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We need suggestions for what can be cut out. It's wayyy to long. Does the story make sense?


The Tale Of Despereaux

This story begins within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse. The only one of his litter to be born alive.
Mother: “Just the one. It is such the disappointment. I will name this mouse Despereaux, for all the sadness, for the many despairs in this place. Now, where is my mirror?”
Narrator: “The other, older mice children gathered around to stare at Despereaux.”
Brother: “Look, his eyes are open. They shouldn’t be open.”
Narrator: “It is true. Despereaux’s eyes should not have been open. But they were. He was smiling up at the light.
Father: “He’ll be dead soon. He can’t live with his eyes open like that.”
Narrator: “But he did live. This is his story.”


Narrator: “Despereaux Tilling lived, but his existence was cause for much speculation in the mouse community.”
Aunt: “He’s the smallest mouse I’ve ever seen. No mouse has ever been this small.”
Uncle: “Those are some big ears he’s got.”
Aunt: “They are obscenely large.”
Narrator: Despereaux said nothing in defense of himself. Everything his aunt and uncle said was true.

And he was sickly. He coughed and sneezed so often that he carried a handkerchief in one paw at all times. Most alarming of all, he showed no interest in the things a mouse should show interest in. Despereaux’s siblings tried to educate him in the ways of being a mouse. His brother Furlough took him to demonstrate the art of scurrying.”
Brother: “Look over your shoulder all the time. Don’t stop for anything.”
Narrator: ”But Despereaux wasn’t listening to Furlough. He was staring at the light pouring in through the stained-glass windows of the castle. Despereaux: “Furlough, what is this thing? What are all these colors? Are we in heaven?”
Narrator: “Despereaux’s sister Merlot took him into the castle library.”
Merlot: “Here, follow me, small brother, and I will instruct you on the fine points of how to nibble paper. Now then, this glue, here, is tasty, and the paper edges are crunchy and yummy. You try.”
Narrator: Despereaux looked down at the book, and the words spelled out a delicious and wonderful phrase.”
Despereaux: (whispering) “Once upon a time.”
Despereaux: “I couldn’t possibly eat.”
Merlot: “Why?”
Despereaux: “Um, it would ruin the story.”
Merlot: “What story? Something is not right with you.”
Narrator: “Tracing each word with his paw, he read the story of a beautiful princess and the brave knight who serves and honors her.”


Despereaux’s brothers and sisters soon abandoned the thankless task of trying to educate him in the ways of being a mouse. He discovered a honey-sweet sound. The sound was music. King Phillip playing his guitar and singing to his daughter, the Princess Pea. Hidden in a hole in the wall of the princess’s bedroom the mouse listened..
Despereaux: “Oh, it sounds like heaven. It smells like honey.”
Narrator: “Now, while Despereaux did not indulge in many of the normal behaviors of mice, he did adhere to one of the most basic of all mice rules: Do not ever reveal yourself to humans. But…The music made him lose his head and act against the few mouse instincts he was in possession of, and he was spied by the Princess Pea.
Pea: “Oh, look, a mouse.”
King: “That my dear Pea, is a bug, not a mouse. “
Pea: “No, no, it’s a mouse.”
King: “A bug.”
Pea: “A mouse.”
Pea: “I think he was listening to the music. Play something Papa.”
King: “A king play music for a bug?”
Pea: “I told you, he’s a mouse.”
King: “Oh, well, if it will make you happy, I will play music for a bug.”
Pea: “Mouse.”
Narrator: “Despereaux forgot all his fear. He only wanted to hear the music. The Pea, he decided, looked just like the picture of the fair maiden in the book in the library. The princess smiled at Despereaux, and Despereaux smiled back. The mouse fell in love.
You may ask this question: Is it ridiculous for a very sickly mouse to fall in live with a princess? Yes. Love is ridiculous.
Furlough happened to scurry past the princess’s room. Furlough saw Despereaux sitting at the foot of the king. Furlough saw the princess touching the top of his brother’s head.
Furlough: “He’s nuts! He’s a goner!”
Narrator: “Furlough went off to tell his father the terrible news of what he had just seen.”


