



































Global Partners in Education – Expanding the Scope of Understanding Through Folktales,  Fables and Theatre Arts


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Note from Editor: 
 

Global Partners in Education is an organization that unites partner 
institutions around the globe through technology so students can learn 
about each other from each other. The primary activity of this organization 
is the Global Understanding program (Chia et al, 2011). However, 
additional activities have stemmed from these collaborations. Patricia 
(Patch) Clark, a Theatre professor at East Carolina University, reports on 
one such activity. In 2008, Prof. Clark began working with GPE partner 
institutions in the Global Classroom to enhance her Youth Theatre 
Course. Since then she has worked with partner institutions in Peru, 
Russia and Beijing during which time students exchange folk tales from 
their respective cultures. This report focuses on the collaboration between 
Patch Clark and her students and the students of Universidad San Ignacio 
de Loyola in Lima, Peru which resulted in a youth theatre production 
called “All Aboard South America!”. 

 

Expanding Global Understanding Through the Theatre Arts 
 

Patch Lee Clark1 
 

East Carolina University, USA 
 

Abstract 
 

The School of Theatre and Dance in the College of Fine Arts and 
Communication at East Carolina University (ECU) collaborated with 
Universidad San Ignacio De Loyola (USIL) in Lima, Peru gathering 
children’s stories,  folktales, fables and myths which were then 
transformed into theatre performances for  school children, teachers and 
families across Eastern North Carolina.  In 2009, the collected stories 
were used in an original children’s musical,  All Aboard South America! 
produced at ECU and the Turnage Theater in Washington, N.C.  The 
value of sharing the dramatization of folktales, fables, and myths gathered 
in the Global Classroom with intergenerational audiences across the state 
of North Carolina served not only to expand the educational experience of 
all participants, but also broaden audience exposure to the artistic 
interpretation of collective tales indigenous to South America.  The 
exchange between theatre students enrolled in Youth Theatre I at ECU 
and students enrolled at USIL and the subsequent development of a 
children’s theatre musical is the focus of this article. 

                                                 
1
 The author wishes to thank Liliana Cheneder Rueda, Maria Luisa Mu Hoyos and Karin Sialer Perez, students and personnel at 

Universidad San Ignacio De Loyola in Lima, Peru for their dedication and contributions to the class and the sharing of their folktales, 
fables and myths.  Also appreciation is extended to Dr. Linda High, East Carolina University School of Music who prepared the 
music and served as Musical Director for All Aboard South America! and Dr. Jon Wacker and his students also from the ECU 
School of Music for their musical accompaniment. 



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Introduction 
 

All countries and cultures share in having folktales, fables, and myths and legends as 
part of their oral and written cultural heritage. Many cultures share slight variations on 
the same children’s stories. In linking with Peru and learning about the folklore of spirits 
chasing wanderers in the jungle, we were able to compare our popular tale of the 
headless horseman created by American short story writer, Washington Irving in The 
Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The sharing of children’s stories creates a bond of 
understanding  with various countries, students and cultures as they have all have had 
experiences either as children or young adults in listening to stories told to them by 
mothers, fathers, grandparents or other members of the family.   
 
The examination of both similarities and differences in fables and folktales improves 
understanding of new cultures by comparing variations of the story as it relates to its 
corresponding culture. The popular children’s story of Cinderella is universal and has 
many culturally specific versions. For example, in India the title of this popular story is  
How the Cowherd Found a Bride, while in China it is Yeh-hsien,  Aschenputtel  in 
Germany and Poor Turkey Girl from the Native American, Zuni Tribe (Sierra, 1992, pp. 
114, 6, 20).  All have in common the story of an unfortunate character who, through 
various circumstances, becomes the celebrated heroine in the end.  Each of the 
versions also offers the readers and viewers a glimpse of how the journey of the 
characters and the moral of the story is expressed through cultural experiences and 
vision.  Sierra attests to the longevity and, thus, continuing significance of these 
childhood stories: 
 

The first Cinderella story to be written down, in around the year 850 A.D., 
was the Chinese tale of Yeh-hsien.  Even earlier, nearly two thousand 
years ago, a Greek writer told an Egyptian king who searched for the 
unknown owner of a beautiful sandal.  Neither of these seem like the fairy 
tales we are used to reading in books, but they give us an idea of how old 
and widespread Cinderella tales really are (Sierra, 1992, p. 4).  

