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RTE #40 - One-Eye! Two-Eyes! Three-Eyes!
RTE #40 - One-Eye! Two-Eyes! Three-Eyes!
TwoEyes! ThreeEyes!
A Very Grimm Fairy Tale
Told by Aaron Shepard
Reader’s Theater Edition #40
Adapted for reader’s theater (or readers theatre) by the author, from his
picture book published by Atheneum, New York, 2007
For more reader’s theater, visit Aaron Shepard’s RT Page at
www.aaronshep.com/rt
Story copyright © 2000, 2007 Aaron Shepard. Script copyright © 2007 Aaron Shepard. Scripts
in this series are free and may be copied, shared, and performed for any noncommercial purpose,
except they may not be posted online without permission.
PREVIEW: TwoEyes is different from her sisters and others, because she has just two eyes.
GENRE: Folktales READERS: 9
CULTURE: German READER AGES: 9–12
THEME: Being different LENGTH: 12 minutes
ROLES: Narrators 1–3, TwoEyes, Old Woman, OneEye, ThreeEyes, Knight, Goat
NOTES: This telling is based loosely on “OneEye, TwoEyes, and ThreeEyes,” number 130 in
the tales of the Brothers Grimm. KNIGHT can double as GOAT. Below is the tune for “The Old
Woman’s Song,” an original composition of the author’s.
Hear the Music | Aaron’s Extras
All special features are at www.aaronshep.com/extras.
NARRATOR 1: Once there were three sisters who lived alone in a
cottage in the woods.
NARRATOR 2: They had been there as long as they could
remember,
NARRATOR 3: and they never saw anyone else.
NARRATOR 1: Now, the oldest sister was no different from other
people. Her name was OneEye. She had just one eye, right in the
middle of her forehead.
ONEEYE: (steps toward audience, points at the middle of her
forehead, then steps back)
NARRATOR 2: The middle sister was also quite ordinary. Her name
was ThreeEyes. She had one eye in her forehead, and one on each
side of her face.
THREEEYES: (steps toward audience, points at the middle of her
forehead and at each eye, then steps back)
NARRATOR 3: But the youngest sister was different. Her name was
TwoEyes, and that’s just what she had.
(TWOEYES steps toward audience, points at each eye, gives an
embarrassed smile and a broad shrug, then steps back, while ONE
EYE and THREEEYES give her dirty looks.)
NARRATOR 1: Because TwoEyes was not like others, her older
sisters were ashamed of her and picked on her all the time.
NARRATOR 2: They dressed her in ragged handmedowns,
NARRATOR 3: and they only let her eat leftovers.
TWOEYES: (making a face and whining) Yuck.
NARRATOR 1: Now, the sisters owned a goat—
GOAT: (bleats)
NARRATOR 1: —and every day TwoEyes took it to the meadow to
graze.
NARRATOR 2: One morning, when she’d had hardly anything to
eat, she sat on a big rock and cried her two eyes out.
TWOEYES: (bursts out in exaggerated crying and sobbing)
NARRATOR 3: All at once, an old woman stood before her.
(OLD WOMAN “pops” into place and sways, looking dazed. TWO
EYES stares at OLD WOMAN, forgetting to cry.)
NARRATOR 1: But the biggest surprise was that this woman had
two eyes, just like TwoEyes herself.
OLD WOMAN: (smiles at audience, quickly points at each eye, then
turns to TWOEYES)
NARRATOR 2: The woman asked,
OLD WOMAN: (kindly) What’s wrong, my dear?
TWOEYES: (bursts out crying and sobbing again, then whining)
It’s my sisters. They never give me enough to eat. (wails in grief)
OLD WOMAN: (shakes her head and clucks) Don’t worry about
that! You can have as much as you like. Just say to your goat,
“Bleat, goat, bleat.
And bring me lots to eat!”
Then you’ll have plenty. When you don’t want any more, just say,
“Bleat, goat, bleat.
I’ve had so much to eat!”
Then the rest will vanish. Just like this.
NARRATOR 3: And the old woman vanished—
(OLD WOMAN “pops” out, and TWOEYES looks around in surprise,
trying to see where she went.)
