Little Dramas for Primary Grades — Story, Setting & Ideas

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In Category - Historical Psychological Social Fiction

Authors: Skinner, Ada M. (Ada Maria), 1878-, Lawrence, Lillian Nixon Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2016 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Children's plays; Readers (Primary) Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 19,054

Reading time 83 min

Text sections 41

This digital edition of Little Dramas for Primary Grades — Story, Setting & Ideas is described by source-level measurements including 19,054 words, 1 hr 23 min estimated reading time, and 41 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 10.3 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Children's plays,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #53245

This 1913 collection of short plays for early readers uses simple dialogue, repetitive structures, and personified nature to teach reading and moral lessons. Each drama features clear character voices and minimal staging, making it suitable for classroom performance.

Editorial Edition Score 4.7/5

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Edition quality

File: pg53245

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hildren. Give them all the good weather you can. And now the horses are ready to go. My time is nearly up, so I start on my long drive. You will find everything in pretty good shape. Well, well, my boy, good-by, good luck to you.

A FRIENDSHIP DECLINED

CHARACTERS—_Mary_ _and_ _a Kitten_

(_Mary wears a gray fur bonnet_)

_Mary._ Pussy, aren’t you cold?

_Mary._ Pussy, aren’t you cold? Don’t look so sad. Come here to me, At home, I’ve kittens two— And I should like—indeed I should To make a friend of you.

_Mary._ To make a friend of you.

_Pussy._ I thank you, Miss, for your kind words, And know they’re gently said; But truth to speak, I do not like That thing upon your head. For much it looks to me as though Your very furry hat, So soft and fine, might once have been A very furry cat. Me-ow! A very furry cat.

CHARACTERS—_Man_, _Camel_, _Wise Man_, _Tiger_

_Camel._ Pray, sir, where are you going?

_Man._ I am going to the Wise Man to seek my fortune.

_Camel._ Seek mine, too. I have had these sacks of gold on my back for a long time. I cannot lie down. Seek mine, too.

_Tiger._ Pray, sir, where are you going?

_Man._ I am going to the Wise Man to seek my fortune.

_Tiger._ Seek mine, too. For a long time I have had this thorn in my foot. I cannot rest. Seek mine, too.

_Man._ I will. [_Man comes to Wise Man._]

_Wise Man._ I pray you, sir, why are you here?

_Man._ I seek my fortune. I am a very poor man.

_Wise Man._ Then, I fear you have been living only for yourself. Think of making others rich and you will become rich.

_Man._ In the jungle I met a camel. He carried two sacks of gold on his back. They were so heavy that he could not lie down. He asked me to seek his fortune, too.

_Wise Man._ Take the sacks off his back. Then he will be free, and you will have the gold. Why did you not do it before?

_Man._ I was thinking only of myself. After that I met a tiger. For many days he has had a thorn in his foot. He cannot rest. He asked me to seek his fortune, too.

_Wise Man._ Take the thorn out of his foot, and both of you will gain by it. Why did you not think of this before?

_Man._ I was thinking only of myself. [_Man goes homeward. He meets the tiger._]

_Tiger._ Have you found my fortune?

_Man._ The Wise Man told me to take the thorn out of your foot.

[_Pulls thorn out and starts to go on._]

_Tiger._ Thank you. Here, take my treasure. I did not think of giving it to you before. [_Man goes on._]

_Camel._ Have you found my fortune?

_Man._ The Wise Man told me to take the sacks off your back.

[_Man takes off sacks._]

_Camel._ Thank you. But stop! These sacks are full of gold. Take them, and both of us will be happy. Why did we not think of this before?

_Man._ We were thinking only of ourselves.

_Magpie_ _Thrush_ _Blackbird_ _Wise Owl_ _Starling_ _Sparrow_ _Turtledove_

_Thrush._ Oh, Mrs. Magpie, I wish you would teach us how you build your nest. Every one says your nest is made better than any other.

_Magpie._ Is that true? Indeed! Come nearer then, and I will show you how I do it. [_Birds draw near._] You see I take some mud and make a round cake with it.

_Thrush._ Oh, that’s how it’s done! I can make one now. [_Flies away._]

_Magpie._ Oh! the thrush went too soon. It is not yet done. Now I lay some twigs in the mud this way and that way, this way and that way.

_Blackbird._ I see! I see! [_Flies away._]

_Magpie._ What! Has the blackbird gone, too? Next another layer of mud—twigs and mud, twigs and mud.