Lester: “He simply cannot be my son.”
Antoinette: “What do you mean he is not your son? That is a ridiculous statement. Why must you always make the ridiculous statements?”
Lester: “Sitting at the foot of a human king. Unthinkable!”
Antoinette: “oh, so dramatic.”
Lester: “I will call a special meeting of the Mouse Council. Together, we will decide what must be done.”
Antoinette: “Oh, you and this council of the mouse. It is a waste of the time in my opinion.”


Narrator: “And what was our own favorite member of the mouse community doing? I must report that Furlough had not seen the worst of it.”
Pea: “Papa, I am going to keep this mouse. We are going to be friends.”
King: “A mouse? Mice are rodents. They are related to…rats. You know how we feel about rats. You know of our own dark history with rats.”
Pea: “But, he is not a rat. He’s a mouse.”
King: “Royalty has many responsibilities. And one of them is not becoming involved with even the distant relatives of one’s enemies. Put him down. Scat!”
Pea: “Papa, please, don’t be mean to him.”
Narrator: “Despereaux ran toward the hole in the wall.”
Despereaux: “My name is Despereaux! I honor you!”
Narrator: I honor you was what the knight said to the fair maiden In the story the Despereaux read every day in the book in the library.
King: “Get out! Rodents know nothing of honor.”


The mouse council, honored mice, gathered in a secret hole off King Phillip’s throne room. The mice listened in horror while Despereaux’s father related the story of what Furlough had seen.”
HM: “We have no choice.”
Narrator: “said the head mouse.”
HM: “He must go to the dungeon. He must go to the rats. Immediately. Despereaux Tilling is hereby called to sit with the Mouse Council.”


HM: “Despereaux Tilling.”
Despereaux: “Yes, sir.”
HM: “We, the members of the Mouse Council have discussed you behavior. First, we will give you a chance to defend yourself against these rumors of your egregious acts. Did you or did you not sit at the foot of the human king?”
Despereaux: “I did. I was listening to the music, sir.”
HM: “Whatever you are talking about is beside the point. Did you allow the girl human to touch you?”
Despereaux: “I did, sir. Her name is Pea. But..I broke the rules for a good reason. Because of love.”
HM: Love! Very well. You will die.”
Narrator: “Despereaux marveled at his own bravery. He admired his own defiance. And then, he fainted.


Two mice came forward.
Botticelli: “We will escort you to the dungeon.”
Antoinette: “What will happen to him? What will happen to my baby?”
Botticelli: “The rats will eat him.”
Narrator: “She executed a beautiful, flawless swoon.”

Together the three mice traveled down. Despereaux was suddenly pushed from behind. It sent Despereaux flying down the stairs into the dungeon.


Narrator: “As our story continues, we must go backward in time to the birth of a rat, a rat named Chiaroscuro and called Roscuro, a rat born in the darkness of the dungeon. Roscuro showed an abnormal interest in illumination. He was always on the lookout for light. His rat soul longed for it.”
“The door to the dungeon was flung open and a brilliant shaft of light cut into the dark of the dungeon.”
Botticelli: “Ugh.” (covers his eyes with a paw, Roscuro stares into light)
Roscuro: “Did you see that?”
Botticelli: “Hideously ugly. What can they possibly mean by letting all that light in at once?”
Roscuro: “It was beautiful.”
Botticelli: “No, No. Not beautiful. No.”
Roscuro: “I must see more light. I must go upstairs.”
Botti: “Who cares about light? Listen. We are rats. We do not like light. We are about darkness, suffering.”
Roscuro: “But,…”
Botti: “No buts. Rats do not go upstairs. Upstairs is the domain of mice. Mice are afraid of everything we strive to be. Listen. You do not belong in that world. You are a rat. A rat. Say it with me.”
Roscuro: “A rat.”
Botti: “You are cheating. You must say, ‘I am a rat‘”
Roscuro: “I am a rat.”
Botti: “exactly. A rat is a rat is a rat. End of story.
Roscuro: “Yes,… I am a rat.”


