag of pebbles as she leaves group of children and approaches Douglas] My name is Myo. Who are you?
DOUGLAS: [Haltingly] My name is Douglas.
MYO: Where are you from?
DOUGLAS : I'm from The Land of Sharing.
MYO: Really? I've never met any of your people.
DOUGLAS: You can't say that any more - I'm here!
MYO: Why have you come?
DOUGLAS: My father told me about this place and I thought I could help.
MYO: Help with what?
DOUGLAS: Well, is it true that you've never heard of sharing?
MYO: No.
DOUGLAS: But is it true that none of you share?
MYO: Yes, that's true. You see we don't believe in sharing.
DOUGLAS: [Astonished] You don't believe in sharing? Don't you believe in God?
MYO: Oh yes. We believe in God. We call God "Wekan Tanka."
DOUGLAS: Wekan Tanka. What does that mean?
MYO: The Great One.
DOUGLAS: That's like one of our prayers. Before meals we sometimes say, "God is great, God is good." But if you believe in God, why don't you share?
MYO: Why should we?
DOUGLAS: Well, for example, so you won't fight over a toy.
MYO: Why would anyone fight over a toy?
DOUGLAS: Well, if someone wanted to play with one of my toys at the same time I wanted to play with it, then I might get mad and my friend might get mad and we'd start arguing.
MYO: If your friend wanted to play with your toy, why wouldn't you let him?
DOUGLAS: Maybe I wanted to play with it right then.
MYO: I thought you always shared!
DOUGLAS: You don't understand. I would let him play with it later.
MYO: Well, if he wanted your toy right then, why not just give it to him?
DOUGLAS: [Vehemently] Because I was playing with it first. He can't just take it!
MYO: No, that wouldn't be right. But you could give it to him.
DOUGLAS: But it's mine!
MYO: You mean, even if he really likes it, you wouldn't give it to him?
DOUGLAS: No. Not if I wanted to play with it just then.
MYO: But why?
DOUGLAS: [Louder] Because it's mine!
MYO: No wonder we call your land The Land of Selfishness.
DOUGLAS: [Surprised] It's not The Land of Selfishness. It's The Land of Sharing.
MYO: But you don't always share. If you gave your toy to your friend, then it would be his and you wouldn't fight.
DOUGLAS: Then he'd want all the toys I own!
MYO: You mean once you have a toy, it's yours forever?
DOUGLAS: Of course.
MYO: Your parents allow that?
DOUGLAS: Certainly. We are allowed to keep our toys forever - unless we want to give them away.
MYO: We believe that if we give things away, we will probably be given more in the future. In our land, we don't share things because we don't keep things.
DOUGLAS: You mean you don't have any toys of your own?
MYO: Yes I do, but if one of my friends really likes one of my toys, I'll give it to her.
DOUGLAS: What if she likes all your toys?
MYO: She wouldn't. Usually there is just one that she loves the most. And if someone is really poor and has no toys, I might pick out some of my best toys and give her a whole bag to enjoy. Isn't that what the people do in your land?
DOUGLAS: Yes. Well, no. We wouldn't necessarily give them one of our own, and certainly not one of our best. We would go out and buy them a toy. That's better!
MYO: In our land, that would be considered bad. If you're going to give, it has to be one of your own.
DOUGLAS: Then you just keep giving your things away?
MYO: Yes, in fact, on the day we become an adult, we hold a big party in which we give away everything we've not yet given.
DOUGLAS: But then you become poor and have nothing.
MYO: Don't be silly. People keep giving you things all the time. Gradually you seem to get more than you had before. But you never know when it will come, or who might give it to you. As it says in The Sixty-Six Books, "It is happier to give than receive."
DOUGLAS: You sure have a strange country. No wonder we call it The Land Where No One Has Anything.
MYO: That's not what we call it! We call our country The Land of Giving. Here, hold this bag of pebbles. It's yours now. Take it back to your land so that you remember us.
DOUGLAS: Don't worry, Myo. You will be hard to forget! Thank you very much for this - and everything.
MYO: But you are the one who cared enough to visit us when no one else would. Thank you. I have a new friend. [Myo hops back to group of children as Douglas turns bike and rides away waving]
CURTAIN CLOSES
v v v
SCENE THREE
Set: Use the same set as scene one
Props: A toy truck, bags of pebbles, string or tinsel
NARRATOR: Douglas was so excited to share his news of The Land of Giving and his new friend that he raced all the way home. As he rushed through the front door, he found Dorie playing with his toy truck. [Moves off stage]
DOUGLAS: [Sitting down and speaking to Dorie with excitement] You'll never guess. I found it, but it's not The Land Where No One Has Anything. It's called The Land of Giving. And there is this girl named Myo. . .
DORIE: [Interrupting] Myo? That's a funny name! [Drops truck she is playing with]
DOUGLAS: Well, she's kind of a funny girl. And it's a funny place. Look! [Shakes a few pebbles out of the bag and holds toward Dorie]
DORIE: [With distaste] What are those?
DOUGLAS: They're toys. That's what they play with. Myo gave them to me!
DORIE: Toys? They don't look like toys to me. I'd rather play with this. [Picks up truck]
DOUGLAS: Well, you can have my truck, but watch. [Looks around room and picks up a piece of tinsel or string]
DORIE: I can have your truck? You're giving it to me for keeps?
DOUGLAS: Well . . . yes. If you like. Now watch. [Makes a circle on the floor with the string or tinsel] You roll a pebble . . . watch . . . [Rolls pebble toward circle] . . . like this. And you try to get it in the circle. You can also make a circle in the dirt if you're outside.
DORIE: That doesn't look like much fun to me.
DOUGLAS: Here, you try. [Hands Dorie a handful of pebbles]
DORIE: [Taking pebbles] Well, okay. But this Land of Giving where everyone is poor seems like a strange place.
DOUGLAS: It's not really strange, just different. They play with pebbles like these and they always give things away. Myo says, "It's happier to give than receive."
DORIE: [Shooting a pebble toward the circle of string] This is kind of fun!
DOUGLAS: See! Let's go share some pebbles with our friends so they can have fun, too.
DORIE: Can we share with people who are poor, too?
DOUGLAS: Yes, that's a good idea. We can share with everyone! Let's get started.
[Douglas and Dorie begin to hand out one pebble to each person in the audience. Myo and the other children appear and hand out pebbles also.]
CURTAIN CLOSES
v v v
Used by permission. Copyright 1990 Hope Douglas Harle-Mould.
About the Author
Hope Douglas Harle-Mould is Associate Pastor of Dublin Community United Church of Christ (UCC), Dublin, Ohio. His other stories have appeared in Presbyterian Survey, Horizon, Bible Discovery and Discipleship Alive.
Page upated 11 Sept. 2013
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