Every year when I start the Fairy Tale Opera project in Kindergarten (at the Brooklyn Children’s School), I ask the class to make a long list of characters that appear in fairy tales.  Then the kindergartners choose three characters around which to build their original fairy tale (They also choose two places and one type of magic).  Two out of three classes will invariably choose Dragon as one of their three characters (the second most popular character is Princess).  This year is no different.  Two of this year’s three Fairy Tale Operas feature dragons.  As well as wizards.  But where one class chose a mermaid as their third main character, the other chose a knight.  And the stories as well as the characterizations of both wizard and dragon could not have been more different between the two classes.  I already shared the first class’ mermaid’s tale of woe, bothered and besieged by a covetous wizard and hungry dragon.   Let’s now tell the Tale of the Dragon and the Wizard Who Save the Village:

THE WIZARD AND THE DRAGON

THE WIZARD AND THE DRAGON (4 tongue clicks)

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD (4 tongue clicks…)

——

THE DRAGON DRAGON IS HELPING THE WIZARD

THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME

THE WIZARD WIZARD IS FEEDING THE DRAGON

THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR FEEDING ME

——

THE WIZARD AND THE DRAGON

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

 ——

THE DRAGON HELPS THE WIZARD MAKE POTIONS

THE WIZARD HELPS THE PEOPLE WITH POTIONS

THE POTIONS HELP THE PEOPLE WITH PROBLEMS

THE WIZARD HELPS THE PEOPLE WITH MAGIC

 ——

THE WIZARD AND THE DRAGON

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

 ——

THE DRAGON DRAGON IS HELPING THE WIZARD

THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME

THE WIZARD WIZARD IS FEEDING THE DRAGON

THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR FEEDING ME

 ——

THE WIZARD AND THE DRAGON

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

The wizard lives in a cave with his friend the dragon.  The dragon’s fire helps the wizard make potions which help the villagers get better when they are sick.

The nearby knights of the castle however are scared of dragons and when they realize there is one living in the cave they want to get rid of it.

The knights attempt to force the wizard to give up the dragon.  The wizard tries to convince the knights that this is a good dragon, but they don’t believe it.

Then suddenly there is a cry: the bad knights are coming!

BAD KNIGHTS

BAD KNIGHTS, BAD KNIGHTS

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING

BAD KNIGHTS, BAD KNIGHTS

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING

 ——

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING TO STAB THE GOOD KNIGHTS

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING TO DESTROY THE CASTLE

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING TO BURN THE VILLAGE

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING TO FINISH THEM OFF

 ——

BAD KNIGHTS, BAD KNIGHTS

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING

BAD KNIGHTS, BAD KNIGHTS

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING

 ——

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING TO BATTLE THE GOOD KNIGHTS

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING TO BUST THE CASTLE

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING TO SMASH THE VILLAGE

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING TO FINISH THEM OFF

——

BAD KNIGHTS, BAD KNIGHTS

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING

BAD KNIGHTS, BAD KNIGHTS

BAD KNIGHTS ARE COMING

The wizard proposes to make a potion with help of the dragon that will make the bad knights disappear.  But he will need time.

The bad knights lay siege to the castle.

BAD KNIGHTS: Give up coins!   Give up your food! Give up your weapons and armor!   Give up everything!

KNIGHTS: No!  Never!  No!

BAD KNIGHTS: Then we will destroy you to get all of it!

The wizard arrives with the potion just in time.  It is sprinkled over the bad knights and they all disappear.

The knights of the castle like the dragon now and all can live peacefully and happily together.  (Endings of mutual harmony and friendship are really important to this age group.)

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD AND THE KNIGHTS SAVE THE DAY

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

AND THE KNIGHTS SAVE THE DAY

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

AND THE KNIGHTS SAVE THE VILLAGE

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

AND THE KNIGHTS SAVE THE CASTLE

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

AND THE KNIGHTS SAVE THE KINGDOM

 ——

THE KNIGHTS LIKE THE DRAGON NOW

THE DRAGON HELPED THE KNIGHTS

THEY ARE ALL GOOD FRIENDS

THE DRAGON HELPED TO MAKE THE POTION

THE WIZARD SAID THE MAGIC WORDS

THE BAD KNIGHTS DISAPPEARED

 ——

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

AND THE KNIGHTS SAVE THE DAY

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

AND THE KNIGHTS SAVE THE VILLAGE

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

AND THE KNIGHTS SAVE THE CASTLE

THE DRAGON AND THE WIZARD

AND THE KNIGHTS SAVE THE KINGDOM