 
Support for the study of tales indigenous to certain countries and cultures are expressed 
by one researcher performance artist who, while gathering Kurdish tales concluded, 
“The stories, poetry, songs, ritual speech, literature and syntax of language store the 
collective intellectual achievements of a culture and supply us with unique perspective 
on fundamental problems of the human condition” (Edgecomb, 2008, p. xii). 
 
The second phase in studying multicultural tales and the subsequent sharing through 
live performance is highly supported by numerous expert directors and playwrights in 
the area of children’s theatre. 
 

In good theatre for children it is essential that both playwrights and 
directors show the story through dramatic action rather than telling it 
through talk and static pictures.  The director, along with the actors, must 
plan for continual, motivated movement illustrating the dramatic situations 



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of the characters.  Children are uninterested in dull, motionless scenes 
and become bored with characters who wander about the stage aimlessly, 
moving just to keep the production lively (Jennings & Harris, 1998, pp. 8-
9). 

 
Many of the multicultural stories gathered from the linking sessions with Peru, such as 
El Tunche, El Tunche and The Three Shovels contain this very type of animated and 
interesting action and characters which actively engage children’s audiences in the 
performance.  Once children become interested in the story being acted out on stage, 
they then begin to learn and experience knowledge about other cultures through the 
dramatization of global tales. 
 
With this premise in mind, the sharing and performance of global stories, that The 
School of Theatre and Dance at ECU conducted videoconferences or “links” with USIL 
for three years. The goals for this classroom linking were to gather stories from Peru 
and transform them into dramatic scripts to be shared in the public schools and the 
community at large.  A second goal was to encourage cultural exchange between 
students at USIL and ECU through in-class video conferencing and e-mail exchanges 
including discussion of not only childhood stories and theatre arts, but politics, food, 
economics, education, family traditions, and day-to-day life. 
 
Students and faculty asked partners at USIL for stories they remembered from 
childhood, folktales, fables and myths that might have been passed down from 
generation to generation.  Once collected, stories were transformed into performance 
pieces for children and the community and shared through live presentation both in the 
schools and in larger theatre venues.  
 
Throughout the collaboration, students shared stories, music, dance, children’s games, 
ideas about politics, religion, the arts, customs, education, and ecology.  We also 
explored global awareness through a unit entitled Your Footprints on the Earth and 
videos prepared by the students at USIL. Further ideas and topics which students 
created in the Youth Theatre I classroom at ECU which they then explored through 
videoconferencing and e-mail with partners at USIL included becoming a leader in one’s 
own country, ideas for long-range collaborative projects, similarities and differences in 
education, family upbringing and customs, creation of a new poem or story and learning 
phrases and words of each other’s languages. 
 

Methodology 

This project has become part of an already established course, Youth Theatre I, in the 
School of Theatre & Dance, and continues, when possible, into Youth Theatre II class. 
In preparation for the linking process, students in Youth Theatre I at ECU brainstorm to 
develop questions students would like to ask their partners in Peru and discuss what 
ECU students already know about Peru. 
 