NARRATOR 1: just
NARRATOR 2: like
NARRATOR 3: that.
NARRATOR 1: TwoEyes couldn’t wait to try. She said to the goat,
TWOEYES: (eagerly)
Bleat, goat, bleat.
And bring me lots to eat!
NARRATOR 2: The goat bleated—
GOAT: (bleats)
NARRATOR 2: —and a little table and chair appeared.
NARRATOR 3: The table was set with a tablecloth, plate, and
silverware, and on it were dishes and dishes of wonderfulsmelling
food.
TWOEYES: This sure is better than leftovers!
NARRATOR 1: TwoEyes sat down and started in hungrily.
Everything tasted delicious.
NARRATOR 2: When she’d eaten her fill, she said,
TWOEYES: (to GOAT)
Bleat, goat, bleat.
I’ve had so much to eat!
NARRATOR 3: The goat bleated—
GOAT: (bleats)
NARRATOR 3: —and the table vanished.
TWOEYES: And that’s better than cleaning up!
GOAT: (bleats)
NARRATOR 1: When TwoEyes got home, she didn’t touch her bowl
of leftovers.
NARRATOR 2: Her sisters didn’t notice till she’d gone off to bed.
Then ThreeEyes said,
THREEEYES: (excitedly, pointing at the food) Look! Our little sister
didn’t eat anything!
NARRATOR 3: OneEye said,
ONEEYE: (suspiciously) That’s strange. Is someone else giving her
food? I’ll go tomorrow and watch her.
NARRATOR 1: Next morning, when TwoEyes started out, OneEye
said,
ONEEYE: (sternly) I’m coming along to make sure you tend the
goat properly.
NARRATOR 2: Then she followed TwoEyes to the meadow and
kept a careful eye on her.
NARRATOR 3: So TwoEyes never got to use the old woman’s
rhyme.
TWOEYES: (whimpers, on verge of tears)
NARRATOR 1: When they got home, TwoEyes ate her bowl of
leftovers. Then she went off to the woods and cried her two eyes
out.
TWOEYES: (bursts out crying and sobbing)
NARRATOR 2: The old woman appeared again.
OLD WOMAN: (pops into place looking dazed, then turns to TWO
EYES) What’s wrong, my dear?
TWOEYES: (sobbing and whining) It’s my sisters. The goat can’t
bring me food, because OneEye is watching me. (wails in grief)
OLD WOMAN: (shakes her head and clucks) Don’t worry about
that! You can stop her if you like. Just sing her this song. (singing)
“Is your eye awake?
Is your eye asleep?
Is your eye awake?
Is your eye asleep?”
Keep singing that, and she’ll sleep soon enough.
NARRATOR 3: Then the old woman vanished.
OLD WOMAN: (pops out)
NARRATOR 1: Next morning, when TwoEyes went to the meadow,
OneEye again went along.
TWOEYES: Sister, let me sing to you.
NARRATOR 2: And she sang to her over and over,
TWOEYES: (singing)
Is your eye awake?
Is your eye asleep?
Is your eye awake?
Is your eye asleep?
NARRATOR 3: OneEye’s eyelid began to droop, and soon she was
fast asleep.
(ONEEYE closes her eyes and snores. TWOEYES checks her
sister’s eye carefully before turning away.)
NARRATOR 1: Then TwoEyes said to the goat,
TWOEYES: (in a loud whisper)
Bleat, goat, bleat.
And bring me lots to eat!
NARRATOR 2: The goat bleated—
GOAT: (bleats)
NARRATOR 2: —the table appeared, and TwoEyes ate her fill.
Then she said,
TWOEYES: (in a loud whisper, to GOAT)
Bleat, goat, bleat.
I’ve had so much to eat!
NARRATOR 3: The goat bleated again—
GOAT: (bleats)
NARRATOR 3: —and the table vanished. Then TwoEyes shook her
sister.
TWOEYES: Wake up, sleepyhead!
(ONEEYE wakes with a grunt, looking surprised and disgruntled,
while TWOEYES smiles at her innocently.)
GOAT: (bleats)
NARRATOR 1: When they got home, TwoEyes didn’t touch her
leftovers. After she’d gone off to bed, ThreeEyes asked,
THREEEYES: (excitedly) What happened?
