Readers' Theatre Script: Rumble in the Jungle

Reader One: Rumble in the Jungle
Reader Two: By Giles Andreae
Reader Three: There’s a rumble in the jungle,
Reader Four: There’s a whisper in the trees,
All Readers: The animals are waking up/And rustling the leaves.
Reader One: The hippo’s at the water hole,
Reader Two: The leopard’s in his lair,
Reader Three: The chimpanzees are chattering/And swinging
All Readers: everywhere.
Reader Two: Some animals are frightening,
Reader Three: And some are sweet and kind,
Reader Four: So let’s go to the jungle now
Reader One: And see who we can find . . .
Reader Three: It’s great to be a chimpanzee/Swinging through the trees,/And if we can’t find nuts to eat/We munch each other’s flea!
Reader Four: The boa constrictor’s a slippery snake/Who squashes then swallows his prey./He knows that it’s not very friendly or kind,/But they do taste much nicer that way.
Reader One: Hello, I’m a big happy hippo,/I sleep in the sun till I’m hot,/And when I’m not sleeping/I mooch in the mud,/Which hippos like doing a lot.
Reader Two: If you meet a hungry leopard/Prowling through the night,/Make sure you call him
Readers One, Three & Four: sir/And be incredibly polite.
Reader One: The night has started falling
Reader Three: But the jungle never sleeps,
Reader Four: The vultures circle slowly
Reader Two: While the leopard softly creeps.
Reader One: And if you listen quietly/You might just hear the growl/Of a hungry pair of panthers/Who are still out on the prowl.
Readers One & Two: The lions
Readers Three & Four: and their little cubs
All Readers: Are sleeping in the den,
Reader Three: So let’s leave them till tomorrow
All Readers: When we’ll visit them again.

Adapted from Andreae, Giles. Rumble in the Jungle. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1996.