Historic Pella - Readers Theater Story - The Straw House and the Baby

	Narrator 1	It was summer, 1847. Peter and Welma arrived in Pella, Iowa, and had no house to live in.
	Welma	Peter, what shall we do? We need a place to sleep. The children need a place to rest.
	Peter	Do not worry, Mother. We will build a dug out house, just like some of the workers' homes in Holland.
	Narrator 2	Mother Welma was not happy but what could she do?
	Narrator 3	Together the family dug down in the ground to make a space large enough for Peter, Welma, and the two boys, Jake and Bill, to live.
	Narrator 1	They lined the dug out hole with poles cut from nearby trees.
	Narrator 2	Next they piled up clumps of dirt and grass to make the walls.
	Narrator 3	Soon the house was big enough for Father Peter to stand in.
	Peter	This is fine! Boys, you have helped us build this house.
	Narrator 1	The boys were happy. Soon they would have a real house.
	Narrator 2	Mother Welma knew there was more work to do.
	Welma	Let's have dinner now. I have bread and cheese for everyone.
	Narrator 3	After lunch work started on cutting more poles from nearby trees to make the roof.
	Narrator 1	Father Peter tied the poles together with vines. Soon the roof was ready for the long grass. Peter and the boys cut grass from a pond next to the little house.
	Narrator 2	Then the boys found something in the tall grass around the pond.
	Jake	Look Bill! I see a snake! Can you catch it?
	Bill	Yes, I see it! I have it! I have the snake! Let's show Mother!
	Jake	Look Mother, we found a snake!
	Welma	Jake and Bill! We do not have time to play. Take the snake to the other side of the pond so it will not crawl into our straw house to keep warm.
	Peter	Do not harm the snake. It will eat bugs and help keep our potato garden healthy next spring.
	Bill	We will be careful.
	Welma	Oh my! Look at our new straw house. If we work fast we can cover the roof with grass before dark.
	Narrator 3	Soon the house was ready. The family went inside and went to sleep on the cool dirt floor.
	Jake	Bill, wake up. It's our first morning in the straw house.
	Bill	I am sleepy. I do not like sleeping on a dirt floor. I wish we had a rug and some beds.
	Jake	I miss our old house in Holland. This straw house is very small.
	The Cow	Moo! Moo!
	Bill	We need to wake up and milk the cow.
	Jake	And take care of the sheep.
	Narrator 1	While the boys cared for their new farm animals Father Peter built a cover for the window of the straw house.
	Narrator 2	Next the boys cut poles and gathered grass and straw to make the beds. One bed for mother and father. One bed for Jake and Bill.
	Narrator 3	Mother found three rocks for the cooking area. She gathered small sticks and dried grass to build a fire. Mother Welma made potato soup in a big iron pot.

Welma	Dinner time! It's your favorite, potato soup.	Straw house in the snow.
Bill	I'm hungry.
Jake	This soup is good.
Peter	Potato soup will taste even better when Mother makes it with potatoes from our garden.
Welma	We must finish our house before we start thinking about next spring's garden.
Narrator 1	After eating they went back to work on the straw house. Later that day the Kramer family finished their new home. Mother made a rug to cover the dirt floor.

	Narrator 2	It was August in Iowa, there were plums and berries to pick. Soon there would be nuts to gather for winter. Mother was busy. She was happy with her new straw house. Mother Kramer smiled at the friendly cow eating grass by the house.
	The Cow	(crash) Moo! Moo!
	Welma	Oh my, what was that noise?
	Narrator 3	Welma dropped her berry basket. Peter and the boys stopped working in the field. Everyone ran to the straw house.
	Welma	Oh no! The cow ate the grass on the roof and fell into the straw house!
	The Cow	Moo! Moo!
	Bill	The cow is in our straw bed!
	Jake	Let's pull the cow out the door.
	Peter	Come boys, help me get the cow.
	Narrator 1	Peter, Jake and Bill pushed and pulled the cow through the door in the tiny straw house.
	Peter	We do not have time for silly cows. We must go back to work cutting trees and plowing grass to get ready to plant crops in the spring.
	Song: The Straw House Song
	Narrator 2	It was winter. The straw house was cold. It was Mother Welma's job to to keep the fire burning all day and night.
	Narrator 3	Soon Mother Welma would have a new baby. The winter snow came through the grass roof.
	Narrator 1	Father Peter was worried. He did not want the baby born in the cold and snowy straw house. Peter visited his friend, Mr. Le Cocq, to ask for help.
	Narrator 2	Mr. Le Cocq lived in one of the few log cabins in Pella. The other Hollanders (Dutch people) lived in straw houses like the Kramer family.
	Peter	My friend John, my wife is going to have a baby soon. Our straw house is very cold. May she stay in your log cabin?