ONEEYE: (grumpily) How should I know? I fell asleep. If you think
you can do better, then you go tomorrow.
NARRATOR 2: So next morning, when TwoEyes went to the
meadow, ThreeEyes went along and kept three careful eyes on
her. TwoEyes said,
TWOEYES: Listen, sister, and I’ll sing to you.
NARRATOR 3: And she sang to her, over and over,
TWOEYES: (singing)
Is your eye awake?
Is your eye asleep?
Is your eye awake?
Is your eye asleep?
NARRATOR 1: As TwoEyes sang, the eye in her sister’s forehead
went to sleep—but her other two eyes didn’t!
(THREEEYES closes her eyes and starts to snore. TWOEYES
checks her sister’s eyes carefully.)
NARRATOR 2: ThreeEyes pretended, though, by closing them
almost all the way and peeking through.
(As TWOEYES turns away, THREEEYES peeks and stops snoring.)
NARRATOR 3: She couldn’t quite hear what TwoEyes told the goat
—
TWOEYES: (in a loud whisper)
Bleat, goat, bleat.
And bring me lots to eat!
GOAT: (bleats)
NARRATOR 3: —but she saw everything.
THREEEYES: (still peeking, smiles wickedly)
NARRATOR 1: That night, when TwoEyes had gone off to bed,
OneEye asked,
ONEEYE: What happened?
THREEEYES: (excitedly) Our sister knows a charm to make the
goat bring wonderful food. (dejectedly) But I couldn’t hear the
words.
ONEEYE: Then let’s get rid of the goat.
NARRATOR 2: And they drove it off into the woods.
(ONEEYE and THREEEYES drive away GOAT, shouting nastily and
throwing things at it, while GOAT bleats as it goes off.)
NARRATOR 3: Next morning, OneEye told TwoEyes,
ONEEYE: (accusingly) You thought you could eat better than your
sisters, did you? Well, the goat is gone, so that’s that.
NARRATOR 1: TwoEyes went down to the stream and cried her
two eyes out.
TWOEYES: (bursts out crying and sobbing)
NARRATOR 2: Again the old woman appeared.
OLD WOMAN: (pops into place looking dazed, then turns to TWO
EYES) What’s wrong, my dear?
TWOEYES: (sobbing and whining) It’s my sisters. The song didn’t
work on ThreeEyes. She saw everything, and now they’ve chased
away the goat. (wails in grief)
OLD WOMAN: (shakes her head and clucks) Silly girl! That charm
was just for OneEye. For ThreeEyes, you should have sung,
“Are your eyes awake?
Are your eyes asleep?”
But don’t worry about that. Here—
(OLD WOMAN reaches out with something tiny held between her
fingers and places it in TWOEYES’s palm. TWOEYES pulls it close
to peer at it.)
OLD WOMAN: —take this seed and plant it in front of your cottage.
You’ll soon have a tall tree with leaves of silver and apples of gold.
When you want an apple, just say, (with hand outstretched, palm
up)
“Apple hanging on the tree,
I am TwoEyes. Come to me!”
It will fall right into your hand. (mimes catching the apple, her hand
dropping a bit under its weight and bouncing back up)
NARRATOR 3: Again the old woman vanished.
OLD WOMAN: (pops out)
NARRATOR 1: TwoEyes went home and waited till her sisters
weren’t looking, then dug a small hole and planted the seed.
NARRATOR 2: The next morning, a tall tree stood before the
cottage with leaves of silver and apples of gold. TwoEyes found her
sisters gaping at it in astonishment.
(ONEEYE and THREEEYES both stare up into the tree, till THREE
EYES notices something in the distance.)
NARRATOR 3: All at once, ThreeEyes cried,
THREEEYES: (excitedly, pointing) Look! A man!
NARRATOR 1: Riding toward them was a knight in full armor, his
visor over his face.
KNIGHT: (still at a distance, bounces up and down on his horse
while holding the reins, enjoying the morning and the leisurely ride)
ONEEYE: (urgently, to THREEEYES) Quick! Hide our little sister!
NARRATOR 2: So they lowered an empty barrel over TwoEyes.
