his people enjoy life he showed them how to harness nature’s power, so that the drudgery of the farm might be done by machinery instead of man power. The crowd which witnessed this play was a very responsive one. “The New Country Woman,” written by a girl of French descent, brought out the leadership of woman in improving the social conditions in the country. There were ten characters in the play. The action took place in three scenes. The existing rural conditions in the state were splendidly portrayed in “The Country Side.” It was exceptionally well written, the thought and the English well nigh perfect. [Illustration: SCENE—“American Beauties”—A One-Act Play _by A. Seaman_] Whenever possible, the young people who are competent are broken in as directors on the original plays as well as on the others. This is done to give them the experience, so that they can help when called upon in their communities to assist. It also develops leadership. In other words, The Little Country Theater is not only a laboratory to try out different kinds of plays and entertainments for country folks, but also a place to train country-life workers. One could go on indefinitely with hundreds of incidents which show the magnitude of the work of this particular country-life laboratory in the Northwest. A BEE IN A DRONE’S HIVE Just a few years past a young man from near Edmunds, North Dakota, came to see me. He said he wanted to try a hand at writing a play. When asked what was the most interesting thing in his life at that particular time, he told me about two people who had lived on the farm the greater share of their lives. One wanted to retire and the other to remain. I asked him how he stood on the subject and he said if he were to make a decision he would stay on the farm. “Good,” said I, “there’s the theme for your play, country life versus city life. Lay the scene of the first act in the city and have the farmer retired, showing that all the advantages of real life are not found in the city. Place the second act out in the country and demonstrate the social possibilities of life on the farm.” Nothing more was said. He left the office. In about three or four weeks he returned with a copy of a play. It was written in lead pencil on an old-fashioned yellow tablet. I asked him what the name of the play was, and he said he had called it “A Bee in a Drone’s Hive.” At first I objected to the title, but after questioning him found that the reason he called the play, “A Bee in a Drone’s Hive” was that he thought that a man who really understood the country should never move to the city; that he was just as much out of place in the city as a bee was in a drone’s hive.