The Ice Dragon
Two-hander · Comedy
The Ice Dragon
The Ice Dragon · E Nesbit Adapted by Simon Law
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The Ice Dragon
Published by scriptsandsketches.com
JANE and GEORGE celebrate with fireworks, dreaming of adventures that lead them to the Arctic and a great ice dragon. Will they dare to explore the unknown?
Duologue
Characters: JANE, GEORGE
JANE and GEORGE are letting off fireworks on the 11th of December to celebrate after the heir to the throne cuts his first tooth. All of their relatives have head colds, so the children are allowed to go out into the garden alone for the fireworks. Little do they know that their adventures that night will lead them to the Arctic regions and a great ice dragon.
JANE:
It's so cold.
GEORGE:
Is that why you're wearing your fur cape, and your thick gloves, and your hood with the silver fox fur on it made out of Mother's old muff?
JANE:
You're wearing your overcoat with the three capes, and your blanket, and Father's sealskin travelling cap with the pieces that come down over your ears.
GEORGE:
I've never been so cold in our own garden before. But it's worth it, to see all the fireworks.
JANE:
Let's light our own firework. (They light the firework, which fizzes a bit and soon goes out)
GEORGE:
That was a rotten firework. Let's get up on the fence so that we can see the ones from next door. And the fireworks at the Crystal Palace are even better. (They climb up on the fence)
JANE:
Look... look, can you see that over there? Far away, at the edge of the dark world.
GEORGE:
The row of lights?
JANE:
Oh, how pretty! I wonder what they are. It looks as if the fairies were planting little shining baby trees and watering them with liquid light.
GEORGE:
That's nonsense. It's the Aurora Borealis. You know, the Northern Lights. I learned about them at school.
JANE:
But what is the Rory Bory what's-it's-name? Who lights it? What's it there for?
GEORGE:
Well... I don't really know. But it has something to do with the Great Bear, and the Dipper, and the Plough.
JANE:
And what are they?
GEORGE:
Oh, they're the names of some of the star families.
JANE:
I wish we could see those lights nearer. I wonder if the star families are nice families - the kind that Mother would like us to go to tea with, if we were little stars?
GEORGE:
They aren't that sort of families at all, silly. I only said 'families' because a kid like you wouldn't have understood if I'd said constell- ... constell-... Anyway, I've forgotten the end of the word. And the stars are all up in the sky, so you can't go to tea with them.
JANE:
No, I know. I said if we were little stars.
GEORGE:
But we aren't.
JANE:
(Sighing) No. I know that. I'm not as stupid as you think, George. But the Tory Bories are somewhere at the edge. Couldn't we go and see them?
GEORGE:
For someone your age, you don't have much sense. It's half the world away.
JANE:
It looks very near.
GEORGE:
They're close to the North Pole. Look here, I don't care about the Aurora Borealis, but I shouldn't mind discovering the North Pole. It's awfully difficult and dangerous, and then you come home and write a book about it with a lot of pictures, and everybody says how brave you are.
JANE:
(Getting off the fence) Oh George, let's! We shall never have such a chance again. All the grown-ups are indoors with colds. It would be so exciting. All alone by ourselves, and quite late, too.
GEORGE:
(Gloomily) I'd go right enough if it wasn't for you. But you know they always say I lead you into mischief. And if we went to the North Pole I'm sure we should get our boots wet. And you remember what they said about not going on the grass.
JANE:
They said the lawn. We're not going on the lawn. Oh George, let's! It doesn't look so very far. We could be back before they had time to get dreadfully angry.
GEORGE:
All right. But remember, I don't want to go.