_Wise Owl._ Oh, that’s very easy! [_Flies off._]

_Magpie._ Does the wise owl think that’s all? Now more twigs round the outside. Up and down; in and out; round and round.

_Sparrow._ The very thing. [_Flies off._]

_Magpie._ Oh! but the nest is not lined yet. I make it soft and warm inside with feathers.

_Starling._ That suits me. [_Flies off._]

_Magpie._ Has the starling gone, too? It will take just one minute more.

_Turtledove._ Take two, Tousey, take two-o-o.

_Magpie._ One is enough.

_Turtledove._ Take two, Tousey, take two-o-o.

Continue Reading →

The thirty-one short plays in Little Dramas for Primary Grades are built around a consistent structural pattern: a brief cast list, a simple setting, and dialogue that carries the entire action. The compilers, Ada Maria Skinner and Lillian Nixon Lawrence, draw on both original pieces and adaptations from authors such as Laura E. Richards and H. T. Peck. The dramas rely heavily on repetition and patterned exchanges—characters often ask a question and receive a series of similar answers before reaching a resolution. This design supports beginning readers by reinforcing vocabulary and sentence structures through oral performance.

Repetition as a Learning Tool

Many of the plays use a cumulative question-and-answer format. In “Who Holds Up the Sky?” Daisy asks Rose, “Is it you holds up the sky?” Rose then asks the Fir Tree, who passes the question to the Elm, and so on. Each character denies responsibility and points to the next, until the Mountain is named. The same pattern appears in “The Little Fish,” where one fish after another is asked to help, and each refuses. This structure gives young readers predictable cues and allows them to anticipate the next line, building confidence in oral reading. The repetition also creates a rhythm that makes the dialogue easier to memorize for classroom performance.

Personified Nature and Moral Lessons

Nature is frequently given a voice and a moral role. In “The Little Christmas Tree,” a Boastful Bamboo is humbled after a storm, admitting, “I wish that I had lived in a garden as you have.” The Little Tree, though damaged, survives because it was planted by children. In “Return of Spring,” Spring himself is a character who explains that farmers blamed him for making buds come out too soon. The gardeners were angry, he says, because “where I stepped, the flowers came out too soon.” These personifications teach cause and effect and humility without overt moralizing, embedding lessons in the natural consequences of the characters’ actions.

Dialogue-Driven Characterization

Characters are defined almost entirely by what they say and how they say it. In “Return of Spring,” the Clown’s absurd explanation of how to make rabbit pie—involving a hole in the crust and rabbits popping in—reveals his playful nature, while Columbine’s firm “Don’t you believe him” shows her as the sensible one. Pantaloon’s “Ho! ho! ho!” and his wand-waving establish him as a magician figure. In “The Odd Man and the Dog True,” the Dog’s loyalty is shown through his repeated offers to help, while the Odd Man’s selfishness is evident in his dismissive replies. No narrator explains motives; the dialogue carries all characterization, making the plays ideal for young actors to interpret through tone and delivery.

Minimal Staging and Flexible Performance

The plays require very few props or set pieces. Settings are described in a single line—“Time — Morning—Breakfast Place — A Garden on Mt. Olympus” for “Return of Spring”—and costumes are implied only by character names. The preface notes that the book is intended for use “at the end of the first, and at the beginning of the second, year,” suggesting that teachers could stage these with minimal preparation. Many plays, like “Bunny Rabbit” and “The Fox and the Crow,” have only two or three characters, allowing small groups to perform simultaneously. The simplicity of staging puts the focus squarely on the spoken word and the child’s ability to inhabit a role through voice alone.

The plays reward attention to how each character’s language differs—from the formal politeness of Rose to the Clown’s rambling nonsense. Readers might try comparing the rhythm of the cumulative plays with the more naturalistic dialogue in pieces like “Christmas Eve in an Attic.” The collection offers a practical glimpse into early twentieth-century educational methods, where drama was used not as a special event but as a regular part of reading instruction.

I remember holding that slim 1913 volume, its little dramas teaching children that even trees could speak with patience. Years later, I found a quieter echo in Five Men and Pompey: A Series of Dramatic Portraits — Text and Context. Both trust the voice alone to carry meaning, the simplest stage. It feels like watching one generation whisper to another. No scenery, just presence, and the strange dignity of someone simply speaking their truth aloud.