Princess: O my father, forget that he is a Hebrew and remember only that he is my son.
King: O my Princess, for your sake, I accept this boy. I leave his training to you. May he grow up to be a prince worthy of the house of Pharaoh.
End
CHAPTER VI
THE DRAMATIZATION OF RUTH
Ruth was dramatized by the club during the fall of the year because it is a story of the Hebrew harvest time. In order fully to interpret the life of Ruth it was necessary for the children to secure information concerning the barley harvest in ancient Palestine, and also to become familiar with the old customs involved in the story. Many children brought pictures which illustrated the points under discussion, and some of them contributed by telling what they had been able to read at home. Independence on the part of the children in looking up data was always encouraged by the leader; the information which she had to give enriched and supplemented that which was brought in by them.
During the process of this dramatization constant comparisons were made with our own harvest time, and the study of the Hebrew harvest feasts and festivals served to increase the understanding and appreciation of our one harvest festival at Thanksgiving.
The method of procedure in presenting this story for dramatization follows closely that described in connection with Joseph. The Bible version of Ruth is so simply and beautifully told that it needed very little adapting. When it was first given to the children parts of it were read and parts were told by the leader. Many scenes were then planned, but these were soon cut down to the three necessary scenes. From the first the children used much of the Bible language as they acted the story. The beauty and the poetry of it caused them to remember readily the exact wording in many cases.
Seven meetings were required before the group was satisfied with the play as a product of their best effort. As was the case with the other plays given by the club, the children who were to take the parts in the final presentation were selected by the group and not by the leader in charge. Every child knew each part and could represent any character, but children were chosen for specific parts because they seemed to represent certain characters unusually well.