Imagine having spent your life in a dungeon. One day, you step out of the dark and into a world of bright windows and polished floors.
Roscuro: (spinning dizzily from one bright thing to the next)“I will never leave. No, It is here that I belong.”
Narrator: “The rat waltzed from room to room until he found himself at the banquet hall. He looked and saw King Phillip, Queen Rosemary, the Princess Pea, and all the king’s men.”
Roscuro: “Oh. I must tell Botticelli that he was wrong. Suffering is not the answer. Light is the answer.”
“No one noticed as Roscuro flung himself onto the lowest branch of the chandelier. Unfortunately, a rat can hang from a chandelier for only so long before he is discovered. The Princess Pea spotted him.
Pea: “A rat is hanging from the chandelier!”
“It became clear that it was an extremely distasteful syllable. This revelation hit Roscuro with such a force, that it made him lose his grip on the chandelier. The rat fell. And, alas, he fell right into the queen’s bowl of soup.”
Pea: “See? It is a rat. He was hanging from the chandelier, and now he is in Mama’s soup!”
Narrator: “In the spirit of honesty, I must utter a difficult and unsavory truth: Rats are not beautiful creatures.
Roscuro: “…………..I beg your pardon.”
Queen: “neiggghhhiiinnnnkkkkk! There is a rat in my soup!
Narrator: “The queen was a simple soul and always had done nothing but state the overly obvious. She died as she lived.
Soup has been outlawed in the Kingdom of Dor.



Botticelli: “A rat going upstairs? I hope that you have learned your lesson. Your job in this world is to make others suffer.”
Roscuro: “Yes. Exactly. I will make the princess suffer for how she looked at me.”


Cook: “This is what you do. You take the tray of food down to the dungeon, wait for the man to eat the food, and then you bring the tray back up. Do you think you can manage that?”
Mig: “Aye, I reckon so.”
Narrator: “Said Mig.”
Cook: “I’m sure you’ll find a way to bungle it.”

Narrator: “Mig went happily down the twisting stairs.”
Mig:
I ain’t the Princess Pea
But someday I will be,
The Pea, ha-hee
Someday, I will be.

Roscuro: “May I detain you for a moment? (Mig looks around) Down here.”
Mig: “You’re a rat ain’t you?”
Roscuro: “There is no need to panic. How do you do.”
Mig: “A rat with manners.”
Roscuro: “Allow me to introduce myself I am chiaroscuro. Am I right in ascertaining that you have aspirations?”
Mig: “What?”
Roscuro: “Aspirations, my dear, are those things that would make a serving girl wish to be a princess.”
Mig: “A princess is exactly what I want to be.”
Roscuro: “There is, my dear, a way to make that happen. May I illustrate for you how we can make your dream of becoming a princess a reality?”
Narrator: So passionately did Roscuro speak and so intently did the serving girl listen that neither noticed as a napkin on the tray moved, nor did they hear the small mouse like noises of outrage that issued from that napkin as Roscuro went on unfolding his diabolical plan.”

Narrator: “Mig, after her conversation with Roscuro, carried the tray into the kitchen, and when she saw Cook, she shouted.”
Mig: It’s Me, Miggery Sow, back from the deep downs.”
Narrator: “Despereaux tumbled out of the napkin and landed right, plop, in a cup full of oil.
Cook: “Kill him!”
Narrator: “shouted Cook.”
Mig: (swings with knife)“That killed him for sure.”
Cook: “Kill him even if he’s already dead!”
Narrator: “Despereaux scurried like a professional mouse.”
Mig: “I missed him. I got the little mercy’s tail, though.

Narrator: “Despereaux slept on a bag of flour atop a shelf in the pantry, crying for what he had lost. But he also cried because he was happy. He was out of the dungeon just in time to save the Princess Pea from the terrible fate that the rat had planned for her.

Roscuro put his terrible plan into effect. First, the serving girl Miggery Sow climbed the stairs to the princess‘s room. In her pockets were the rat and a knife.”
Roscuro: Do I need to review with you again our plan?”
Mig: “I got it straight right here in my head.”
Roscuro: “How comforting.”
Mig: “we go into the princess’s room and I will wake her up and show her the knife and say “you must come with me.” We take her to the deep downs and we gives me some lessons in how to be a princess and when we is all done studding up, I gets to be princess!”


Narrator: “The sun rose and Despereaux awoke. But, alas, he awoke too late. The princess was gone. Having heard Roscuro’s plan, Despereaux knew that the princess was hidden in the dungeon. So the small mouse who had been dipped in oil and relieved of his tail slipped out of the pantry.
Desperaux: “I’ll have to do it myself. I will be the knight in shining armor. It has to be me.”

