The White Christmas and other Merry Christmas PlaysHare, Walter Ben
Religion
The White Christmas and other Merry Christmas Plays
Hare, Walter Ben
Christmas plays
MRS. O'TOOLE. All but the goat. I draw the line at Shamus O'Brien. Ye
see it's this way. Me man, Pat, won a turkey in a raffle, and it's as
big as a billy-goat. Then on top of that me daughter Toozy, that's
married and lives in the country, sent us two chickens and a goose.
And there's only me and Pat to ate all that.
MRS. MULLIGAN. Kathleen O'Toole, it's a saint ye are.
MRS. O'TOOLE. I says to Pat, says I, "Christmas ain't Christmas at
all, at all, unless there's some children at the dinner." "What'll we
do?" says Pat. "Invite the Mulligans," says I. And Pat was tickled to
death. We've potatoes and squash and cabbage from me own garden, and
we've oyster dressing and cramberries and stewed corn and apple
fritters, and it's meself that has made eight mince pies, and four
punkin ones--and I think we'll be after having a dinner on Christmas
Day that would do credit to ould Saint Patrick himself.
MRS. MULLIGAN. Sure, ye almost make me cry for joy, Kathleen O'Toole,
and after the goat trated ye the way he did, too.
MRS. O'TOOLE. If a woman can't be neighborly and loving on Christmas
Day, Mollie Mulligan, sure I'm thinking she niver can be neighborly
and loving at all, at all.
MRS. MULLIGAN. And ye're aven makin' a bit of an iliphant for wee
Peter Pan.
MRS. O'TOOLE. I am that. Here's the little, fat body. (_Shows
cylindrical piece of dark green squash._) And here's the four legs.
(_Shows two bananas cut in half._) I'll just stick the legs on with
nails--and there he stands. Now, here's a little potato for a head,
and an ould skinny carrot for a trunk. I'll stick them on with a hair
pin. (_Does so._) Now, I'll stick on the ears and put in the
shoe-button eyes, and with this wee bit of black paper for a
tailpiece, and there ye are. Mr. Mumbo Jumbo Mulligan as natural as
life and twice as handsome. (_Shows elephant to audience._)
MRS. MULLIGAN. Here's a doll baby I've dressed, but it's no head she
has at all, at all.
MRS. O'TOOLE. Use a big yellow apple or a wee yellow punkin, and put
on a baby cap--and there ye are. Stick in some buttons for eyes, and a
wee nose and mouth of red paper--and stick the head on the body with
some hair pins, and the quane herself niver had a better doll baby.
MRS. MULLIGAN. I'll put her right here on the table alongside of the
iliphant.
MRS. O'TOOLE. It's nine o'clock, it is. Isn't it time for the children
to be home?
MRS. MULLIGAN (_goes to door at R._). It is that. (_Looks out._) And
here they come now.
(_The children are heard outside at R., singing to the tune of
"Marching Through Georgia."_)
The Mulligans are coming now, as happy as can be,
We've been to the Sunday School and saw the Christmas tree,
Had a lark with Santa Claus and take a tip from me,
We'll all be marching on Christmas!
(_They march in from R., come down to front and line up._)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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