Turk and Runt: A Thanksgiving Comedy by Lisa Wheeler.
Characters:
Narrator 1 / Narrator 2 / Narrator 3 / Narrator 4 / Narrator 5Narrator 6 / Mother / Father / Runt / Turk
Madame Waddelle / Coach Giblet / Little Old Lady
Narrator 6: Turk and Runt: A Thanksgiving Comedy by Lisa Wheeler.
Narrator 1: Turk’s parents were so proud of him.
Narrator 2: He was the biggest, strongest, and most graceful bird on Wishbone Farm.
Mother: He’s a dancer!
Narrator 3: said his mother.
Father: He’s an athlete!
Narrator 4: said his father.
Runt: He’s a goner.
Narrator 5: said his brother, Runt.
Narrator 6: But no one ever listened to Runt.
Narrator 1: Every year, the farm animals looked forward to the excitement of autumn.
Narrator 2: Carloads of people came to pick red, ripe apples from the orchard in September.
Narrator 3: Folks arrived to choose plump, orange pumpkins from the field in October.
Narrator 4: And come November, it was turkey time. One by one, the fattest, roundest turkeys were chosen.
Turk: Chosen for what?
Narrator 5: asked Turk.
Mother: To be the lead dancer in Swan Lake
Narrator 6: said his mother.
Father: To play in the Thanksgiving Day football game,
Narrator 1: said his father.
Turk: To be roasted and gently basted,
Narrator 2: said his brother, Runt.
Narrator 3: But no one ever listened to Runt.
Narrator 4: So every morning in November the family watched Turk practice his dance steps.
Turk: One...two...three...lift!
Narrator 5: And every afternoon, the family watched Turk practice his football moves.
Turk: Sixteen, twenty-three, forty-seven, hike!
Mother: He’s getting stronger,
Narrator 6; said his mother.
Father: He’s getting bigger,
Narrator 1: said his father.
Runt: He’s getting juicer,
Narrator 2: said Runt.
Narrator 3: Two days before Thanksgiving, Madame Waddelle, the famous ballet instructor, arrived at Wishbone Farm. She came to choose a turkey.
Mother: An audition! It’s your time to shine! Go out there and shake those tail feathers!
Narrator 4: Mother squealed.
Narrator 5: Turk gracefully danced to the front of the barnyard. He leaped. He spun.
Narrator 6: He twirled and whirled. He did a triple somersault and landed in a split!
Madame Waddelle: Look at zee size of zose drumsticks! Zat is a beautiful bird!
Narrator 1: said Madame Waddelle.
Narrator 2: Mother beamed. Father puffed out his feathers with pride.
Narrator 3: Runt puffed his feathers out too.
Narrator 4: Then he threw himself on the ground. He flapped. He flopped. He hissed and sputtered.
Narrator 5: He gobbled like a maniac as he chased Madame Waddelle out of the barnyard.
Madame Waddelle: Sacre bleu!!! Zees birds are crazy!!
Narrator 6: screamed Madame Waddelle. Then she drove far, far away from Wishbone Farms.
Mother:NoSwanLake!
Narrator 1: cried his mother.
Father: No starring role!
Narrator 2: cried his father.
Runt: No roasted Turk with chestnut dressing! Hooray!
Narrator 3: cried Runt.
Narrator 4: But no one ever listened to Runt.
Narrator 5: The day before Thanksgiving, Coach Giblet of the Crow City Corn Shuckers came to pick out a turkey.
Father: This is your big chance! Get out there and strut your stuff!
Narrator 6: cried Father.
Narrator 1: Turk sprinted to the front to the barnyard.
Narrator 2: He bobbed. He weaved. He tackled. He dived. He mowed down every turkey who got in his way.
Coach Giblet: That’s one healthy-looking bird! Only the biggest and the best for my team.
Narrator 3: said Coach Giblet.
Narrator 4: Father grinned proudly.
Narrator 5: Mother got tears in her eyes.
Narrator 6: Runt got tears in his eyes too. Then his beak began to drip.
Narrator 1: He coughed. He wheezed. He sniffled and sneezed.
Narrator 2: He fell to the ground in a hacking fit of quivering feathers.
Coach Giblet: Good Gravy! These are very sick birds! The Corn Shuckers deserve better!
Narrator 3: shouted the Coach as he hopped back into the team bus. Then he sped far, far away from Wishbone Farm.
Father: No football contract!
Narrator 4: cried Father.
Mother: No TV commercials!
Narrator 5: cried Mother.
Runt: No Turk sandwich with cranberry sauce! Hooray!
Narrator 6: cried Runt.
Narrator 1: But no one ever listened to Runt.
Narrator 2: It was Thanksgiving morning. Turk’s family heard a little putt-putt-putt of a little old car. Out of the car climbed a little old lady.
Father: Maybe she’s a little old talent scout,
Narrator 3: said Father.
Mother: Maybe she’s a little old dance instructor,
Narrator 4: said mother.
Runt: I hope she’s a little old vegetarian,
Narrator 5: said Runt.
Mother and Father: Show her what you got!
Narrator 6: Father and Mother pushed Turk to the front of the barnyard.
Narrator 1: But before Turk could perform even one pirouette, the little old lady scooted him aside.
Little Old Lady: Aha! Exactly what I’ve been looking for. This bird is just the right size for me.
Narrator 2: the Little old Lady said.
Mother: What?
Narrator 3: cried Mother.
Father: Him?!
Narrator 4: cried father.
Runt: Help!
Narrator 5: cried Runt.
Narrator 6: But no one ever listened to Runt. So he ran.
Narrator 1: He ran behind Father. He ran behind Mother.
Runt: Don’t let her see me! Hide me! Hide me!
Narrator 2: Runt ran behind Turk and said,
Runt: I’m too young to be basted!
Narrator 3: Turk saw the look in the Little Old Lady’s eyes. He saw the drool on her lips. He saw the fork in the Little Old Lady’s pocket. He saw the roasting pan in her backseat!
Narrator 4: Runt had been right all along!
Turk: Work with me Runt! Or your goose is cooked!
Narrator 5: Turk instructed.
Narrator 6: Turk bobbed and weaved. Runt flapped and drooled. Turk leaped and twirled. Runt coughed and wheezed.
Narrator 1: Runt gobbled like a maniac while Turk dived down and tackled the little old lady’s shoes.
Little Old Lady: Stuff and nonsense! I wouldn’t eat these birds if they were the last turkeys on Earth!
Narrator 2: cried the little Old Lady as she climbed back in her car.
Narrator 3: That day, as the family feasted on corn and alfalfa, they had much to be thankful for.
Mother: I’m thankful we’re all together,
Narrator 4: said Mother.
Father: I’m thankful for two brave sons,
Narrator 5: said father.
Turk: I’m thankful for such a smart brother,
Narrator 6: said Turk.
Runt: We’re not out of the woods yet. Come December, folks begin planning their holiday dinners,
Narrator 1: warned Runt.
Mother: Dinners that include stuffing?!
Narrator 2: asked Mother.
Father: Dinners that include gravy?!
Narrator 3: asked Father.
Turk: Dinners that include m-m-me?
Narrator 4: asked Turk.
Runt: Over my feathered body! We’re not plucked yet. I have a grade A plan!
Narrator 5: Runt said.
Narrator 6: And this time, everyone listened to Runt.
Scripted by Mandy Gregory
- 1 -