Cook: “A mouse in my kitchen. Ho-hee. For the first time, I am glad to see a mouse. A mouse is not a king’s man here to punish me for making soup. A mouse. And not just any mouse. A mouse with a needle tied around his waist. Ho-hee. (Despereaux sniffs)
Cook: “Yes, that is soup you are smelling. Times are terrible. And when times are terrible, soup is the answer.
Narrator: She took a saucer and spooned some soup into it and set it on the floor. Oh, it was lovely. He drank the soup in big gulps and when he stepped out of the saucer, his paws were damp and his whiskers were dripping.
Cook: “Not done already are you? You must want more.”
Despereaux: “I don’t have time. I’m on my way to the dungeon to save the princess.”
Cook: “Ho Hee. Well don’t let me stand in your way.”
Narrator: “Cook held open the door to the dungeon.”

Despereaux stood at the top of the dungeon.
Despereaux: “Oh my.”
Narrator: “But his heart was full of love for the princess and his stomach full of cook’s soup and Despereaux felt brave and strong.
Botticelli: “Welcome, welcome. You are armed. How charming. I surrender!”
Despereaux: “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m… I am on a quest to save the princess.”
Botticelli: “How inspiring.” What if I told you that I that I could take you directly to her?”
Despereaux: “But why? You are a..”
Botticelli: “A rat, yes. Come, come. I will lead you to your princess. I promise.”
Narrator: The rat led him deeper and deeper into the dungeon. A hungry parade of rats followed behind him.
Rat: “Mouse! Soup! Here mousie, mousie!
Bottocelli: “Mine! This little treasure is all mine, gentlemen.”
Despereaux: “Please, the princess.”
Rat: “Tears! We smell mousie tears!”
Despereaux: “Please!”
Bottocelli: “I promised you. And I will keep that promise.”


Despereaux: Princess! Princess, I have come to save you!”
Pea: “Despereaux.”
Narrator: But Roscuro, baring his teeth, blocked the mouse’s way.”
Mig: “Don’t worry, princess, I will save the meecy.”
Narrator: “She took the knife. She aimed to cut off the rat’s head, but missed her mark.
Mig: “Whoopsie”
Narrator: Roscuro turned to look at where his tail had been and Despereaux drew his needle and placed the sharp tip right where the rat’s heart should be.”
Despereaux: “Don’t move.”
Roscuro: “Ha-ha-h …what is that smell?
Rats: Mouse blood and tears!
Roscuro: “There’s something else. Soup. (and the he began to cry) All I wanted was some light.
Pea: “Roscuro, …would you like some soup.”
Roscuro: “don’t torment me.”
Pea: “I promise you that if you lead us out of here, I will get Cook to make you some soup.”
Rats: “Speaking of eating, give us the mousie!”
Botticelli: Who would want him now? All that forgiveness and goodness. Blech.”
Roscuro: “Soup?”
Pea: “Yes. Truly I promise.”
Mig: Soup is illegal!”
Despereaux: “But soup is good.”
Pea: “Let’s go upstairs. Let’s eat some soup.”


Narrator: Imagine a king and princess, serving girl and a rat, all gathered around a table in a banquet hall. Sitting in the place of honor, is a very small mouse with big ears. Peeking out from behind a dusty velvet curtain, are four mice.
Antoinette: “He lives, he lives!
Father: “Forgiven.”
Furlough: “Unbelievable.”

Next time just hit the edit button and replace the missing section

I've finally got it down to a good length:
The Tale Of Despereaux

This story begins within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse. The only one of his litter to be born alive.
Mother: “Just the one. It is such the disappointment. I will name this mouse Despereaux, for all the sadness, for the many despairs in this place. Now, where is my mirror?”
Narrator: “The other, older mice children gathered around to stare.”
Brother: “Look, his eyes are open. They shouldn’t be open.”
Narrator: “Despereaux’s eyes should not have been open. But they were.
Father: “He’ll be dead soon. He can’t live with his eyes open like that.”
Narrator: “But he did live. This is his story.”