KNIGHT: (pleasantly, as he reaches them and stops) Good
morning, ladies.
NARRATOR 3: . . . said the knight as he rode up.
KNIGHT: Beautiful tree you have there. (thoughtfully, gazing up
into the tree) I would dearly love to have one of those apples. In
fact, I would grant anything in my power to the lady who first gave
me one.
NARRATOR 1: The two sisters gasped.
ONEEYE & THREEEYES: (gasp)
NARRATOR 2: They scrambled over to the tree and jumped up and
down, trying to grab the apples.
NARRATOR 3: But the branches just lifted themselves higher, so
the apples were always out of reach.
NARRATOR 1: Meanwhile, TwoEyes raised her barrel just a bit and
kicked a stone so it rolled over to the knight.
(TWOEYES lifts the barrel slightly by pushing up with her hand
from inside, then kicks the stone out from underneath. KNIGHT
looks down at the stone, perplexed.)
KNIGHT: That’s odd. (pointing first at the stone, then at the barrel)
That stone seems to have come from that barrel. (still to ONEEYE
and THREEEYES) Does anyone happen to be in there?
ONEEYE: Oh no, sir, not really. (reassuringly) Just our little sister.
THREEEYES: (confidentially, leaning toward him) She’s different,
so we can’t let anyone see her.
KNIGHT: But I want to see her. (to TWOEYES inside the barrel)
Young lady, please come out!
NARRATOR 2: So TwoEyes lifted off the barrel.
KNIGHT: (gaping) My word! She’s the loveliest young lady I’ve
ever seen!
NARRATOR 3: He raised his visor for a better look.
KNIGHT: (raises his visor and keeps gazing at TWOEYES)
ONEEYE & THREEEYES: (screaming out together at the sight of
his face) Oh no! Two eyes!
NARRATOR 1: Sure enough, the knight had two eyes, just like their
sister.
KNIGHT: (leans and smiles toward audience, quickly points at each
eye, then goes back to gazing at TWOEYES) Dear lady, can you
give me an apple from that tree?
TWOEYES: (brightly) Of course!
NARRATOR 2: Standing under it, she said,
TWOEYES: (looking up, with hand outstretched, palm up)
Apple hanging on the tree,
I am TwoEyes. Come to me!
NARRATOR 3: An apple dropped right into her hand, and she gave
it to the knight.
(TWOEYES watches an apple fall and catches it, her hand dropping
a bit under its weight and bouncing back up. She hands it to
KNIGHT, who takes it from her.)
KNIGHT: My thanks! (takes a big, noisy bite, then chews noisily
and mumbles with his mouth full) And now I will grant anything in
my power. (keeps chewing)
TWOEYES: (starting to speak to KNIGHT normally but ending up
yelling at ONEEYE and THREEEYES) Well, to start with, you can
take me away from these horrid, hateful sisters! (turns back to
KNIGHT and smiles sweetly)
KNIGHT: (stops chewing in surprise, then looks at ONEEYE and
THREEEYES, then back at TWOEYES and returns her smile)
NARRATOR 1: So the knight took TwoEyes back to his castle. And
since they had so much in common—
NARRATOR 2: After all, they both had two eyes.
NARRATOR 3: —you can be sure they lived happily ever . . . .
(NARRATOR 1 clears throat to interrupt and get attention. As ALL
OTHERS turn in surprise, NARRATOR 1 gestures for them to wait for
the bit left to go.)
NARRATOR 1: (turns again to audience) As for OneEye and Three
Eyes . . .
(ALL OTHERS catch on and resume their roles.)
NARRATOR 2: Day after day they stood under that tree and
repeated their sister’s words.
ONEEYE & THREEEYES: (looking up hopefully, each with hand
outstretched, palm up)
Apple hanging on the tree,
I am TwoEyes. Come to me!
NARRATOR 3: But the apples never fell for them,
NARRATOR 1: and they never did
NARRATOR 2: figure out
NARRATOR 3: why.
About the Story
All special features are at www.aaronshep.com/extras.
Read the book!
OneEye! TwoEyes! ThreeEyes!
A Very Grimm Fairy Tale
Told by Aaron Shepard
Illustrated by Gary Clement