Playground with Six Players

A South African story, written bij Vernon Februari.
Often used by me in my The Dance of the Hero-workshops.
It's about 'apartheid'. It's about the persistence of conflicts, across generations.


Invited by South Africans to tell this tale....


 Playground with Six Players
Keridwen's Story of the Month, November, 2004

 Try to imagine yesterday’s scene: a small field in the afternoon sun. A few young mice appear to the right. It’s their first time discovering the world without the supervision of their parents. What did they discover? A real playground; sand, grass, a few small hills. The sky is the limit. Then, from the left, some unfamiliar creatures emerge. Not big, but low to the ground, long and with smooth skin. The mice hesitate. The new-comers sit and wait. They too have never seen the other species. The rear end of the animals seems vaguely familiar and the rest of their bodies is so hairy and round.

But the deadlock didn’t last long. The playground awaits. There is much to discover and, so much more that you can do together! Slide down the long slippery backs. Play blind man’s buff with whiskers. The possibilities are endless.

When the sun went down and the shadows grew long, both parties went home happy and tired. They had many tales to tell. Mother mouse was furious! Did they not realise how much danger they were in? One cannot play with snakes. Snakes are unreliable. Before you know it they have eaten you alive. Go to your beds and no dinner! Mother snake is livid. Typical behaviour of the youth from today. You work hard to provide them with nutritious meals and they can’t even be bothered to take the food that’s in front of their nose! Go to your beds and no dinner!
   
The next morning when the sun rose on the most beautiful of playgrounds, the world looked completely different somehow.




Based on a story of Vernon February; retold by Marcel van der Pol