The Project Gutenberg EBook of De Turkey and De Law, by Zora Neale Hurston

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Title: De Turkey and De Law A Comedy in Three Acts

Author: Zora Neale Hurston

Release Date: July 25, 2007 [EBook #22146]

Language: English

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DE TURKEY AND DE LAW ***

Produced by Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Library of Congress)

[Transcriber's Notes: This play transcribed from an original typewritten manuscript at the Library of Congress in the Zora Neale Hurston collection. There are pencilled notations probably by Ms. Hurston herself. These pencilled edits have been transcribed as [Note: (text)] Any other questionable transcription is similarly noted. Nothing in the dialect has been changed. Occasional obvious typos in the stage directions have been corrected. There are inconsistencies in both bracketing and punctuation, which have been left as in the original manuscript. There seems to be an irregularity in the spelling of "Simms"; "Sims" seems randomly substituted.]

DE TURKEY AND DE LAW

A COMEDY IN THREE ACTS

by

ZORA HURSTON

CAST

Jim Weston A young man and the town bully (A Methodist)

Dave Carter The town's best hunter and fisherman (Baptist)

Joe Clarke The Mayor, Postmaster, storekeeper

Daisy Blunt The town vamp

Lum Boger The Marshall

Walter Thomas A villager (Methodist)

Lige Moseley A villager (Methodist)

Joe Lindsay A villager (Baptist)

Della Lewis A villager (Baptist)

Tod Hambo A villager (Baptist)

Lucy Taylor A villager (Methodist)

Rev. Singletary (Baptist)

Rev. Simms (Methodist)

Villagers, children, dogs.

ACT I

SETTING: A Negro village in Florida in our own time. All action from viewpoint of an actor facing audience.

PLACE: Joe Clarke's store porch in the village. A frame building with a false front. A low porch with two steps up. Door in center of porch. A window on each side of the door. A bench on each side of the porch. Axhandles, hoes and shovels, etc. are displayed leaning against the wall. Exits right and left. Street is unpaved. Grass and weeds growing all over.

TIME: It is late afternoon on a Saturday in summer.

Before the curtain rises the voices of children are heard, boisterous at play. Shouts and laughter.

VOICE OF ONE BOY Naw, I don't want to play wringing no dish rag! We gointer play chick mah chick mah craney crow.

GIRL'S VOICE
Yeah, less play dat, and I'm gointer to be de hen.

BOY'S VOICE And I'm gointer be de hawk. Lemme git myself a stick to mark wid. (The curtain rises slowly. As it goes up the game is being organized. The boy who is the hawk is squatting center stage in the street before the store with a short twig in his hand. The largest girl is lining up the other children behind her.)

THE MOTHER HEN (looking back over her flock) Y'all ketch holt of one 'nother's clothes so de hauk can't git yuh. (They do.) Y'all straight now?

CHORUS
Yeah. (The march around the hawk commences.)

HEN AND CHICKS
     Chick mah chick mah craney crow
     Went to de well to wash my toe
     When I come back my chick was gone.
     What time ole witch?

HAWK (making a tally on the ground) One!

HEN AND CHICKS Chick mah chick etc.—(While this is going on Walter Thomas from the store door eating peanuts from a bag appears and seats himself on the porch beside the steps.)

HAWK
(Scoring again) Two!
                       (Enter a little girl right. She trots up to
the big girl.)

LITTLE GIRL (officiously) Titter, mama say if you don't come on wid dat soap she gointer wear you out.

HEN AND CHICKS Chick mah chick etc. (While this is being sung, enter Joe Lindsay and seats himself on right bench. He lights his pipe. The little girl stands b by the fence rubbing her leg with her foot.

HAWK (scoring) Three!

LITTLE GIRL (insistent) Titter, titter! Mama say to tell you to come on home wid dat soap and rake up dat yard. I bet she gointer beat you good.

BIG GIRL (angrily) Aw naw, mama ain't sent you after me, nothin' of de kind! Gwan home and leave me alone.

LITTLE GIRL You better come on! I'm gointer tell mama how 'omanish you actin cause you in front of dese boys.

BIG GIRL (makes a threatenin' gesture) Aw don't be so fast and showin' off in company. Ack lak you ain't got no sense!

LITTLE GIRL (starts to cry) Dat's all right. I'm going home and tell mama you down here playing wid boys and she sho gointer whup you good, too. I'm gointer tell her you called me a fool too, now. (She walks off, wiping her eyes and nose with the back of her hand) Yeah, I'm goin' tell her! Jus' showin' off in front of ole John Wesley Taylor. I'm going to tell her too, now.

BIG GIRL (flounces her skirt) Tell her! Tell her! Turn her up and smell her! (Game resumed) Chick mah chick etc.

HAWK Four! (He arises and imitates a hawk flying and trying to catch a chicken. Calling in a high voice.) Chickie!!

HEN
(Flapping her wings to protect her young) My chickens' sleep.

HAWK
Chickie!!

HEN
My chickens' sleep.

HAWK
I shall have a chick.

HEN
You shan't have a chick.

HAWK
I'm going home. (flies off)

HEN
There's de road.

HAWK
I'm comin' back.

(During this dialog the hawk is feinting and darting in his efforts to catch a chicken and the chickens are dancing defensively.)

HEN
Don't keer if you do.

HAWK
My pot's a boiling.

HEN
Let it boil.

HAWK
My guts a growling

HEN
Let 'em growl.

HAWK
I must have a chick.

HEN
You shan't have nairn.

HAWK
My mama's sick.

HEN
Let her die.

HAWK
Chickie!!

HEN
My chicken's sleep.

(Hawk darts quickly around the hen and grabs a chicken and leads him off and places the captive on his knees at the store porch. After a brief bit of dancing he catches another,