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During linking sessions with USIL, ECU students posed their questions, responded to 
questions asked by partners, listened to stories and songs, and learned about children’s 
games in Peru. The information collected regarding stories, songs, and children’s 
games was then discussed. Outlines for scenes were then created by ECU School of 
Theatre and Dance faculty, Patch Clark, who, upon completion of the outlines, then 
collaborated with Dr. Linda High, School of Music faculty at ECU, on scene 
development and music. The development of the final version of the script took 
approximately six months to research, develop, rehearse, and then finally perform. The 
process included collecting, researching and reviewing stories, dances, and information 
recorded during linking sessions and the gathering of additional information found in 
Joyner and Music Libraries at ECU.  Once the script was near completion, a writing 
contest for Eastern North Carolina public school students was implemented to 
encourage research and playwriting with South America as the theme.  Over 80 stories 
were submitted by school-aged children and reviewed by university theatre and music 
faculty with 7 being chosen for inclusion in the script.  Theatre faculty revised the stories 
the children had submitted, crafting them into scenes which then became a part of the 
finished script.  
 
Upon completion of the script, ECU students researched, compiled and prepared a 
teacher’s study guide which was sent to all schools attending the production of All 
Aboard South America!. Finally, the original children’s theatre musical was presented at 
Wright Auditorium on the campus of ECU in Greenville, N.C. on November 13th and in 
the schools in eastern North Carolina and at the Turnage Theater in Washington, North 
Carolina on November 14th, 2009. The resulting dramatized fables and folktales 
continue to be shared with children in the public schools, at libraries and arts and 
educational conferences. 

 
All Aboard South America! 

 
Theatre students at ECU embraced the opportunity to hear Peruvian stories passed 
down through generations that encompassed the jungle, the cities and towns, rainforest 
and ruins of Peru.  Students from USIL discussed the importance of Lake Titicaca and 
shared the many versions of tales which surround the lake.  They also talked about the 
magical quality of dragonflies.  One Peruvian student shared that if one saw a dragonfly 
on a certain day, the next day or two would bring good luck.  Yet another stated that her 
grandmother passed down the belief that the dragonfly came bearing a message from a 
recently deceased loved one.  Stories and myths about dragonflies developed into the 
character in All Aboard South America! (Clark & High, 2009) named Libelula who led 
Professor Pontificator and his students through the ruins of Machu Picchu on a search 
for the hidden diaries of an early explorer.    
 
The story shared in class about Lake Titicaca became The Three Shovels and was 
performed for over 3,000 children in eastern North Carolina. Appendix A contains a 
scene from All Aboard South America! illustrating how the myth of the dragon fly, which 
originated as a discussion in the Global Classroom between ECU and USIL students, 
was transformed into an actual major character in the play.  This excerpt also illustrates 



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some of the research and information students learned about South America including 
Carnival, penguins, and Machu Picchu.  Also included is the full story of The Three 
Shovels which, again, originated as a shared story in the Global Classroom and then 
became fully developed as one of the representative stories in the full script. 
 
The musical went on to present several stories indigenous to South America.  The 
Three Shovels was one of many stories shared with children in Eastern North Carolina 
and became a favorite tale.  The story, told by students at USIL in Lima Peru to ECU 
students via the global classroom, had a huge impact not only in the theatre, but in the 
university and elementary classrooms as well as this one particular story was performed 
throughout the schools, thus exposing children to a story from Peru. University students 
were actively engaged in the research for costumes, set, props, music and performance 
aspects as part of this project and production, thus exposing them to the geography, 
customs, textiles, language and music of Peru. The professor and ECU students 
transformed the tale into a Storybook Theatre drama (See Appendix B) which, in turn, 
became a part of the children’s musical, All Aboard South America! and toured 
throughout the elementary schools in Eastern North Carolina. To see a recording of the 
performance of The Three Shovels, please go to 
http://myweb.ecu.edu/cfac/clarkp/AASA.html. 
 
At the end of the play, the characters sing yet another song of departure, Goodbye My 
Friend  to the Dragonfly which can be viewed at the following link: 
http://myweb.ecu.edu/cfac/clarkp/AASA2.html. 