Narrator: “Despereaux Tilling lived, but his existence was cause for much speculation in the mouse community.”
Aunt: “He’s the smallest mouse I’ve ever seen. No mouse has ever been this small.”
Uncle: “Those are some big ears he’s got.”
Aunt: “They are obscenely large.”
Narrator: Despereaux said nothing in defense of himself. Everything they said was true. And he was sickly. He coughed and sneezed so often that he carried a handkerchief in one paw at all times.

Despereaux discovered a sound. The sound was music. King Phillip playing his guitar to his daughter, the Princess Pea. Hidden in a hole in the wall the mouse listened.
Despereaux: “Oh, it sounds like heaven. It smells like honey.”
Narrator: “Now, Despereaux did adhere to one of the most basic of all mice rules: Do not ever reveal yourself to humans. But…The music made him lose his head, and he was spied by the Princess Pea.
Pea: “Oh, look, a mouse.”
King: “That my dear Pea, is a bug, not a mouse. “
Pea: “No, no, it’s a mouse.”
King: “A bug.”
Pea: “I think he was listening to the music. Play something Papa.”
King: “A king play music for a bug?”
Pea: “I told you, he’s a mouse.”
King: “Oh, well, if it will make you happy, I will play music for a bug.”
Pea: “Mouse.”
Narrator: “Despereaux forgot all his fear. He only wanted to hear the music. The princess smiled at Despereaux, and Despereaux smiled back. The mouse fell in love.
Despereaux’s brother happened to scurry past the princess’s room. He saw the princess touching the top of his brother’s head.
Brother Mouse: “He’s nuts! He’s a goner!”
Pea: “Papa, I am going to keep this mouse.”
King: “A mouse? Mice are rodents. They are related to rats. You know of our own dark history with rats.”
Pea: “But, he is not a rat. He’s a mouse.”
King: “Put him down. Scat!”
Pea: “Please, don’t be mean to him.”
Despereaux: “My name is Despereaux! I honor you!”
King: “Get out! Rodents know nothing of honor.”
Narrator: “Despereaux’s brother went off to tell his father the terrible news of what he had just seen.”


Lester: “He simply cannot be my son.”
Antoinette: “What do you mean he is not your son? That is a ridiculous statement. Why must you always make the ridiculous statements?”
Lester: “Sitting at the foot of a human king. Unthinkable!”
Antoinette: “oh, so dramatic.”
Lester: “I will call a special meeting of the Mouse Council. Together, we will decide what must be done.”
Antoinette: “Oh, you and this council of the mouse. It is a waste of the time in my opinion.”


The mouse council gathered in a secret hole. The mice listened in horror while Despereaux’s father related the story of what Furlough had seen.”
HM: “Despereaux Tilling.”
Narrator: “said the head mouse.”
Despereaux: “Yes, sir.”
HM: “We, the members of the Mouse Council have discussed you behavior. We will give you a chance to defend yourself against these rumors of your egregious acts. Did you or did you not sit at the foot of the human king?”
Despereaux: “I did.
HM: “Did you allow the girl human to touch you?”
Despereaux: “I did, sir. Her name is Pea. But..
HM: Very well. We have no choice. You will die.”
Narrator: “Despereaux marveled at his own bravery. He admired his own defiance. And then, he fainted.
Two mice came forward.
Mouse: “We will escort you to the dungeon.”
Antoinette: “What will happen to him? What will happen to my baby?”
Mouse: “The rats will eat him.”
(Antoinette swoons)

Together the three mice traveled down. Despereaux was suddenly pushed from behind. It sent Despereaux flying down the stairs into the dungeon.


Narrator: “As our story continues, we must go backward in time to the birth of a rat, a rat called Roscuro, a rat born in the darkness of the dungeon. Roscuro showed an abnormal interest in illumination. He was always on the lookout for light. His rat soul longed for it.
The door to the dungeon was flung open and a brilliant shaft of light cut into the dark of the dungeon.”
Roscuro: “Beautiful. I must see more light. I must go upstairs.


