following day, the mantis frantically tried to come up with a new plan.
Mantis stands with his back to the audience. He laughs sneakily while he is making something.
Mantis
(turning round showing a noose): Look at my clever noose! I wove it out of long blades of grass. I will catch the moon with this. (laughs heartily)
Sun sets, Moon rises. Mantis tries to catch the moon with his noose, but it does not work.
Zebra:
I am starting to feel sorry for the mantis!
The moon sets. The sun rises. Mantis walks around, dragging his feet.
Lion:
The mantis was also feeling very sorry for himself. But then, he found something strange …
Mantis
(picks up a toy made of a reed, a feather and a stone): What is this? The San children were probably playing with it … and then forgot it here. (He throws it up into the air several times. It spins back down to the ground.) This is wonderful! I could throw it at the moon … and it would twist around the moon … and bring the moon back with it when it falls to earth.
Sun sets. Moon rises. Mantis watches the moon expectantly, the looks at the toy in his hand.
Lion
(mysteriously): I wonder – will the mantis finally catch the silvery moon? What do you think?
Zebra:
Yes! He will!
Leopard:
Oh no, it’s a stupid plan, Zebra.
Lion:
The mantis does not think so. He waits for the right moment … and then!
Mantis hurls the toy into the air, directly at the moon. It spins back to earth.
Lion:
The mantis collapses next to the pool of water. But wait! What does he see there?
Mantis
(rubs his eyes, then becomes very excited): Can this really be? There is the moon, lying right here in the water! (grabs at the moon’s reflection over and over) Come to me you wondrous thing. (looks at his empty hands dismayed) Why can’t I touch you? You are ugly! (picks up a rock and throws it into the water)
Zebra and Leopard:
Ooh!
Lion:
A terrible thing happens next. When the stone hits the water, the moonlight shatters into a thousand pieces.
Mantis
(clutches his face): My eyes! I can’t see! The shards of moonlight are stuck in my eyes.
Zebra:
That poor thing!
Lion:
The mantis was crushed. His dream of riding the moon was gone. He no longer had any desire to travel across the sky on the moon’s back while everyone admired him.
Mantis
(bends his head humbly and folds his hands in prayer): Oh please, Moon. Restore my sight. I will never try to catch you again, or dream of riding on your back. I will never again wish for the admiration of others. Just let me see again, please … please …
Moon sets, Sun rises
Lion:
When the day was dawning, something wonderful happened.
Mantis
(rubs his eyes, astonished): My eyes … I can see! I can see!
Lion:
Oh, the mantis was overjoyed! All the animals could hear him singing.
Mantis sings and dances
Lion:
Today, you can still see the mantis … with his forelegs folded in prayer while he gives thanks to the moon for restoring his sight.
[adapted from Fanie Viljoen’s Enchanted Stone series Enchanting Stories Reader 2 Level 5 pp. 65-75, taken from M. Poland’s ‘The Mantis and the Moon’ from Madiba Magic. Tafelberg, 2002.]
2. You are going to identify different elements of a drama. Write a few words from the play into Column B giving examples of each element in Column A.
3. This play or drama is a story within a story. Who is the storyteller in the play, and who is the main character in the story told?
Formal Assesment: Your teacher may ask you to write a paragraph as part of task 1.
Your teacher will use this checklist to assess your paragraph:
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