TOMMY’S THANKSGIVING DINNER

A Play for Small Actors

BY

MARY TAYLOR CORNISH

Author of Three Little Runaway Trees

BECKLEY-CARDY COMPANY

CHICAGO

Copyright, 1925, by

BECKLEY-CARDY COMPANY

Printed in the United States of America

3CHARACTERS

Tommy a small boy

Mr. Bowl of Soup a small boy

Mr. Turkey a small boy

Cranberry Maids ten (more or less) small girls

Mr. Irish Potato a small boy

Miss White Onion a small girl

Cabbage a small boy or girl

Miss Cook Book a girl

Peter Pumpkin a small boy

4COSTUMES

Mr. Bowl of Soup: large bowl-shaped cardboard fastened around top of head. Should have “SOUP” printed on it.

Turkey: full-gathered pajamas of brown lining, the neck, elbows, knees and slipper-tops being edged with raveled yarn. A turkey-head of brown lining, with a pasteboard bill, and a long, red wattle of raveled yarn on the head.

Cranberry Maids: full red skirts, red stockings, red waists, little red caps of crepe paper. Bracelets and necklaces of cranberries strung together may be worn.

Mr. Irish Potato: full blouse of brown with eyes made of knots of black yarn sewed on at intervals. Blouse is padded to make the little actor look rotund.

Miss White Onion: full blouse of white crepe paper padded to the shape of an onion. Green stalks rise from a flat white cap.

Cabbage: hood of light green paper cut in the shape of cabbage leaves and folded over the head in such a manner as to expose the face only.

Miss Cook Book: girl sandwiched between two large pieces of cardboard on which is printed “COOK BOOK.”

Peter Pumpkin: may have a real pumpkin for his head, with places cut for eyes, ears and mouth, and wear a green dress. Or he may wear a green skirt, a yellow puffed waist, a flat yellow cap with a bit of green paper (wired) for the stem.

5TOMMY’S THANKSGIVING DINNER

Scene: May be a living-room, or merely the bare stage. At the center front is a large armchair. Tommy enters, stands near the chair and recites.

Tommy:

I am goin’ out to Grandma’s,

To spend my Thanksgivin’ day.

I can taste the goodies now—[pats stomach and draws in breath]

Gee! I wish that I could stay!

I live at home with Sister Kate,

An’ when she goes to cook,

She always sticks her nose

Down in a big old book

That tells her how to do it.

Puts in this and puts in that [gesture as if sprinkling in materials].

Reads [holds hands as if reading], then puts something more in [sprinkles in more materials]

An’ when it’s cooked—Gee, it’s flat! [Makes a face as if tasting something unsavory.]

So I’m goin’ out to Grandma’s,

An’ she cooks out of her head,

Cranberry sauce and turkey,

Cabbage an’ greens an’ gingerbread,

An’ just the bestest dressin’

Made out of dry bread-crust.

6I dassn’t eat all I want,

’Cause if I do, I’ll bust!

Preserves an’ jelly an’ pickles,

An’ good old-fashioned pie;

When a cook cooks out of her head,

You can eat ’til you almost die.

[Yawns, stretches, and speaks sleepily.]

I’m ’fraid this day will never pass,

It has already seemed a year;

I guess [sits down in chair] I’ll go to sleep an’ dream

I’m out at Grandma’s ’stead of here.

[Cuddles down in chair and goes to sleep.]

Enter Mr. Bowl of Soup

[walking very stiffly]

Bowl of Soup:

Hello, Tommy! Glad to see you.

My name is Mr. Bowl of Soup,

Excuse me that I do not bow,

But I am full, and cannot stoop.

Enter Turkey [makes deep bow]

Turkey:

Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble!

Before you, Mr. Turkey you see;

I’ll gobble for you today,

Tomorrow you’ll gobble me!

Enter The Cranberry Maids

[with dancing steps and deep bows]

Cranberry Maids:

Prancing and dancing, ripe and red,

Merry Cranberry maids are we.

Wherever Mr. Turkey goes,

Rosy Cranberry Maids you’ll see.

[They group themselves about the Turkey.]

7Enter Mr. Potato

[Bows.]

Potato:

I’m Mr. Irish Potato—

Let me sing for you a ballad:

You may bake, boil or fry me,

Or put me in a salad.

Enter White Onion

[Bows.]

White Onion:

May I make my little bow?

Miss White Onion is my name.

My sweet perfume fills the air;

It has brought me world-wide fame.

Potato:

Miss Onion is a friend of mine,

She has no eyes, yet cries and cries;

And even moves the cook to tears,

But I can’t cry, though blest with eyes.

Enter Cabbage

[Bows.]

Cabbage:

How-de-do! My name is Cabbage,

But when folks choose to eat me raw,

Chopped into bits and served with sauce,

I change from Cabbage into Slaw.

Enter Peter Pumpkin

[Bows.]

Pumpkin:

Peter, Peter Pumpkin is my name,

I’m leaving now, but don’t you cry;

You’ll meet me again tomorrow

In Grandma’s good old “punkin” pie.

8Turkey [to other characters]:

’Twere wise, my friends, for us to vow

Henceforth forever to agree;

For ere tomorrow’s sun goes down,

In [shivers] dark, close quarters we shall be.