Imagine having spent your life in a dungeon. One day, you step out of the dark and into a world of bright windows and polished floors.
Roscuro: “I will never leave. No, It is here that I belong.”
Narrator: “The rat waltzed from room to room until he found himself at the banquet hall. He looked and saw King Phillip, Queen Rosemary, the Princess Pea, and all the king’s men.”
Roscuro: “Oh. Suffering is not the answer. Light is the answer.”
“Roscuro flung himself onto the lowest branch of the chandelier. The Princess Pea spotted him.
Pea: “A rat is hanging from the chandelier!”
Roscuro: “Rat….”
“It became clear that it was an extremely distasteful syllable. This revelation hit Roscuro with such a force, that it made him lose his grip on the chandelier. The rat fell. Right into the queen’s bowl of soup.”
Pea: “See? It is a rat. He is in Mama’s soup!”
Narrator: “In the spirit of honesty, I must utter a difficult and unsavory truth: Rats are not beautiful creatures.
Queen: “neiggghhhiiinnnnkkkkk! There is a rat in my soup!
Narrator: “The queen was a simple soul and always had done nothing but state the overly obvious. She died as she lived.
Soup was outlawed in the Kingdom of Dor.



Roscuro: “I will make the princess suffer for how she looked at me.”


Cook: “This is what you do. You take the tray of food down to the dungeon, wait for the man to eat the food, and then you bring the tray back up. Do you think you can manage that?”
Narrator: “Said Cook.”
Mig: “Aye, I reckon so.”
Narrator: “Said the serving girl, Mig.”
Cook: “I’m sure you’ll find a way to bungle it.”

Narrator: “Mig went happily down the twisting stairs.”
Mig:
I ain’t the Princess Pea
But someday I will be,
The Pea, ha-hee
Someday, I will be.

Roscuro: “May I detain you for a moment?
(Mig looks around)
“Down here.”
Mig: “You’re a rat ain’t you?”
Roscuro: “There is no need to panic. How do you do.”
Mig: “A rat with manners.”
Roscuro: “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Roscuro. Am I right in ascertaining that you have aspirations?”
Mig: “What?”
Roscuro: “Aspirations, my dear, are those things that would make a serving girl wish to be a princess.”
Mig: “A princess is exactly what I want to be.”
Roscuro: “May I illustrate for you how we can make your dream a reality?”
Narrator: Neither noticed as a napkin on the tray moved, nor did they hear the small mouse like noises of outrage that issued from that napkin as Roscuro went on unfolding his diabolical plan.”

Narrator: “Mig, after her conversation with Roscuro, carried the tray into the kitchen. Despereaux tumbled out of the napkin.
Cook: “Kill him!”
Narrator: “shouted Cook.”
Mig: (chop)“I missed him. I got the little meecy’s tail, though.
Cook: “So? What good will that do us when the rest of him has disappeared into the pantry?”
Narrator: “Despereaux cried for what he had lost. But he also cried because he was happy. He was out of the dungeon just in time to save the Princess Pea from the terrible fate that the rat had planned for her.

Roscuro put his terrible plan into effect. The serving girl Mig climbed the stairs to the princess‘s room. In her pockets were the rat and a knife.”
Roscuro: Do I need to review with you again our plan?”
Mig: “I got it straight right here in my head.”
Roscuro: “How comforting.”
Mig: “we go into the princess’s room and I will wake her up and say “you must come with me.” We take her to the deep downs and we gives me some lessons in how to be a princess and when we is all done studding up, I gets to be princess!”


Narrator: “The sun rose and Despereaux awoke. But he awoke too late. The princess was gone. Having heard Roscuro’s plan, Despereaux knew that the princess was hidden in the dungeon. So the small mouse slipped out of the pantry.
Desperaux: “I will be the knight in shining armor. It has to be me.”

Cook: “A mouse! For the first time, I am glad to see a mouse. A mouse is not a king’s man here to punish me for making soup. A mouse. A mouse with a needle tied around his waist. Ho-hee. That is soup you are smelling.
Narrator: She took a saucer and spooned some soup into it and set it on the floor. Oh, it was lovely. He drank the soup and when he stepped out of the saucer, his whiskers dripping.
Cook: “You must want more.”
Despereaux: “I don’t have time. I’m on my way to the dungeon to save the princess.”
Cook: “Well don’t let me stand in your way.”


