Cast of Characters
Owl: An actor made up to be an owl whose home in a tree is disturbed by an unwelcome visitor.
Bull: An actor made up to be a bull who knocks down trees for a living so that he may earn food for his family.
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SCENE 1
(In darkness, the audience hears huge thuds like something ramming into a tree. Lights come up on a BULL stepping back to ram once again into a tree off R. OWL comes on from off R, furious)
OWL
What do you think you're doing?!
BULL
I'm knocking down that tree.
(About ready to charge at tree again)
OWL
Stop!
BULL
What?
OWL
That's my home you want to knock down.
BULL
(Puzzled)
That tree?
OWL
Yes, I live in it.
BULL
Really?
OWL
Of course. Owls live in trees, you know.
BULL
(Goes along)
Uh, yeah. Of course. Now, if you'll stand aside. I need to knock down that tree. (Gets ready to charge)
OWL
Will you listen to me a minute?!
BULL
Sure.
OWL
That tree is my home. I live in it. Without it I wouldn't have any place to live.
BULL
I'm really sorry, but I still need to knock it down.
OWL
Why?
BULL
The cat wants me to.
OWL
What does he want with the trees?
BULL
I don't know. I just get my pay. I don't ask questions.
OWL
Well, I'm not about to let you destroy my home because some cat told you to.
BULL
He gives me and my family a lot of grain and feed to eat for every tree I knock down. I can't let my family starve.
OWL
You can't destroy my home either. My family has lived in this old tree for many, many years along with a lot of other animal families. Do you want to make us homeless?
BULL
(Persistent)
I've got to feed my family.
OWL
Can't you earn food for them some other way?
BULL
I don't know. I can't really do anything else besides knocking down trees. That's all I've done my whole life.
OWL
There must be something else you can do. Something you might even enjoy more.
BULL
I like to pull the plow through the fields.
OWL
See, there's something.
BULL
Yeah.
(Dreamily)
I love to drag that plow along and rip and tear up the earth.
OWL
Okay, okay. I've got the idea. You can do something else.
BULL
But, nothing pays as well as knocking down trees.
OWL
There are some things more important than money in this world.
BULL
Like what?
OWL
Like trying to keep nature the way it should be.
BULL
We don't change it that much.
OWL
Remember how the neighboring forest was all knocked down?
BULL
Sure I do. The cat sure was happy.
OWL
But, all those animals that lived there had to move. Their homes were destroyed and they had to go far away to live safely again.
BULL
See. They can always find other places to live.
OWL
What happens when all the forests have been knocked down?
BULL
That won't happen.
OWL
It might.
BULL
So, what if it does happen?
OWL
All the animals will have no place to go. We'll have to move on to a place far away where you or the cat can't find us. Do you want us all to leave, never to be seen again?
BULL
No, I guess not.
OWL
You have to do something or else all the trees will be gone. Then, neither of us will have anything.
BULL
What do you mean by I won't have anything.
OWL
Once the trees are gone, you can't earn food for your family anymore.
BULL
Gosh. I didn't think of that.
OWL
You need to.
BULL
Wait. There are plenty of trees around. They'll last through my life time.
OWL
What about your children?
BULL
What about them?
OWL
The trees probably won't last through their lives at the rate you're going.
BULL
We'll just plant more trees then.
OWL
It takes a long, long time for trees to get big enough for some of us animals to live in.
BULL
Well, it's something, isn't it?
OWL
Yes, it is.
BULL
That's just what we'll do then. Plant more trees.
OWL
It's not enough.
BULL
Will you stop with all this?! You think too much, owl. That's what's wrong with you.
OWL
You think too little.
BULL
I don't see any of this bad stuff you keep talking about. It's like you're making it all up or something. I don't believe any of it.
OWL
You stubborn bull. You may not see any problems with knocking down trees. But, I do.
BULL
Like what?
OWL
There are not enough homes for them all. Forests will become overcrowded. Animals will have trouble finding food. They need to feed their families, too.
BULL
Yeah, I guess so.
OWL
Trees also make clean air for us to breathe.
BULL
They do?
OWL
Sure.
BULL
How?
OWL
What we breathe out, trees breathe in. What trees breathe out, we breathe in.
BULL
Wow. I didn't know that.
OWL
The air, trees give us, is clean air. If we cut down all the trees, the air will get all bad and yucky.
BULL
Are you sure?
OWL
Look at the smog in cities.
BULL
Yeah. It's pretty gross.
OWL
Without trees, all the air will become so icky no one could even breath it.
BULL
Would that really happen?
OWL
If you knock down all the trees, a lot more than that would happen.
BULL
This is all good to talk about, but I still have to work.
OWL
I guess I'd better start packing. Come on kids... pack
your things.
(Starts to go)
BULL
Wait.
(OWL stops)
OWL
What?
BULL
(Thinks a moment)
Maybe I could just take part of the trees and leave the forest animals some. That way we both win.
OWL
I don't want to see any trees taken. Every time some are taken, the more danger our Earth will be in.
BULL
I've got to live.
OWL
Yes, you do.
(Thinks a bit)
Maybe we can share, but like I said, every time a tree is knocked down the environment will be in a little more danger.
BULL
I know, I know. The bad air and all that.
OWL
And have you noticed the temperature?
BULL
Yeah. It seems like it's getting hotter every year.
OWL
That's because we're losing so many trees.
BULL
It is? How?
OWL
You know how I was telling you about how trees breathe in what we breathe out?
BULL
Yeah. Sort of.
OWL
If there aren't enough trees to breathe in a lot of what we breathe out, what we breath out just hangs in the air and isn't used.
BULL
What does that have to do with temperatures?
OWL
Heat rises from the Earth. What we breathe out traps the heat and keeps it down around us. If there aren't trees to breathe that air, the heat will stop escaping at all and we'll end up living in a giant steam bath.
BULL
(His brain has had too much to think about)
Oh... but winters are getting colder.
OWL
That's all part of the same problem. The warming makes
all the weather worse... every year we get more hurricanes and tornadoes.
Everything is more extreme.
Bull looks confused.
OWL (Cont.)
This isn't making any sense is it?
BULL
No really...
OWL
Then I've already lost.
BULL
Look... I don't want to destroy your home. Can't we make a deal?
OWL
You can't make deals with nature...
(OWL starts to go)
BULL
Good-bye, Owl.
OWL
Good-bye. Come on kids.
Owl can gather up cute little owl toys or if other actors are available, they can all be crying as they follow Owl out.
BULL
(Looks around and says to himself)
The forest sure is a beautiful place, isn't it? Maybe this tree can stay a little longer. (He smiles and exits L as lights fade to black
END OF PLAY
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