Choose you a man for you and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me and to kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then shall ye be our servants and serve us. I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. [DAVID listens. The soldiers seem disturbed and frightened.] David: What meaneth this?

Soldier [walks up to DAVID]: Have ye seen this man who is come up? Surely to defy Israel is he come up. And it shall be that the man who killeth him the king will enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.

David: Who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?

First Brother [showing anger against DAVID]: Why camest thou hither? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

David: What have I now done? [He turns from his brothers and speaks to the people.] What shall be done with the man that killeth this Philistine and taketh away the reproach from Israel? For who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? I will fight him, and if I prevail against him and kill him, then will the Philistines be our servants and serve us. The Lord God of Israel will deliver him into my hands.

Soldiers: Saul, the king, shall hear these words!

SCENE II. DAVID BEFORE SAUL

PLACE: Saul's tent.

David [comes in and salutes the king]: Let no man's heart fail because of this giant; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

Saul: Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

David: Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and when there came a lion or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I caught him by the beard and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. The Lord that hath delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

Saul: Go, and the Lord go with thee. [To soldiers]: Bring forth armor; this youth must be ready to meet

the foe.

[The soldiers bring armor. SAUL puts the armor, a helmet and a coat of mail, on DAVID. DAVID puts on his sword, then walks a few steps. He suddenly throws the sword down and begins to take off the armor.]

David: I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. [He takes the armor off and keeps only his shepherd's staff and sling.] The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

PLACE:

[He bows to the king and goes out.]

SCENE III. THE BATTLE

The battlefield.

[DAVID picks up five smooth stones and puts them into his shepherd bag. GOLIATH comes toward him. He is dressed in armor, and the man that bears his shield comes before him. GOLIATH looks surprised and disgusted when he sees DAVID.]

Goliath: Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? Come to me and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and unto the beasts of the field.

David: Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from thee; and I will give the bodies of the Philistines unto the fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the field, that all may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with the sword and with the spear, for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands! [DAVID puts his hand into his bag and takes out a stone and

slings it, so that it hits the giant in the forehead. The giant falls. The Philistines flee. DAVID stands with his foot on the body of the giant.]

Israelite Soldiers with David: The battle is the Lord's!

END

CHAPTER V

THE DRAMATIZATION OF MOSES IN THE

BULRUSHES

The method of presenting the story of Moses in the Bulrushes differed somewhat from that employed with Joseph. There was little need to tell the story at the beginning, for every child already knew it in detail. Consequently the leader had the children tell most of it, while she supplemented and directed attention to important parts.

In this case the entire play was planned roughly before any of it was acted. The story was criticized by the children as to its organization and unity, and as a result they made up an ending (Act III) which they felt was needed to make the story complete. Experience with the other plays had led the children to feel the necessity for having a satisfactory ending after the climax.

At the second meeting several girls brought in the scenes as they had written them out. They had tried to embody the points which the children had decided upon as the general plan of the play. The final play varies very little from these scenes thus written by the girls themselves.

There was no difficulty in solving the problem as to what they would do for a baby in the first

part of the play. Many dolls were brought in, and the choice fell upon the one that received the largest number of votes because of his likeness to the baby Moses. A woven basket served for the cradle of bulrushes. There were many rehearsals when there was no doll or cradle, but the children never felt the lack. Their imaginations can supply all needs.

A few big Egyptian designs were made for the first and last scenes, which were placed in the king's court. These were fastened on the walls and around the king's seat, as was done in the play of Joseph.

Before the play was given before parents and friends the children decided to call it The Childhood of Moses. An older boy in the church printed programs for the occasion that the audience might better understand the play. They read as follows:

THE CHILDHOOD OF MOSES

Dramatized and Presented by the Children's Dramatic Club of the Hyde Park Church of Disciples