characters:
florence nightingale, the nurse
frances, her sister
flossie, her doll
harry miller, doctor make-believe
old roger, the shepherd
captain, the hurt dog
mr. vicar, the minister
soldiers, doctors, and other nurses
act i. the sick doll
scene. in an english garden.
frances. come on! let’s play tag, florence.
florence. i can’t, frances. flossie is too sick. won’t you play you are the doctor, and come see her?
frances. oh, no; you always want to play the same thing! your dolls are always sick! i believe you love the broken ones better than the others.
florence. yes, i do. i’m going to be a nurse when i grow up. well, if you don’t want to[225] play that you are the doctor, i am going to ask harry miller to play that he is. (goes to the hedge and calls.) oh, harry, come on over, and play you are the doctor for my sick dolls.
frances. come on, harry, i am going to be the druggist.
harry. all right, girls; i’ll be over in a minute.
florence. don’t forget your medicine case.
harry (entering). good morning, madam. is your little child ill?
act the rest of the story yourselves.
act ii. good old cap
scene. in an english village street.
(florence is riding on her little pony. with her on horseback is mr. vicar, the minister of the village church.)
mr. vicar. what a lovely day, florence.
florence. it is a beautiful day, mr. vicar. i am so glad we are going to call to see old mrs. williams. i hope she is better than when mother last saw her.
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mr. vicar. i have not heard from her for some days.
florence (looking off in the distance). oh, there is old roger trying to gather his sheep together. why, i wonder where his dog is. (they ride up.)
mr. vicar. good morning, roger. you seem to be having trouble.
roger. that i am, sir. good morning, miss.
florence. why, where is your good dog, cap?
roger. some boys threw stones at him and broke his leg. i am afraid he will never be able to run again.
florence. oh, how dreadful!
roger. yes, i miss him so much. he was such a help.
florence (to mr. vicar, in a whisper). i wonder if we could see the dog. we might be able to do something for him.
mr. vicar. where is your dog; roger?
roger. at home, beside the fire.
(mr. vicar and florence ride to the cottage. they find that cap’s leg is not broken, but is sprained. florence asks for hot water, and bathes and bandages the leg. in a few days the dog recovers and helps roger with the sheep.)
act out the rest of the story yourselves.
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act iii. the lady of the lamp
scene. in a hospital. soldiers are lying on cots and chairs. florence nightingale comes in with a lamp in her hand.
first soldier. hush, here comes the angel of mercy to look after us poor fellows. how tired she must be after working all day.
second soldier. yes, the lady of the lamp.
third soldier. she has done more for our country than all the soldiers during this terrible war.
all the soldiers. that she has. may heaven bless her brave heart!
america! america!
thy loyal children we!
dear mother land, our lives we pledge
in service unto thee.
[228]
you and i
and all of us together
will make this world of ours
sorry and sad—
sad, crying world
if
you and i
and all of us together
do not
do right.
but
you and i
and all of us together
will make this world of ours
happy and glad—
smiling world
because
you and i
and all of us together
will
do right!
we will be
good citizens, for we love our
country and our flag.
