Ch.

- 13 A lesson On a Tortoise

By DH Lawrence

Dramatization

Roles:-

➢ Sir(Narrator) DH Lawrence
➢ Class Monitor(Curwen)
➢ Assistant Monitor(Segar)
➢ Wood(Gordon)
➢ Marples(Student)

Props:-

➢ A tortoise toy
➢ Erasers
➢ Red Box( Or any other color)
➢ Cane(stick)
➢ Sketch Books

Lines:-

(Students Coming in the classroom and observing the tortoise)

Marples- Is he alive?

Wood- Look, his head’s coming out! He’ll bite you?

Marples- He won’t !

Wood- Please sir do tortoise bite?

(Teacher Commanding the students to seat, and do sketching of tortoise)

Marples-Please Sir- shall we draw marks on the shell ? Please sir, has he only got four toes?

Wood- Please sir he’s moving- Please Sir!

( Teacher calming the tortoise by stroking his head)

Sir- Now don’t make me wish I hadn’t brought him. That’s enough Marples- You shall go back and draw the twigs if I hear you again! Enough now be
still, get on with the drawing, it’s hard!

(Teacher peeping out of window)

Marples- Please sir , Can we have the rubbers?

Sir-Well!

(Class monitor taking out a box from cupboard and counting erasers)

Monitor-Eleven! There’s only eleven, Sir, and there were fifteen when I put them away on Wednesday.
( All the students looks up)
Sir-Again! I am sick of it! A theiving, wretched set! A skulking, mean lot!..... Who is it? You must know! You are all as bad as another, you hide it a
miserable! Marples! Where are those rubbers?

Marples- I don’t know where they are, I’ve never ‘ad no rubbers

Sir- You must know! They’re gone. They don’t melt in air, the don’t fly—who took them then? . Burton fetch me the cane.

(Teacher turning to wood)

Sir- Now my lad! I’ll cane you for impudence first.

Wood- Well! You always pick on the Gordons you’re always on to us. You always begin with the Gordons, you pick on Marples, Rawason and on me!

Sir- Well isn’t it natural? Haven’t your boys stolen? Haven’t these boys stolen several times and been caught?

Wood- That doesn’t say as we do now

Sir- Who knows

( Teacher tearing up scraps of paper and gave each boy one)

Sir- Write down the name of the boy you suspect. He is a theif and a sneak. He gives endless pain to us all. It is your duty

(Teacher collecting the strips of paper and examining them and throws them in dustbin)
Sir- Well! Go on with the drawing

(Bell rang, the teachers says the monitors to collect their files, and sent the class home but keeps his assistant monitor)

Sir- Segar do you know anything of my rubbers?

Segar- No sir

Sir- No? Nor my pencils? Nor my two books?

Segar-No Sir! I know nothing about the books.

Sir- No? the pencils then?

Segar-No Sir! I know nothing about them.

Sir- Very well! You will not help as monitor anymore. You will not come into the classroom, until the class comes in any more. You understand?
Segar- Yes sir

Sir - Go along then!