Act II

SCENE I

Place: Along the roadside in a distant country.

Characters: The Prodigal Son, a Farmer.

[The Prodigal Son comes down the road, tired and hungry. He sits on a rock and talks.]

Prodigal Son: Would that I had something to eat! My money is all spent, and there is famine in the land. What shall I do? I am sick, and feel that I may soon die. If I could but find something to do that I might get a little food.

[A man comes along. The Prodigal Son goes toward him and falls down before him.]

Prodigal Son: O sir, I am starving unto death. Wilt thou give me any task to do that I may make enough to keep me alive?

Man: I have no work to be done—unless it be to take care of my swine. Thou wilt find them in yon field; they need a keeper.