A Playful Mystery Play for Four Voices

Thomas Rhodes

Reader 1: Once upon a time

Reader 2: A long time ago

Reader 3: A very, very long time ago

Reader 4: Like, before your parents were even born

Reader 1: There was a Mystery.

Reader 2: She was a great Mystery.

Reader 3: And nobody understood or appreciated her

Reader 4: Mainly because there was no one else around to appreciate or understand much of anything.

Reader 1: For a long, long time nothing happened.

Reader 2: The great mystery waited.

Reader 3: And waited

Reader 2: And waited some more,

Reader 1: Until at last she said,

Reader 4: I'm bored!


Reader 1: And so the Mystery set the stars in the heavens,

Reader 2: And planets to circle the stars,

Reader 3: And comets to wander to and fro,

Reader 2: And it was all very beautiful.

Reader 1: But after a couple of billion years of watching, the Mystery decided it was still

Reader 4: BO-RING!


Reader 1: The Mystery was lonely.

Reader 2: She wanted someone to play with.

Reader 3: So she looked among all the stars and planets.

Reader 1: But some of the stars were...

Reader 4: Too hot.

Reader 2: And others were...

Reader 4: Too cool.

Reader 1: And some of the planets were...

Reader 4: Too big

Reader 2: And others were....

Reader 4: Too little

Reader 3: But finally she found one that was

Reader 4: Just right!


Reader 2: The planet was covered with water

Reader 3: But there were huge chunks of land sticking out,

Reader 1: And even mountains and plains and rivers.

Reader 2: Best of all, there were tiny, tiny, creatures called protozoa,

Reader 3: That lived and squirmed in the water.


Reader 4: Come play with me!

Reader 1: The Mystery said.

Reader 3: But the protozoa just kept on squirming like they had't even heard her.

Reader 2: Which isn't surprising

Reader 3: Because they didn't have any ears.

Reader 1: After another couple of billion years of watching the stars and planets and comets

Reader 3: And the squirming protozoa

Reader 4: The Mystery was bored again.


Reader 1: Then the Mystery got an idea.

Reader 3: She decided to glue some of the protozoa together with stuff called protoplasm.

Reader 2: When they were stuck together, the protozoa began working together.

Reader 3: They formed eyes and feet and mouths and stomachs

Reader 4: And ears!

Reader 3: So they could see and move around and eat and digest

Reader 4: And hear me!


Reader 1: But even if the new creatures could hear the Mystery, they didn't pay much attention to her.

Reader 2: Instead they watched each other.

Reader 3: And they moved around and ate and digested each other too.

Reader 4: At least it was more interesting than watching the stars and planets and comets


Reader 1: It was more interesting because as the new creatures watched and moved around and ate and digested,

Reader 2: They changed.

Reader 3: They grew.

Reader 4: They evolved.

Reader 1: And soon there were all kinds of different animals

Reader 2: In the seas and on the land

Reader 3: And mountains and rivers.

Reader 1: There were cows that said moo*

Reader 2: And sheep said ;baa*

Reader 3: And three singing pigs said la la la*

Reader 4: No! No! That isn't right! Pigs say Oink all day and night!*

Reader 3: Oh; (singing) oink!

Reader 2: (singing) Oink!

Reader 1: (singing) Oink!


Reader 1: But the idea of singing pigs got the Mystery thinking.

Reader 2: Maybe some of the animals could use their mouths for singing or talking as well as eating.

Reader 4: They would make great playmates!

Reader 3: So she waited and watched as the animals continued to evolve.

Reader 2: And sure enough, after another bazillion years, she saw them.

Reader 4: They were really funny looking.

Reader 2: All of their fur was stuck on top of their heads.

Reader 3: And just a few other places on their bodies.

Reader 2: And they walked on just two feet!

Reader 3: Instead of all four, like most of the other creatures.

Reader 2: But best of all, they could talk!

Reader 4: They would be so much fun to play with!


Reader 1: The new creatures had problems, though.

Reader 2: The new creatures didn't have any fur, so they were cold much of the time.

Reader 3: They didn't have big teeth or sharp claws, so they had trouble getting food to eat.

Reader 4: So the Mystery gave them some ideas for making fires and growing crops.

Reader 3: And for a while everything went just great.