 
The Power of Collaborative Global Storybook Theatre  

 
The power of a live performance, the participation by ECU and USIL students and the 
elementary and middle school students all add to a world community effort of 
understanding through artistic interpretation and performance. Curriculum goals for 
theatre arts in the public schools were also included as part of the project, parts of 
which are defined as:  
 

A theatre art in the public schools teaches the basic life skills, thinking 
skills and personal qualities which develop an understanding of the ideas, 
attitudes, beliefs, and feelings of diverse people in different times 
throughout history as communicated through literature and theatre 
(NCDPI, n.d.). 

Aesthetic and artistic appreciation for theatrical performances was shared with the 
students from USIL as they were shown a DVD of the production, All Aboard South 
America! which included the stories they had originally shared and also dances and the 
development of the major character of Libelula the dragonfly. Jennings (2005), a 
children’s theatre director, discusses the importance of live theatre as a vehicle for 
sharing and developing creative performances: 

http://myweb.ecu.edu/cfac/clarkp/AASA.html
http://myweb.ecu.edu/cfac/clarkp/AASA2.html


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The theatre is a place of possibility, of hope, of transformation.  It is a 
home for your imagination.  I hope that the theatre becomes a launching 
pad for their dreams and plans, ideas and arguments.  The theatre is that 
great place where you get to collaborate with others to make a kind of 
magic that brings people together; that lets them see themselves anew 
and breathe in the bigness of what it means to be human in all its mad 
complexity (Jennings, 2005, p. xxiii). 

 
ECU Student Responses - Global Classroom - Youth Theatre I 

 
Students from the ECU classroom enjoyed the exchanges and reported in their journals 
that they discovered how similar they were to students at USIL, learned a wealth of 
information about Lima, Peru and South America in general, and gained a new 
appreciation for a country foreign to their own.  Their responses included the following 
testimonies to the success of the linking process: 

 
I will definitely be keeping in touch with my global pen pals as well as 
Masha and Matti, our foreign exchange students.  What an enlightening 
and humbling experience this semester has been.  It has taught me that 
we are not alone in this world. There are many others out there that may 
not speak the way we do, but they love the same things we do and cherish 
the same values and experiences.  I hope to carry on the global linking 
next semester in the youth theatre class as well.  I believe that every field 
of study could benefit from these linkings, professionally and personally. 

 
The global experience and exchange with Peru was amazing!  I learned a 
great deal about their culture, interests, and lifestyles through our 
connections.  I also learned a great deal about my own culture and 
country through the connections I had to actually think about the history of 
our stories and tall tales.  That is something I've not done since I first 
learned the tales in grade school!  It ironically made me more patriotic and 
understanding of our differences in cultures. 

 
I feel that I was able to give an actual personality and face to Peru by 
interacting with the students there.  It is so important for us to be able to 
connect visually and to interact with other students to really make an 
impact and to make it real.  The experience humbled me to an extant 
because it allowed me to physically see that there are other students in 
other countries furthering their education as well.  Our country is not the 
center of the world.  We are all in it together.  It was amazing!  I can't wait 
to link again this semester.  With more time and connections, I think we'll 
be able to form more meaningful relationships and conversations to further 
the education of everyone involved. 

 
 
 



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The Impact of This New Methodology on the Teacher and Students 
 
The importance of this collaborative model reaches beyond the walls of the classroom 
at the university level as young students in the elementary and middle schools are 
involved in the process of learning about another country either through researching, 
writing, or as an audience member viewing tales from around the world.  University 
students gain a broader appreciation for cultures other than their own through the 
shared appreciation of stories and cultures. They also learn new vocabulary associated 
with the stories.  This kind of expression may help in the area of cultural understanding 
as the stories which are indigenous to each country are passed down either orally or in 
written form via e-mail and shared with classes at other universities, thus preserving 
cultural tales and the tradition of the storyteller as the author. 

