BACK NEHEMIAH 6'?m2f Nehemiah rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem. (children's voices, possibly women playing children) SANBALLAT - (shouts, echos) Hey, you in there. (pause) Hey, I'm talking to you. NEHEMIAH -- (approaching) What are you yelling about? SANBALLAT - You're in MY fort and I want you out. NEHEMIAH -- It's not your fort. Nobody was here when we got here, so finders keepers. It's our fort. SANBALLAT - Not it's not NEHEMIAH -- Yes, it is. SANBALLAT - Wanna make somethin' of it buster?! NEHEMIAH -- My name is not buster, it's Nehemiah. What's your name, kid. SANBALLAT - My name is Sanballat. And Jerusalem is MY fort, Knee High. NEHEMIAH -- No, it isn't. And my name isn't knee high. It's Nehemiah. SANBALLAT - Jerusalem is mine. NEHEMIAH -- No, it isn't. SANBALLAT - I'll beat you up. NEHEMIAH -- No, you won't. My friends are here with me. Just try it. SANBALLAT - Well, you're ugly and your mother dresses you funny. NEHEMIAH -- Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me. SANBALLAT - You dress like a girl. NEHEMIAH -- No, I don't. SANBALLAT - Yes, you do. Only girls where tassels on the corners of their clothes, Knee High. NEHEMIAH -- My name is Nehemiah. And those tassels are symbols of my devotion to God. My dad wears tassels and he's big. SANBALLAT - Then he's a sissy too. NEHEMIAH -- He is not. SANBALLAT - Is too. NEHEMIAH -- Is not. SANBALLAT - Is too. NEHEMIAH -- Is not. SANBALLAT - What do you want with a broken down old fort like Jerusalem, anyways. It's just a pile of broken bricks. NEHEMIAH -- Me and my friends are going to rebuild the walls. SANBALLAT - No, you're not. NEHEMIAH -- We are too. SANBALLAT - What are you gonna use for bricks, Knee High. NEHEMIAH -- We're gonna save the best ones and throw away the broken ones, then we're gonna make some new ones. SANBALLAT - You don't know what you're talking about. That's a big fort. It's gonna take you forever. NEHEMIAH -- Maybe, but it's our fort and we're gonna try. SANBALLAT - You'll never do it. NEHEMIAH -- We will too, with God's help. SANBALLAT - Which god are you talking about? NEHEMIAH -- THE God. The only god. SANBALLAT - A lot you know, Knee High, there's dozens of gods. NEHEMIAH -- Are not. SANBALLAT - Are too. NEHEMIAH -- Are not SANBALLAT - Are too. NEHEMIAH -- Are not. SANBALLAT - Alright, you dumb tassels head. If you wanna lay bricks, lay bricks. But if you all get blisters on your hands, don't say I didn't warn you. I'm out of here. NEHEMIAH -- (fading) Alright, guys, let's start building the walls of Jerusalem. SANBALLAT - (pause, shouts, echos) Hey, you in there. (pause) Hey, I'm talking to you. NEHEMIAH -- (afar) Who's there? (Near) Oh, relax, guys, it's just Sanballat. SANBALLAT - Hiya, Knee High. I see you're halfway done building the walls of MY fort. NEHEMIAH -- It's not your fort, Bozo. SANBALLAT - Yes, it is. NEHEMIAH -- No, it's not. SANBALLAT - Yes, it is. NEHEMIAH -- Is not. SANBALLAT - Is. NEHEMIAH -- Is not. SANBALLAT - You're making me mad, Knee High. NEHEMIAH -- My name is Nehemiah and why don't you just make like a tree and leave. SANBALLAT - You leave. NEHEMIAH -- You leave. SANBALLAT - You. NEHEMIAH -- You. SANBALLAT - You. NEHEMIAH -- You. SANBALLAT - This is my fort, you know. NEHEMIAH -- Go away. SANBALLAT - I could sneak up on you guys while you're laying bricks and give you a snuggy. NEHEMIAH -- You could, but you won't. SANBALLAT - And why not, smarty? NEHEMIAH -- Because from now on, only half of us are going to do the brick laying while the other half stand guard with squirt guns and pea shooters. SANBALLAT - Alright, Knee High, for the last time, get out of my fort. NEHEMIAH -- For the last time, get lost. SANBALLAT - (fading) Alright, you'll be sorry, Knee High. NEHEMIAH -- (fading) Alright, guys, let's get back to work. SANBALLAT - (pause, whispers) Psst, hey you. Pssst. NEHEMIAH -- Who's there? SANBALLAT - (disguised voice) It's me. NEHEMIAH -- And who are you? I can't see your face. Take off that hood. SANBALLAT - No, I can't. Noone must know I'm here. NEHEMIAH -- What do you want? SANBALLAT - I'm a prophet of your... I mean, I'm a prophet of OUR god. In fact, I just had a vision from him. NEHEMIAH -- You did? What did he say? SANBALLAT - He said you should run away as fast as you can because a big tough kid named Sanballat is coming to beat you up for stealing his fort. NEHEMIAH -- Nice try. SANBALLAT - What's the matter, aren't you afraid of Sanballat? He can do it, you know. NEHEMIAH -- Oh, he's tough, alright, but I'm not running away. SANBALLAT - Why not? NEHEMIAH -- The Lord told me to come and build this fort. He wouldn't tell me to run. He would be disagreeing with himself. He wouldn't do that. SANBALLAT - He wouldn't? NEHEMIAH -- No. SANBALLAT - Then, what about my vision. My vision has a lot of blood in it. Your blood. NEHEMIAH -- Well, if you're really a prophet, then, you should know what we have to do. SANBALLAT - What do you mean? NEHEMIAH -- The Lord says if a person claims to be a prophet, but his prophecies aren't true, we have to stone him to death. (shouts) Come on, guys, everybody grab a rock. SANBALLAT - (real voice) No, wait! Look, Knee High, it's not a prophet. It's me, Sanballat. See? I just wore this hood to play a joke on you. Funny joke, huh? Had you going there for a while, huh? NEHEMIAH -- Yeah, real funny. SANBALLAT - Say, look, you finished the wall all the way around the fort. So, I suppose now you think you're all hot and everything. NEHEMIAH -- No, I think the Lord is all hot and everything. It was his idea. SANBALLAT - Which god was that again? You know, there's dozens of gods. NEHEMIAH -- Okay, guys, grab your squirt guns and pea shooters. (ptooy, ptooy, pssst, pssst, ptooy) SANBALLAT - (fading) Don't shoot. Don't shoot. I was just leaving. Hold your fire. See, I'm leaving. I'm going. I'm gone. ©2013 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org email: [email protected] BACK |