Reader 2: The new creatures called themselves humans, which means "from the earth."

Reader 3: And for a long time the humans lived in balance with the other creatures.

Reader 4: The Mystery enjoyed watching the humans and giving them new ideas.

Reader 2: But she was always careful to make sure that the humans never saw her or heard her directly

Reader 4: Because then she wouldn't be a Mystery any more.


Reader 1: The humans were curious, though, and wanted to know more about the Mystery

Reader 2: Was the Mystery at all human, like they were?

Reader 3: Was the Mystery male, or female, or something else entirely?

Reader 2: Did the Mystery care about them?

Reader 4: Of course I do!

Reader 1: If they prayed hard enough, would the Mystery make their crops grow?

Reader 4: Perhaps, but only if you take care of the earth.

Reader 3: Or punish their enemies?

Reader 4: I don't think so! Your enemies want me to punish you, but I won't do that either!


Reader 1: The humans had lots of other questions too, like,

Reader 2: Where do we come from?

Reader 3: What are we supposed to do with our lives?

Reader 2: Why do people get sick, suffer, and die?

Reader 4: But the Mystery was silent about these things.

Reader 1: She knew that if she spoke to them, the humans would think that she was a god,

Reader 3: A god like they wrote about in their ancient books.

Reader 2: But the mystery was greater than any god, and far beyond anything the humans could imagine.

Reader 3: She didn't want to terrify the humans.

Reader 4: And besides, it was more interesting this way.


Reader 1: More time passed, and the humans kept evolving.

Reader 2: They gathered themselves together in cities, and built roads to connect the cities.

Reader 3: They planted huge fields of crops, and built machines to harvest the crops.

Reader 2: And they built other machines for traveling on the roads.

Reader 3: And they took the cows and sheep and pigs and penned them up to use for food.

Reader 1: And they argued a lot about what they were supposed to be doing with their lives.

Reader 4: But the Mystery kept quiet, hoping they would figure it out for themselves.


Reader 1: The humans kept building more cities and roads, more fields, and more machines.

Reader 2: Soon the world was filled with humans.

Reader 3: There was no room for the wild animals.

Reader 2: The cows and sheep and pigs got more and more crowded in their pens.

Reader 1: The humans were running out of room too.

Reader 3: Some thought there was no more room for Mystery, either.


Reader 1: When the Mystery realized that the humans thought they had figured out everything for themselves, she became very sad.

Reader 2: Some of the humans claimed that the Mystery was angry, and if everybody didn’t do what they said, she would destroy them.

Reader 3: Others said that they didn't need the Mystery any more --they could do fine on their own.

Reader 2: It seemed that the humans were too busy building and arguing to play any more.


Reader 1: The Mystery wanted to say something, but she knew her voice would terrify the humans.

Reader 2: She also believed that they would argue about the meaning of her words.

Reader 3: They couldn't even agree on what "Thou shalt not kill" or "Love your enemies" meant.

Reader 4: And besides, she knew that simply making the humans do what she wanted would take the fun out of playing.


Reader 3: But maybe there was another way.

Reader 2: The Mystery knew that the humans wouldn't listen to her, no matter how loudly or clearly she spoke.

Reader 1: Maybe instead of telling the humans what to do in a loud voice like thunder, she should use a softer voice, like a whisper.

Reader 2: Maybe instead of speaking to their ears, she should speak to their hearts.

Reader 3: Maybe instead of using words, she should use feelings.

Reader 4: And that is exactly what she did.


Reader 1: If you listen very closely, you will hear what the Mystery is saying to you.

Reader 2: Don't listen with your ears, listen with your heart.

Reader 3: Think about what you feel when you consider this beautiful planet, our home.

Reader 4: Do you feel joy?

Reader 3: Do you feel a sense of wonder?

Reader 2: Do you feel thankful?

Reader 1: Do you feel love?

Reader 4: Each of these feelings is part of the Mystery.

Reader 3: Because each of us is part of the Mystery.

Reader 2: When we recognize and act on our feelings of joy, wonder, thanksgiving, and love,

Reader 1: Then the Mystery will play with us and through us for a long, long time to come.

Reader 2: Amen.

Reader 3: Shalom.

Reader 4: And Blessed Be.

 

*Asterisked lines are from the book Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton (Little Simon, 1982).