The advantages of this model include the addition of the Global Classroom experience 
which enhances the curriculum beyond gathering tales from books.  Students learn 
about the country and culture from where the story originated by extending their 
learning to not only hearing the stories told by those in the original country, but also by 
discussing other related topics. The results of the course reach beyond the campus and 
classroom as the stories are carried out into the schools and performed for children, 
teachers, and the community at large.  And the effects are ongoing. ECU Students 
paired with USIL students continue their interaction beyond the class via e-mail sharing 
stories and exchanging information about their respective countries, thus continuing 
their building of understanding and sense of community. 

There are challenges to this type of collaboration. However, through cooperative 
planning and e-mail exchanges between faculty and students, many of those challenges 
can be overcome. For example, the  change in the United States to Daylight Savings 
time, required schedule changes in order  to accommodate the change in time and 
linking sessions with Peru. Efforts to coordinate linking sessions were also sometimes a 
challenge due to holidays, school closings, and unscheduled interruptions.  Providing 
each other with school calendars is a tremendous help which aids in the overall 
planning of linking sessions and helps to avoid missed sessions due to conflicting 
schedules. 
 
The impact of this new methodology on teacher’s work includes a renewed vision of 
learning and discovery as the shift transforms from that of teacher directed to teacher 
and student shared learning and discovery.  The teacher becomes the moderator and 
rather than presenting an expert model, instead leads through the modeling of discovery 
and inquiry while involved in the linking process.  Thus, the teacher models learning 
through interaction with the partner country and subsequent culture. The impact of the 
global classroom on the development of theatre arts performances has been far-
reaching in its capacity to transform stories to the stage, engage children and audiences 
in cultural heritages other than their own and bring about an understanding of another 
country through rich and entertaining tales of wonder.  Sharing global stories with 
children shapes the understanding of future juveniles and adults and brings about a 
whole new culture of world view.  Impact upon teacher training includes the study 
guides prepared by students and the research and writing conducted by elementary and 



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middle school students as they to contribute to an original script.  And finally, it gives a 
sense of pride as the stories are passed down for generations and reaffirms a cultural 
heritage to be shared by all through theatre arts performances of folktales, fables and 
myths.  Future best practices for theatres arts includes working towards a collection of 
stories from around the world to be shared by all for further understanding and 
appreciation for a global culture rich in heritage, tradition and stories. 
 
 

References 
 

Chia, R., Poe, E., & Yang, B. (2011). History of Global Partners in Education. Global 
Partners in Education Journal, 1, 3-7. 

Clark, P., & High, L. (2009).  All aboard South America!. Produced at Wright Auditorium, 
ECU and the Turnage Theater, Washington, N.C. for ArtsSmart and Family Fare 
Series, Rudolph Alexander Performing Arts Series, College of Fine Arts and 
Communication, School of Theatre and Dance. 

Edgecomb, D. (2008). A fire in my heart: Kurdish tales.  Westport: Libraries Unlimited. 
Jennings, C. (2005). Theatre for children.  New York:  St. Martin’s Press. 
Jennings, C., & Harris, A. (1988). Plays children love (Vol. II).  New York: St. Martin’s 

Press. 
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI). (n.d.). North Carolina 

standard course of study: Theatre arts curriculum. Retrieved from 
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/artsed/scos/theatrearts/index  

Sierra, J. (1992). The oryx multicultural folktale series: Cinderella.  Westport:  Oryx 
Press. 

 
Appendix A 

 
Scenes from All Aboard South America! including Libelula as a major character 

and The Three Shovels 
 

Mark 
Oh, yes.  We’d all like to know your name. 
 

Libelula 
My name is Libelula which means… 
 

Mark 
Dragonfly in Spanish! 
 

Libelula 
Yes!  Yes! That is correct! And I have come with a message – You must go to the ruins 
of Chichen Itza in Mexico to receive the next clue to help you find the lost journal of 
Violet Cressy-Marcks.  From there we will travel into South America into Brazil and from 
Brazil into Bolivia and then on to Chile and you must look for the penguins!  

 

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/artsed/scos/theatrearts/index


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Chris  
You mean they have penguins in South America? 
 

