WRiting Contest #3
Story script Examples
THE THREE WISHES (English Folktale)
Once there was a woodsman named Jack.
He lived with his wife in a tiny shack.
Every day he chopped down trees. CHOP CHOP CHOP! (Do chopping actions.)
One day he came across the biggest tree he’d ever seen.
(Jack’s voice) “Wow! If I cut down this tree, I could build my wife a fancy mansion!”
He raised his axe and CHOP CHOP CHOP– (Do chopping action)
STOP! (Hold out hands) Suddenly a tree sprite appeared.
(Sprite’s voice) "I beg you, sir, spare this tree! When you’re chopping, you’re hurting me!"
Jack promised not to cut the tree down.
(Sprite’s voice) "To reward you, your next three wishes will come true!"
When Jack got home, supper wasn’t ready. His stomach grumbled. It rumbled. It groaned and it moaned! (Jack’s voice) "I wish I had a plump, juicy sausage.”
PLOP! A sausage dropped onto the table.
Jack’s wife was amazed. (Wife’s voice) "Where did you get that sausage?"
He told her all about the sprite and wishes–and she WASN’T happy!
"Jack, Jack, Jack! You fool! Wasting a wish on a sausage! I wish it were stuck to your nose!"
(Gasp!) It was! The sausage was stuck to Jack’s nose!
He pulled and pulled, but it wouldn’t come off.
His wife pulled and pulled, but it wouldn’t come off.
They both pulled together, with all their strength, but do you think it came off? No, it was still stuck!
But Jack had one more wish.
“I wish this sausage would fall off my nose!”
(Blow raspberry sound effect. Gesture that it falls off nose.) It did.
So Jack and his wife didn't end up with treasure chests full of gold, or a fancy mansion, but at least they had a nice juicy sausage for supper.
THE THREE KNIGHTS (Fractured Fairy Tale)
Long ago, three brother knights lived together in a cramped castle. They were always bumping into each other and tripping over each other. Finally, they decided they needed castles of their own!
The first knight bought a LOT of paper, cut it out, and made a big paper castle. The second knight bought a LOT of cloth, cut it out, and made a big cloth castle. The third knight bought a LOT of rocks and made a big stone castle with a moat.
One morning, the first knight was in his paper castle when a dragon flew down.
(Spread arms like wings, dragon voice) “Puny human! Puny human! Let me come in!”
(Knight voice) “Uhhhhhh… nobody’s home!”
(Dragon arms and voice) “Ha! If nobody’s home, then who said ‘nobody’s home’? Somebody’s home and that somebody is you! Now, get ready for a roasting!”
The dragon breathed a jet of hot flames! Do you think the paper castle survived? Of course NOT! It burned to a crisp. The knight barely escaped and ran to the house of cloth where the second brother lived.
But just a little while later, the dragon flew down again.
(Spread arms like wings, dragon voice) “Puny humans! Puny humans! Let me come in!”
(Knight voices) “Uhhhhhh… nobody’s home!”
“Ha! If nobody’s home, then who said ‘nobody’s home’? Somebody’s home and that somebody is you two! Now, get ready for a roasting!”
The dragon breathed a jet of super-hot flames! Do you think the cloth castle survived? Of course NOT! It went up in smoke. The two knights barely escaped and ran to the stone castle where the third brother lived. While they waited for the dragon, the brothers got an enormous bucket and filled it with water from the moat. (Mime filling a big bucket)
Along came the dragon!
(Spread arms like wings, dragon voice) “Puny humans! Puny humans! Let me come in!”
The first two brothers were about to say, “Nobody’s home!” but the third brother spoke first. “Puny dragon! Puny dragon! You’ll never get in!”
“Ha! We’ll see about that! Get ready for a roasting!”
The dragon took a deep breath in and was about to unleash a jet of super-duper-extra-spicy-billion-degree hot flames! But just then…
CRASH! The brothers threw down the drawbridge and–
SPLASH! (Mime throwing the water) They heaved the bucket of moat water right into the dragon’s mouth. The dragon coughed. The dragon wheezed. The dragon tried to breathe fire, but all that came out was steam from his ears. POOF! (Mime steam shooting from ears.)
(Dragon voice) “You fools have put me out!”
Furious, the dragon flew away.
The three brothers decided to live together again. The stone castle was much larger than the cramped one where they used to live. They didn’t bump into each other or trip over each other anymore. And they kept their bucket ready, just in case the dragon ever came back.
TWO CUPS OF COFFEE (Retelling of a well-known modern story)
Set up the stage with a table. Place an empty jar and a box of other supplies on the table: Golf balls, pebbles, sand, and two cups of coffee.
I was only one month into Grade 12 and let’s just say… I was in trouble. Big trouble. Midterm exams. Assignments. University applications. I didn’t have time to finish all the work piling up. Let alone keep up with extracurriculars. Or visit friends. Or sleep! I didn’t know what to tackle first and the longer I put something off, the harder it became to start.
Procrastination set in. Doomscrolling. Gaming. Reorganizing the pencils in my drawer.
Then, one Friday morning, my philosophy teacher, Mr. Chou, walked into class with a big empty mayonnaise jar and a cardboard box full of other stuff.
He set the jar on the desk. (Place an empty jar on the table) And he filled it with golf balls. (Fill with golf balls. Continue acting out the professor’s actions throughout the story.)
Mr. Chou asked us if the jar was full.
“Yes…” we responded. I looked at my classmates and they seemed as confused as I was.
Then Mr. Chou picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. Again, he asked us, “Is the jar full?”
“Yes…” we answered. Still no idea where this was going.
He picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.
“Yes…” Was this some kind of weird pop quiz? Were we being graded on this?
Then Mr. Chou pulled out two Starbucks cups and poured all the coffee into the jar. That filled up all the empty spaces in between the sand. By this point, some of us were laughing. We didn’t know what Mr. Chou was doing but at least it wasn’t an in-class essay.
"Listen," he told us, "I know a lot of you are struggling right now. You’re feeling overwhelmed by everything going on. But I want you to think of the big picture. This jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things–family, friends, health, favourite passions–things that if everything else was lost, your life would still be full.
“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your grades, your homework, your job if you have one. The sand is everything else–the small stuff.
"If you put the sand into the jar first, there’s no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you’ll never have room for the things that are important to you. Take care of the golf balls first–the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
That’s when I put up my hand. “What’s the coffee represent?”
Mr. Chou smiled. "I'm glad you asked. No matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple cups of coffee with a friend."