Miss Cook Book enters

Potato [shivers and speaks in a hoarse voice to the others]:

Sh! Come, let’s get away from here!

She’ll have us peeled and in the pot

Before we know what we’re about.

Come on, let’s do the turkey trot!

[Turkey leads in trot, followed by the Cranberry Maids and Vegetables.]

Miss Cook Book: How do you do, Tommy? I’ll have to talk prose. I can’t be bothered with poetry. Besides, let me whisper, that isn’t poetry! [Potato and Onion look sorrowful and wipe each other’s eyes.] On the contrary, it is very bad rhyming. [Turkey looks indignant. Cranberry Maids all make faces at Miss Cook Book.] But I don’t mind their playing at bad rhymes, so long as they do their own work well. Their own work, Tommy, is to build up bone and flesh and muscle. A noble work! [Turkey and Vegetables look pleased.] And they do it well if the cook doesn’t ruin them. I heard you talking about Kate’s cooking. All that you said about a “cook cooking out of her head” is nonsense. In the first place, Grandma couldn’t begin to tell you how many things she burned up, or how much time she wasted, even when she had me to consult! Kate is studying Domestic Science, and in a few years she will know what it took Grandma a long, long time to learn. Good-by. If it were not for me, you probably would not enjoy your dinner tomorrow. [Exit.]

9Turkey and Vegetables [fall in line and sing in concert as they march across the stage and wave to the sleeping Tommy as they make their exit]:

Tune: Good-Night, Ladies [Merrily We Roll Along]

Good-by, Tommy! Good-by, Tommy! Good-by, Tommy!

Until tomorrow noon;

Then we’ll all come back to you, back to you, back to you,

Then we’ll all come back to you

In a silver spoon!

[Exeunt]

Play as MP3: Audio content is not currently supported on your device. [Download as MusicXML.]

Tommy [yawns, stretches, rubs his eyes and grins sheepishly]: Gee! I must have been asleep. [Rushes from the stage.]

CHOICE ENTERTAINMENTS

Prepared especially for school use, and particularly for Friday afternoons and special day exercises.

DIALOGUES AND CHILDREN’S PLAYS

Dialogues and Plays for Entertainment Days—Painton .40

District-School Dialogues—Irish .40

The Golden Goose—Guptill .15

Humorous Dialogues for Children—Irish .40

Specialty Entertainments for Little Folks—Painton .40

Twelve Plays for Children—Guptill .40

RECITATIONS

Best Primary Recitations—Hoag .30

DRILLS AND ACTION SONGS

Humorous Drills and Acting Songs—Irish .40

MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENTS

Rummage—Race .25

Uncle Sam, P. M.—Race .25

SPECIAL DAY ENTERTAINMENTS

The Best Christmas Book—Sindelar .40

The Best Thanksgiving Book—Sindelar .40

Christmas at Stebbinses’—Irish .25

Closing Day Entertainments—Sindelar .40

Merry Christmas Entertainments—Sindelar .40

Polly in History-Land, or Glimpses of Washington—Painton .25

Susan Gregg’s Christmas Orphans—Irish .25

PLAYS

The Great Turkey-Stealing Case of Watermelon County—Graham .25

The Last Half-Day in the District School—Fraser-Higgins .35

The Prize Essay, or “Boy Wanted”—Painton .35

The Value of X—Painton .35

Illustrated Catalog of Books mailed free upon request.

BECKLEY-CARDY COMPANY, Publishers, CHICAGO

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DRAWING

Easy Things to Draw—Augsburg $0.45

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Primary Seat Work, Sense Training and Games—Smith $0.85

Primary Sewing and Color Cards—Cleaveland: No. 1, Animal Series; No. 2, Fairy-Tale Series; No. 3, Children-of-the-World Series. Each set .25

Straight-Line Sewing Cards—Cleaveland .25

PENMANSHIP

Muscular Movement Writing Slips $0.15

ARITHMETIC

Moody Number Games—Moody. Series 1 $0.85

Moody Number Games—Moody. Series 2 .85

Number Games for Primary Grades—Harris-Waldo .85

Number Stories—Deming .85

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Language and Composition by Grades—Hammond 1.00

Language Games for All Grades—Deming—Book only .80

With Cards 1.20

One Hundred Stories for Reproduction—Grove .30

Primary Language Stories—Deming .50

MUSIC

Best Primary Songs—Kellogg $0.20

Merry Melodies—Hanson .20

New Common-School Song Book—Smith-Schuckai .70

Silvery Notes—Hanson .20

Songs We Like Best .15

Weaver’s New School Songs—Weaver .30

OPENING AND GENERAL EXERCISES

Best Memory Gems—Sindelar $0.30

Morning Exercises for All the Year—Sindelar 1.00

CLASS RECORDS

Simplex Class Record—Cloth $0.50

Paper .35

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Transcriber’s Notes

New original cover art included with this ebook is granted to the public domain. The music files are the music transcriber’s interpretation of the printed notation and are placed in the public domain.

The following changes and corrections have been made:

Advertisements: Added comma between “No. 3” and “Children-of-the-World Series.”

Advertisements: Added decimal point to price “.60” for item “Simplex Seat Plan (with Cards).”