Presents
The Quilt Story
By Tony Johnston
Illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Actors: Narrator 1 and 2, Abigail & Little Girl, Sister & Brother, and Mother
Narrator 1: A little girl’s mother made the quilt to keep her warm when the snow came down, long ago.
Mother: She stitched a tail of falling stars. And she stitched the name Abigail.
Abigail: Abigail loved the quilt. She wrapped it round her in the quiet dark and watched the winter skies.
Sister: Sometimes she saw a falling star.
Narrator 2: sometimes Abigail played the woods near her home.
Mother: She had tea. Her dolls had tea.
Abigail and Sister: And the quilt had tea all over it.
Narrator 1: Sometimes she pretended the quilt was a gown.
Narrator 2: She wore it to town on her horse.
All: clop, clop, clop
Narrator 1 & 2: and it tore.
Mother: So her mother stitched it up once more.
Sister: Sometimes she played hide-and-seek with her sisters.
Mother: She laughed and cried,
Abigail: Don’t peek!
Narrator 1: Sometimes Abigail was sick.
Narrator 2: She sneezed and sneezed.
Sister: Then she slept under the quilt.
Mother: And she felt better.
Narrator 1: One day Abigail’s family moved away, across wide rivers and over a rock-hard trail.
Narrator 2: The quilt went too.
Narrator 1: Not stuffed in trunks with the blankets and clothes.
Mother: It kept the little girls warm from the wild winds.
Narrator 2: Warm from the rain.
Abigail & Sister: Warm from the sparkling nights.
Narrator 1: They built a new house in the woods. Abigail’s father built it with his hatchet.
All: Chop, Chop, Chop
Narrator 2: He built her a new bed.
All: Chip, Chip, Chip
Mother: He made her a new horse too. He worked until curly shavings covered the floor and everyone sneezed and said,
Abigail and Sister: Welcome home,
Mother: and was glad.
Sister: And Abigail felt sad.
Narrator 1: New house.
Narrator 2: New horse.
Mother: New bed.
Sister: Everything smelled of fresh chops and chips.
Abigail: Everything but the quilt.
Mother: So her mother rocked her a mothers do. Then tucked her in.
Abigail: And Abigail felt at home again under the quilt.
Narrator 1: One day when the quilt was very old and very loved, Abigail folded it carefully and put it in the attic.
Narrator 2: Everyone forgot it was there.
Mother: A grey mouse came and loved the quilt.
Sister: Her babies were born on top of it. She grew fat and grey in the warm stuffing.
Abigail: When they got hungry, they ate a falling star.
Narrator 1: A raccoon came and loved the quilt. She dug a hole in a corner with her black paws and hid an apple there.
Narrator 2: A cat came and loved the quilt.
Mother, Abigail, & Sister: A patchwork cat.
Narrator 1: It rolled on the stars, and stuffing spilled out like snow.
Sister: Then the cat curled up in the snow and purred.
All: Years pass.
Little Girl: Kitty, Kitty.
Narrator 1: called a little girl.
Narrator 2: She found her cat and she found the quilt, splashed with patterns of sun.
Mother: The little girl wrapped the quilt round her. And she loved it too.
Little Girl: Can you make it like new?
Narrator 1: She asked her mother.
Mother: So her mother patched the holes. She pushed fresh stuffing in.
Brother: She stitched long tails on the stars to swish across the quilt again.
Narrator 2: One day the little girl’s family moved away, across miles and miles of pavement and snaking grey highways.
Mother: They found a new house.
Brother: Freshly cleaned.
Little Girl: Freshly waxed.
Brother & Little Girl: Freshly painted.
All: White.
Narrator 1: They unpacked and unpacked.
Mother, Brother, & Little Girl: All night.
Narrator 2: And everyone sneezed on cardboard dust and said,
Little Girl & Brother: Welcome home.
Mother: and was glad.
Narrator 1: And the little girl felt sad.
Narrator 2: Everything smelled of white paint and boxes.
Little Girl: Everything but the quilt.
Mother: So her mother rocked her as mothers do. Then tucked her in.
Brother & Little Girl: And she felt at home again…
Little Girl: …under the quilt.
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