JEANNIE: Hallo.Ah'm jist waitin' fur Maggie tae arrive oan the camel train.
Ye mind Maggie,she an' I wur cleanin' in the temple last time ye saw us.
She's comin' tae Babylon fur a holiday.So it's aff wi' the peeny an' oan wi' the
Sunday best.
(Looks behind and upwards)
Statue ? Well,ah suppose ye cannae very well miss it seein' it's 90 fit tall an' 9 fit
wide. They say it's King Nebuchadnezzar.Though hoo ye're supposed tae tell fae doon
here , ah dinnae ken .
It's real gowd ye ken,nane o' yer imitation muck. Whit ah'd like tae ken,is hoo they
expect ony puir wumman tae polish it. An' onywey,whaur wid they find big eneugh
ladders fur her tae gang up and dite his croon.
The Toon Crier wis oot last week wi' his 'Oyez ! Oyez !" His nibs,the King hus ordered everyone tae bow doon an' worship his statue,every time they hear the trumpets soond an' a' the ither instruments forbye. If onywan disnae bow doon,he 'll be flung intae the furnace an' burnt tae a crisp. Oyez ! - Nice man - this King !
So,as soon as we heard the trumpets an' a' the ither instruments,... a'body,nae maitter whaur they came fae bowed doon ...me includit.Ah didnae fancy being burnt tae cinders.!Especially seein' the King hissel' wisnae 10 feet awa' fae me.
Then up comes the Babylonians,a' sugary sweet an' sayin' tae the King."May your Imperial Majesty live for ever ! We chust thought you'd like to ken .Yon Jews ye pit in
charge o' Babylon will not dae as ye've said.Shadrach,Meschach and Abednego will not
bow doon an' worship yer Majesty's gracious statue."
Weel,ye micht ken the King wis fair pit oot an' ordered Shadrach,Meschach and
Whit's -His- Name brocht tae him.
"Whit dae ye think ye're playin' at ,",he said,"refusin' tae worship ma God and bow
doon tae ma statue ? Ah tell ye whit ,ah'll gie ye a second chance.If ye'll bow doon
an' worship ma statue when ye hear the music playin' ,ah'll no huv ye flung in the
furnace. Efter a' ,ah'm a fair man........D'ye really think ony God can save ye ? "
An' yon three torags answered," We'll no defend oorsel's ,yer Majesty.If oor God
can save us fae the furnace an' fae your power, he will . But even if he disnae ,there's no
wey we'll worship your God or bow doon tae yon statue !
(Offstage) MAGGIE: Hey,Jeannie
JEANNIE:Oh,there's Maggie...Maggie haud oan !
Bye ,jist noo ! Bye !
(exits through side curtain)
THE FIERY FURNACE
(MAGGIE & JEANNIE enter through side curtain)
MAGGIE : So,did the King huv them flung intae the furnace.?
JEANNIE: Aye.Oor Archie is the Commander o' the King's Bodyguard,an' he gets a' the dirty
jobs like that tae dae .So he tellt his Mum an' I whit happened.
Shadrach,Meshach an' Abednego wur brocht doon tae the furnace .The King wis
ragin' ,an' he ordered the men tae heat the furnace 7 times hotter than usual.Then the
three o' them wur tied up an' flung wi' a' their claes oan intae the furnace..................
Archie lost three guid men.....
MAGGIE: Did he ken these Jews then ?
JEANNIE : Naw ,ah meant his ain guards .Wi' the furnace bein' sae hot,the guards goat burnt
tae death jist pittin' the Jews in the furnace.
Then the King startit jumpin' up an ' doon.Archie said he wis in an' awfy state.
MAGGIE: How come ?
JEANNIE: The King said he saw 4 men in the furnace ,walking aboot ,loose an' unharmed ,
an ' wan looked like a god!!!
MAGGIE: But,ah thocht there wis only 3 pit in the furnace !
JEANNIE: That's richt . So the King goes tae the furnace door an' ca's oot. " Shadrach !
Meshach ! Abednego ! Servants o' the Supreme God ! Come oot !'
An' oot they cam' neither singed,nor burnt,an' no' even smellin ' o' smoke !
Archie said the King wis jist amazed .Nae wunner ! An' the high heid yins wi'
him .So up says the King ,"Praise the God o' Shadrach,Meshach and Abednego !
Fur he sent his angel tae rescue these men that serve an' trust him.They risked their
lives sayin' they widnae worship ony ither God but their ain.
There's nae God that can rescue like this !!
MAGGIE: ....Whit did Archie's mither say tae a' that.?
JEANNIE: She thocht he must have been drinkin' . But Archie says he micht as well worship
this God o' their hissel' .......
Ah don't think this camel is comin'. C'mon let's hae a cuppa at thon cafe an'
catch the next yin..................(EXEUNT)
SOLDIER'S SKETCH
ARIOCH is the Commander of the King's Bodyguard.He comes from the side curtain, walks to the
mike ,picks up the 'receiver' and 'dials'.
Hallo Mum,it's me,Arioch.......No,I hadn't forgotten how to dial a phone.I've got something to tell
you.......No, I'm not settling down at last............Something happened at the palace today that no-one can explain........Three Jewish officials were brought down to the furnace.Whatever they'd done, they'd got the King hopping mad.He ordered us to heat the furnace 7 times hotter than usual.Then the three men were to be tied up - still fully dressed ; shirts ,robes caps and all - and thrown into the furnace.
I lost three good men....No,I didn't mean the Jews.My own guards were burnt to death just putting the Jews in the furnace because the King had ordered it so hot...........Then the King jumped up.I've never seen him so agitated.
"Weren't three men tied up and thrown into the furnace,?" he asked.
"Yes,sire." I said.
"Then why are 4 men walking around in the furnace - unharmed and unbound . And the fourth looks like a god.?"
So Nebuchadnezzar went to the furnace door and shouted," Shadrach ! Meshach ! Abednego ! Servants of the Supreme God ! Come out !" And out they came at once. Every official in the palace gathered round to see the three men.Their hair wasn't singed,their clothes weren't burnt,they didn't even smell of smoke.....
Nebuchadnezzar said,"Praise the God of Shadrach,Meshach and Abednego ! He sent his angel and rescued these men who serve and trust him.They risked their lives refusing to worship any God but their own .There is no other God who can rescue like this !"
Everyone was amazed.If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,I wouldn't have believed it....
No mother, I haven't been drinking......I might just worship this God of theirs,myself......No,Mum..
Bye Mum .......
(EXIT)
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