Dooby Dooby Moo

Adapted from a book by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

* To aid in comprehension of the story, read the picture book prior to performing the readers theater.

Character

/ Student playing the character
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Duck
Cow
Sheep
Farmer
All

Narrator 1

/ Farmer Brown keeps a very close eye on his animals. Every night he listens outside the barn door.
All / Dooby, dooby moo…. Fa la, la, la baaaa…. Whacka, whacka Quack…. (snores)
Narrator 2 / Duck keeps a very close eye on Farmer Brown and every morning Duck borrows his newspaper. One day, an ad catches his eye:
Narrator 2 / As soon as Farmer Brown opened his paper, he knew the animals were up to something.
Narrator 1 / Farmer Brown watched them closely all day. He watched them from above, below, and even upside down.
Narrator 2 / Outside the barn, late at night, he heard,
All / Dooby, dooby moo… Fa la, la, la baaaa… Whacka, whacka Quack…
Narrator 1 / Inside the barn, the cows rehearsed “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
Cows / Dooby, dooby, dooby moo. Dooby moo, moo, moo, moo.
Duck / Needs work.
Narrator 1 / The sheep rehearsed, “ Home on the Range.”
Sheep / Baaa, baaa, baaa, baaabaaa… Fa la baaa, fa la baaaa, baaaabaaabaaa!
Duck / Try it again with more feeling.
Narrator 1 / The pigs did an interpretive dance.
Duck / Whacka, whacka Quaaack…..
Narrator 2 / Day afterday, Farmer Brown kept a very close eye on the animals. He watched them from the left, the right, and even watched in disguise.
Narrator 1 / Outside the barn, night after night, he heard:
All / Dooby, dooby, moo… Fa la, la, la baaaa… Whacka, whacka Quack….
Narrator 1 / Inside the barn, night after night, the animals rehearsed.
Narrator 2 / Finally it was time for the county fair. Duck paced back and forth. The pigs were combing their hair; the cows were drinking tea with lemon.
Narrator 1 / Farmer Brown thought they were up to something and he was not going to leave them alone. He loaded all the animals into the back of his truck and drove to the fair.
Narrator 2 / When he got there he heard:
All / Dooby, dooby moo… Fa la, la, la baaaa… whacka, whacka Quack…
Narrator 1 / He parked his truck and headed off to the free barbecue.
Narrator 2 / When Farmer Brown was out of sight, the animals ran to the talent show desk and signed in.*
Narrator 1 / The cows sang, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
Cows / Dooby, dooby, dooby moo. Dooby moo, moo, moo, moo, moo.
Narrator 1 / Two of the judges were clearly impressed.
Narrator 2 / The sheep sang, “ Home on the Range.”
Sheep / Fa la, la, la baa. Fa la baaa, ba, ba, baaa, ba, baaaa.
Narrator 1 / Three of the judges were clearly impressed. It was time for the pigs’ interpretive dance. But they were sound asleep.
Pigs / Shloink oink, oink, oink, oink, oink.
Narrator 2 / All of the judges were clearly annoyed.
Narrator 1 / Duck really wanted that trampoline. He jumped on stage and sang, “ Born to Be Wild.”*
Duck / Quack, Quack, Quack, Quuuaaaaaackk!
Narrator 2 / The judges gave him a standing ovation.
Narrator 1 / When Farmer Brown got back to the truck, he heard:
All / Dooby, dooby moo… Fa la, la, la baaaa… Whacka, whacka Quack….
Narrator 1 / The animals were exactly where he had left them.
Narrator 2 / That night Farmer Brown listened outside the barn door.
All / Dooby, dooby BOING! Fa la, la, la, la BOING! Whacka, whacka BOING!