Gold Gone

In this simple fairy tale, a bored princess goes outside to look at a rainbow and discovers a pot of gold. She takes it home and hides it, but before long, its true owner comes knocking at the castle door.

The play is great for early readers. It offers an opportunity to talk about stealing and lying, and the play includes a set of discussion questions.

Evan Baughfman has had various written works published and/or performed. Many of his plays have been produced across the U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia. Additionally, his children’s play, “R.O.M.3.O. and Julia” (Romeo and Juliet with robots) has been published in PLAYS Magazine. His script, “Lipstick and Heroics,” is available through YouthPLAYS. In addition, his middle grade play, “Percy Pangolin Wants to Go Viral,” is published by Heuer Publishing. Heuer’s also published “A Taste of Amontillado” (an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”). If interested, please contact Evan about his numerous plays for adults, as well.

Other plays by Evan Baughfman on Drama Notebook:

The Prince and His Zoo
The King’s New Child
The Missing Unicorn
Rumpelstiltskin
The Pizza Man’s Problem
Nevada Johnson and the Meaning of Life

Excerpt from the play:

CHARACTERS:
NARRATOR – the teller of this tale
PRINCESS – takes something that doesn’t belong to her
QUEEN – suspicious of her daughter’s behavior
KING   – mostly oblivious to the Princess’s behavior
LEPRECHAUN – just wants back what’shis

NARRATOR: Once upon a time, a Princess, bored in her castle after a long, rainy day, looked out her bedroom window and saw something beautiful.

PRINCESS: A rainbow. That’s kind of cool.

NARRATOR: At the end of the rainbow was something even more beautiful.

PRINCESS:Oooooo! A pot of gold!

NARRATOR: Even though it was close to dinnertime, the Princess ventured outside, running under the rainbow, admiring its streams of color. Another color demanded more of her attention, however: gold.

PRINCESS: Whose treasure is this? HELLO! DOES THIS GOLD BELONG TO ANYONE?

NARRATOR: The Princess received no answer other than her own voice echoing off the walls of the nearby mountains.

PRINCESS:Don’t worry, gold. I’ll keep you safe. You don’t have to be all alone out here any longer.

NARRATOR: The pot of gold was partially buried in the earth, so the Princess dug into the soil to get to her prize. When she freed the pot, she lifted it into her hands.
Surprisingly, the collection of coins felt light in her hands.

PRINCESS: I think this means I’m meant to take you home, doesn’t it, gold?

NARRATOR: As the Princess ran home with “her” gold, the rainbow vanished above her. But the Princess never even noticed this. She was too busy staring at…

PRINCESS: Gold, gold, gollllllllllld!

NARRATOR: Back at the castle, the Princess ran to her room. She hid the pot of gold in a secret passageway behind her dresser.

PRINCESS: Mom and Dad have their treasure, and now I finally have some of my own!

NARRATOR: Her mother, the Queen, called out from downstairs…

QUEEN:It’s time for dinner, Princess, dear! We’re having noodles, your favorite!

PRINCESS: Okay, one second!

QUEEN: Come downstairs right now, young lady!

PRINCESS: Okay, Mom! Gosh! Fine!

NARRATOR: The Princess wanted to feel close to her treasure, so she took a single gold coin and put it into her pocket. She went down to the dinner table and sat across from her mother and father.

QUEEN: Eat up, dear. Aren’t you hungry?

NARRATOR: The Princess didn’t reply. She was too busy staring at the gold coin she held under the table.

KING: Princess, what’s happened to your appetite this evening?

NARRATOR: The Princess didn’t reply. She was too busy staring at the gold coin she held under the table.

KING/QUEEN: PRINCESS!

PRINCESS: Huh? What? Why are you yelling at me?

KING: What are you staring at?

PRINCESS: Nothing, Father.

QUEEN: Show us.

PRINCESS: Show you what?

KING: Your hands, Princess.

PRINCESS: Why?