Act I scene 3

ACT I

Scene 3 “The People of Gubbio”

Setting: Village of Gubbio; FRANCIS and  the people standing in the town square.

CHARACTERS ON STAGE:  FRANCIS,  ADAM, BETH, CALEB, DORA, EDWARD, FLORA (and others—optional)

FRANCIS: Good people of Gubbio!  May I have your attention, please. Your attention, please! 

CROWD (murmuring among themselves)

ADAM : Look!  There’s the holy man from Assisi.

BETH : What’s his name again? 

CALEB : That’s Brother Francis. Listen, he’s saying something.

DORA: I wonder if it has anything to do with that dreadful wolf.

EDWARD: Hush!  Don’t even mention that word!  The beast might come back and we’ll all be in danger.

FLORA (speaking to Edward): I think Francis of Assisi can help us. Let’s listen to what he has to say.

FRANCIS: That’s better. Now I can tell you the good news. I’ve been speaking with Brother, er, I mean Sister Wolf, and—

CROWD (gasping): Sister?

FRANCIS: Yes, yes, I know. You don’t think of her as your brother or sister, but she’s my sister and yours. We are all children of the same Father, so we must be sisters and brothers. How can it be otherwise?  We must think of her in this way if we are all to live together in peace. I’ve been speaking to her.

ADAM: What do you mean, you’ve been speaking to the wolf, I mean, to the beast?

FRANCIS: She’s a wolf, not a beast the way you mean it. She’s just one of God’s creatures, and she’s just been doing what is natural for her.

BETH: You mean she’s supposed to steal our sheep and chase our children?

FRANCIS: No. Not exactly. I just said it’s natural for her. That doesn’t make it right. But neither does it make her a beast. We mustn’t hate her for doing what is natural.

CALEB: Then what must we do?  We can’t let this situation go on any longer. We’re afraid to leave our houses. We’re afraid for our children’s lives and for our sheep—our livelihood.

FRANCIS: You’re right. You can’t continue to live like that. That’s not natural for you, either.

DORA: So, what did you tell her?  Did you tell her to go away and leave us alone?

FRANCIS: Oh, no!  I couldn’t do that!  After all, Gubbio is as much her home as it is yours. Her family has been here for generations.

EDWARD: Yes. And all of those generations tormented and threatened our families, our fathers and grandfathers before them. We’ve been trying to get rid of those beasts for centuries. Why can’t they just go away and leave us alone?

CROW(shouting together): Yes!  Why doesn’t that beast leave us alone?

FRANCIS: Hush, now. Don’t get excited. That doesn’t help the situation. We all want to live in peace, don’t we?

CROWD (murmuring assent): mmm, yes, well…

FRANCIS: All right, then. Just hear me out. I told you Sister Wolf and I had a conversation, and we came to an agreement. But we need you to understand her position and to agree to something quite unusual. Are you willing to listen?  Will you hear me out?

FLORA: We’re listening, Brother Francis. But it’s hard to understand how a man can have a conversation with a wolf.

FRANCIS: Yes. That is quite a remarkable achievement, it’s true. But, I’m sure you agree with me that with God all things are possible.

CROWD (murmurs assent)

FRANCIS: Well, good. Sister Wolf and I had a long conversation. It was not easy for her, but after some discussion she came to see that she had been doing the people of Gubbio an injustice. But she couldn’t see any way out of it. Just as you have trouble believing that wolves and people can live together in peace.

ADAM: Did she admit chasing our children?

FRANCIS: Yes, she did. She even said she was sorry about that.

BETH: Really?  She’s sorry?  Well, that’s a start at least.

FRANCIS: That’s what I told her. I knew you’d appreciate an apology for such a dreadful thing as scaring the children.

CALEB: What about the rest of it?  All the other things she did?

FRANCIS: She confessed to howling all night.

CROWD groans

FRANCIS: And to digging up your vegetables.

CROWD (mumbling about lost crops)

FRANCIS: And to stealing the sheep.

DORA: And what did she have to say about that?

FRANCIS: She said she had no choice.

CROWD shouts: “I knew it” & “I told you so” & “So now what?”

FRANCIS (hands up to silence the crowd): But I told her she did have a choice. I told her you were reasonable, civilized people. I told her you would be her friends.

FLORA: Friends!  How can we be friends with a thief?

FRANCIS: You can be friends, but you must promise to change your ways, if you hope to have her change her ways. What do you say?  Are you willing to make a few changes?  To make a few small sacrifices for the sake of living in brotherly, or sisterly love with your neighbour? 

ADAM: What do you suggest? 

BETH: How much do we have to change our ways?

CALEB: What sort of sacrifices do we have to make?

DORA: How can we be sure she’ll change her ways if we change ours?

EDWARD: Well, maybe a few changes will be worth it, if we can live in peace.

FLORA: What do you propose, Brother Francis?

FRANCIS: Simply this. Every morning, put out a plate of meat for Sister Wolf. And another plate in the evening, just as a bedtime snack, you know. Always put the plates in the same place, so that she will know that it is for her. If one of you does this on Monday, another on Tuesday and another on Wednesday, and so on, then it isn’t a big burden on any one person. I think there are other villagers besides those here who might be willing to take a turn, too. Your kindness will work miracles, and Sister Wolf will love you and be your friend. Do you agree to do this?

CROWD:(murmurs assent and exits) 

CURTAIN CLOSES

Enter Wolf & Shepherd (standing to one side of the stage)

WOLF: So, that’s what happened.

SHEPHERD: And the people of Gubbio agreed to feed you?  Just like that?  In exchange for what?

WOLF: I don’t know. Just in exchange for me not stealing their sheep, I guess.

SHEPHERD: Well, isn’t that what you should do anyway?  Not steal?  Not bother them?  They’re paying you protection money!

WOLF: They are not!  Money wouldn’t do me any good. I haven’t got any pockets!  What would I do with money?

SHEPHERD: Okay, so it’s not money. But it’s the same thing. They’re feeding you to leave them alone.

WOLF: No they aren’t. That’s not the way Brother Francis had it. He convinced the people to be kind to me. And that’s what they’re doing. They’re feeding me to make friends with me.

SHEPHERD: Would you leave them alone if they didn’t feed you?

WOLF: I’d..., I’d have to go away and go back to stealing sheep. I wouldn’t have any place to live. I wouldn’t have any friends. I’d be a lone wolf!  Gubbio is my home.

SHEPHERD: So, you’d leave Gubbio if they didn’t feed you. Well, then maybe they are just being kind. And you find ways to be kind to them, too, I hope.

WOLF: I’ve been working on that. I think I have an idea, but I have to check it out with Brother Francis.

SHEPHERD: I’d better be on my way. I have my own sheep to tend, you may remember. Now stop licking your lips!  I’m not one of your friends in Gubbio. You’d better be on your way back there, if you plan to have your supper legally tonight.

WOLF: I’ll stay in Assisi for a while. Brother Francis promised to come by and chat with me. He’s going to tell me about himself. He says he wasn’t born a saint. He wasn’t always good. I want to hear about that.

SHEPHERD: Yeah. I’d stay if I could, but my sheep need tending. I have to go to Gubbio tomorrow. You can tell me all about it then. And by then, maybe you’ll have figured out how you can repay the good people of Gubbio for their kindness. See you tomorrow!  (Exits).

CURTAIN

End of Act I