Libelula 
Oh, yes!  They live along the coast of Peru and Chile and they will have a clue for you!  
And you must go to Brazil in time for Carnival! 
 

Jamie 
What’s Carnival? 
 

Chris 
I remember reading about Carnival.  It’s a great celebration that’s held once a year.  
With lots of singing and dancing. 
 

Libelula 
That is correct!  And from there we will finally go to Peru to the lost city of Machu 
Picchu. 
 

Jamie 
The lost city!  Just like El Dorado? 
 

Libelula 
Yes, but you must be very careful and never go to the next point before you get a 
message from me.  I will always be the one to guide you on your journey.  So, for right 
now are you ready to go on an adventure? 
 

Everyone 
Yes! 
 

Libelula 
(gesturing out to the audience ) 
 
Is everyone ready to join us on our excellent adventure? 
 
 

All 
YES!!! 
 
(MUSIC “All Aboard for South America”) 

 
All Aboard for South America, we’re going to have some fun. 
All aboard for South America, our journey’s just begun 
Mysteries and wonder and mayhem is going to be our quest. 
We don’t know if we’ll find them, but we’re going to do our best. 
We’ll take a train 
We’ll take a boat 



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We’ll take a plane 
We’ll go by goat 
We don’t know how we’re going to go (and we’re gonna’ make a showing,) 
So come on now let’s all go.  All Aboard! 
 

Libelula 
Excellent!  Now – I must be on my way to find our next instructions.  So, I will 
meet you at Chichen Itza!  Come quickly and, oh, there’s one last thing I forgot to 
tell you.  Be very careful not to talk to any banditos! 
 

Jamie 
Banditos? 
 

Libelula 
Yes, Banditos!  They are also in search of the lost journals and if they find them, they 
will sell them for gold and they will be lost to the world forever! 
 

Mark 
We’ll be careful, Libelula! 
 

Libelula 
Adios!  And be careful!  I will see you in Mexico! 
 

The Dragonfly Song 
 
The dragonfly is calling, calling, calling, calling, 
Calling, calling, calling, us to come. 
And we must follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, on. 
The dragon fly, the dragon fly must hurry, hurry on its way. 
The dragon fly, the dragon fly, we must follow it today. 
 

 
Appendix B 

 
The Three Shovels 

A Peruvian Folktale collected during the Fall 2008 Semester of Youth Theatre I in the 
School of Theatre and Dance at ECU by Patch Clark, and link with Liliana Cheneder 

Rueda, Director, Language Department at USIL 
 

Characters: 
Narrator 
Farmer 
Farmer’s Friend 
God or Goddess of the Lake 
The Water (two people to hold the fabric to represent water) 

 



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Narrator 
Once upon a time there was a young man with an old rusted shovel that was very dear 
to him.  One day while walking by the magical lake in Peru, he dropped his shovel into 
the water and it sank. 
 

Everyone 
Kerplunk! 
 

Young Man 
Oh, no!  I can’t swim.  How can I get my shovel? 
 

Narrator 
Then suddenly, the goddess of the lake rose up out of the water. 
 

Goddess of the Lake 
Young man, why are you so upset? 
 

Young Man 
I have lost my shovel in the lake and I shall never see it again! 
 

Goddess of the Lake 
Why is your shovel so important to you? 
 

Young Man 
I am very poor and without my shovel, I will not be able to feed my children. 
 

Goddess of the Lake 
I will dive down into the water and look for it! 
 

Narrator 
The Goddess of the Lake disappeared into the murky waters of the magical lake.  When 
the goddess reappeared, she presented a shiny silver shovel to the young man. 

 
Goddess of the Lake 

Here you are my child.  Here is the shovel you lost. 
 

Narrator 
The young man’s eyes widened as he admired the shimmering silver shovel. 
 

Young Man 
Goddess of the magical lake.  I am pleased that you have found such a wonderful 
shovel.  But I am afraid to say that this shovel is not the shovel I lost.  My shovel was 
rusted and full of holes.  This shovel is made of pure silver and while it is worth much, it 
is not my own. 
 