Mr. Le Cocq	Yes, my cabin is a busy place. It is filled with children and animals. If my log cabin is safe to keep our chest of gold from Holland, it is safe for your wife and baby. I will come for Welma when it is time.	Gold Chest A hidden keyhole kept the Hollanders' gold safe in the chest. You can see the chest at The Scholte House. Dutch women made quilts from scraps of cloth. Mr. Le Cocq worked as a businessman, treasurer, farmer and cigar maker.
Narrator 3	Peter was happy. The Kramer family waited for the new baby. Bill and Jake helped keep the warm fire burning in the straw house.
Peter	(knock, knock) Who could be visiting us on this cold winter day?
Mr. Le Cocq	Hello, it is your friend, John Le Cocq.
Peter	Please come in.
Mr. Le Cocq	I am worried about Welma. I am here to take her to my log cabin to have the baby.
Peter	You are very kind. Our straw house is too cold for a baby. Thank you.
Mr. Le Cocq	You are welcome. I asked the Kramer family to join me here in Pella, Iowa. I want the first Kramer born in America to be safe and warm.
Welma	But the snow is too deep for me to walk to the log cabin.
Mr. Le Cocq	I will take you to the cabin in my ox cart.
Jake	Mother, I will help you into the ox cart.
Bill	I will cover Mother with a warm quilt.

Peter	I will get Dr. Roelofsz. The Doctor and I will meet you at the log cabin.	Dr. Roelofsz Pella's founder, Dominie Scholte, invited his cousin, Joost Roelofsz, to come to Pella and be the town's first doctor. Roelofsz was a modern and talented man. He built one of the first brick homes in Pella and he was the first gentleman to wear stylish white suits. The doctor played his violin with local musicians. Dr. Roelofsz loved to paint and draw. When Roelofsz made his house calls he traveled in a bed inside a horse-drawn wagon. In the winter he put his travel bed on a sled. Dutch bed in the wall
Narrator 1	Mother rode in the ox cart across the snowy ground to the log cabin. Everyone living in the cabin greeted Mother: Mr. and Mrs. Le Cocq, four Le Cocq boys, two Le Cocq girls, the maid and the hired man, plus many pets and farm animals keeping warm in the log cabin.
Mrs. Neelte Le Cocq	Welcome to our log cabin Mrs. Kramer. We have two beds built in the walls. You may stay in one bed in the wall.
Welma	Thank you. Soon the baby will be born. I see Dr. Roelofsz coming in his horse drawn sled. The Doctor is wearing a tall black hat.
Dr. Roelofsz	Hello everyone!
Mrs. Neelte Le Cocq	Hello Doctor. Soon the Kramer baby will be born!
Dr. Roelofsz	Do not worry, go back to your knitting. Everyone else should play quietly or guard the chest of gold we brought with us from Holland. I will play a song on my violin while we wait for the baby.
Song: Mother Welma's Baby
Narrator 2	Soon the baby was born. The baby was a girl. They named her baby Nellie. She was the first baby girl born in the group of Hollanders.
Baby Nellie	Waa! Waa!
Jake	Hooray! We have a baby sister.
Bill	Our sister Nellie is the first Dutch girl born in Pella.
Baby Nellie	Waa! Waa!
Dr. Roelofsz	Do not cry baby Nellie. I will draw a picture of two happy families.
Narrator 3	The Doctor liked to draw pictures. He took a burned charcoal stick from the fire. He drew a picture of Mother Welma in the bed in the wall. He drew chickens, a baby cow, a black lamb and a baby horse.
Narrator 1	The cabin was a busy place. The Doctor drew men working, animals to care for and keep warm, women cooking and knitting, and children playing games quietly.


	You can see Dr. Roelofsz's charcoal drawing of the Kramer and Le Cocq families in the log cabin at the Pella Historical Village
	Narrator 2	They knew that baby Nellie did not like noise. Nobody wanted the baby to cry.
	The Cow	Moo!
	Baby Nellie	Waa! Waa!
	Mrs. Neelte Le Cocq	Please children, try to keep the cow and chicken quiet. The mooing and pecking make baby Nellie cry. Christina, are jumping rope in your wooden shoes?
	Christina	No Mother, my jump rope games may be too loud for the baby.
	Narrator 3	Soon it was warm. The Kramer family was together again in the straw house. More Hollanders came and built dugout houses.
	Welma	This is our little strawtown. We are happy to be here.

Cast
Welma (Welmaud) Kramer (Mother) Peter Kramer (Father) Jake Kramer Bill Kramer Nellie Kramer (baby) The Cow	Dr. Joost Roelofsz Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Narrator 3 Mr. John Le Cocq Mrs. Neelte Le Cocq	Jean Le Cocq Frank Le Cocq Jacobus Le Cocq Theodorus Le Cocq Mietje Le Cocq Christina Le Cocq

		Straw House Life Lesson Plan
		Readers Theater Story The Straw House and the Baby