 



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Narrator 
The goddess of the lake smiled at the young man’s honesty. 
 

Goddess of the Lake 
Forgive me, my child.  I will search some more. 
 

Narrator 
The Goddess of the Lake went into the depths of the lake once more but this time she 
returned with a shovel more splendid than the one before.  The Goddess presented a 
shovel made of pure gold, encrusted with the finest diamonds and rubies. 
 

Goddess of the Lake 
Here you are my child.  This must be the shovel you lost! 
 

Narrator 
The young man could hardly speak.  He had never seen such riches. 
 

Young Man 
I regret to say that this is not my shovel.  It is very beautiful, but my shovel is rusted 
aluminum and its handle is made of wood.  I am sorry to have troubled you. 
 

Narrator 
The young man began to weep and turned to walk home.  He wondered how he would 
be able o provide for his family.  The Goddess of the Lake called to him. 
 

Goddess of the Lake 
Young man, stop your crying.  You have shown that you are honest and true of spirit.  
For that, you shall be rewarded.  Here my child, I give you all the shovels, including the 
one you lost. 
 

Narrator 
The young man was so overjoyed that he went to tell his friend.  (Young man adlib 
telling friend about his experience.)  His fried wanted to have the same riches so he 
took his old shovel and purposely threw it into the lake! 
 

Everyone 
Kerplunk! 
 

Friend 
Oh no!  My shovel is lost in the lake!  How will I ever provide for my family? 
 

Narrator 
Once again the Goddess of the Lake appeared from out of the water. 
 

Goddess of the Lake 
Dear friend, what is troubling you? 



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Friend 

I have lost my shovel in the lake. 
 

Goddess of the Lake 
The goddess of the lake reached into the depths of the lake and brought up a shovel 
make of pure gold and silver. 
 

Friend 
Yes, yes!  This is mine!  Thank you for finding it for me! 
 

Narrator 
The Goddess of the Lake knew that the man was not telling the truth and was furious! 
 

Goddess of the Lake 
For your dishonesty, you will receive nothing…not even your own shovel! 
 

Narrator 
So the young man learned his lesson the greed does not pay! 

 
 

Song 
THREE SHOVELS 

 
I've got three shovels 

And I've got none. 
I've got three shovels. 

Not even one. 
To have three shovels, as you can see, 
You must be as honest as you can be. 

 
I've got three shovels 
One's made of gold 

I've got three shovels 
Not even mold 

To have three shovels, as you can see, 
You must not lie, but tell the truth, and be as honest as you can be. 

 
Song 

GOODBYE MY FRIEND 
 

Goodbye my friend, it’s time to go. 
The dragonfly has lead us on our way. 

Adios my friend, now we must part 
We hope to come another day. 

 



Global Partners in Education Journal                                                                                                  April 2012, Vol.2 No.1, pp. 68-81 

www.gpejournal.org                      ISSN 2163-758X 
 
 

81 

 

Goodbye my friend, it’s time to go. 
The dragonfly has led us on our way. 

Adios my friend now we must part 
We hope to come another day. 

  
 
 
 
 
 

About the Author 

 
Patricia “Patch” Clark, is an Associate Professor and coordinator for the Theatre for 
Youth and Theatre Education Programs at ECU.  She is the founder and Director of the 
ECU Storybook Theatre which tours to schools, libraries and festivals and appears as 
part of ECU’s ArtsSmart and Family Fare Series.  She has directed The Lion, the Witch, 
and the Wardrobe; James and the Giant Peach; Seussical the Musical; The Stinky 
Cheese Man; Charlotte’s Web; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; The Jungle Book; and 
The Secret Garden and written  and directed Tales From Around the World; My Hero 
Reaching for the Stars;  The Runaway Bear; All Aboard America!; and All Aboard South 
America!. 