Despereaux stood at the top of the dungeon.
Despereaux: “Oh my.”
Narrator: “But his heart was full of love for the princess and Despereaux felt brave and strong.
Rat: “Welcome, welcome. You are armed. How charming. I surrender!”
Despereaux: “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m… I am on a quest to save the princess.”
Rat: “How inspiring. What if I told you that I that I could take you directly to her?”
Despereaux: “But why? You are a..”
Rat: “A rat, yes. Come, come. I will lead you to your princess. I promise.”

Despereaux: Princess! Princess, I have come to save you!”
Pea: “Despereaux.”
Narrator: But Roscuro, baring his teeth, blocked the mouse’s way.”
Mig: “Don’t worry, princess, I will save the meecy.” (Chop) “Whoopsie”
Narrator: Roscuro turned to look at where his tail had been and Despereaux drew his needle and placed the sharp tip right where the rat’s heart should be.”
Despereaux: “Don’t move.”
Roscuro: “Ha…what is that smell? There’s something…Soup.
Pea: “Roscuro, …would you like some soup.”
Roscuro: “don’t torment me.”
Pea: “I promise you that if you lead us out of here, I will get Cook to make you some soup.”
Roscuro: “Soup?”
Pea: “Yes. Truly I promise. Let’s go upstairs. Let’s eat some soup.”


Narrator: Imagine a king and princess, serving girl and a rat, all gathered in a banquet hall. Sitting in the place of honor, is a very small mouse with big ears. Peeking out from behind a curtain, are mice.
Antoinette: “He lives, he lives!

Marta, I absolutely love how you cut this. I can already see lots of creative ways that you can choreography the interaction for this.
Do me one favor and read this outloud and then Private message me with the time.

I can see several spots where the narrators words could be cut or shortened: (here are a few suggestions) you continue on in this same vein.....

for example:

Quote :

This story begins within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse. The only one of his litter to be born alive.

This story begins with the birth of a mouse in a castle. The only one of his litter to be born alive.

Quote :

Narrator: “Despereaux’s eyes should not have been open. But they were.

I would suggest you allow a mouse sibling to say: They should not be open

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“Despereaux Tilling lived, but his existence was cause for much speculation in the mouse community.”

He lived but his existence was cause for much speculation.

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Despereaux said nothing in defense of himself. Everything they said was true. And he was sickly. He coughed and sneezed so often that he carried a handkerchief in one paw at all times.

Despereaux said nothing in defense. Everything they said was true. He was sickly, He carried a handkerchief at all times. ( no need to say he coughed and sneezed so often because you can simply act this out)

Quote :

Despereaux’s brother happened to scurry past the princess’s room. He saw the princess touching the top of his brother’s head.

Could be cut to:
Desperaux's brother happened to see the princess touching the top of Despereaux's head.

I know these are all very miniscule cuts but if we do this throughout the piece it will matter.
It's hard work but you are doing a GREAT job!

Mrs. Gray,

Anna Miller and I are currently editing a script of two scene from Anne of Green Gables: the scenes when Anne insults Mrs. Lynde, and when she apologizes to her.

Thanks,
Ali Nailor

Hi guys, this is Breanna Flecha. Currently I am using my mom's login while my login is being activated. I am doing the duo interp with Marta Michelson with the Tale of D espereaux. I just wanted to help cut the script. The only thing I am worried about is that in our script there is a LOT of changing scenes. I'm am not sure that is a problem that is just one thing I relised.

Breanna

Is there anything you think we should add or change?

The Tale Of Despereaux.


This story begins within the walls of a castle with the birth of a mouse. The only one of his litter to be born alive.

Mother: Where are my babies?
Father: (hold mouse) There is only this one. The others are dead. Will you name him?
Mother: Just the one mouse baby? It is so sad. It is such the disappointment. I will name this mouse Despereaux, but he will only die like the others. Oh, such the tragedy.
Father: His ears are too big.
Mother: Now, where is my mirror? (grab mirror, gasp) get for me my makeup bag!
Father: His eyes are open! He’ll be dead soon. He can’t live.
Narrator: But he did live.
He was ridiculously small. His ears were obscenely large. He had been born with his eyes open. And he was sickly. He coughed and sneezed so often that he carried a handkerchief in one paw at all times. He ran temperatures. He fainted at load noises. Most alarming of all, he showed no interest in the things a mouse should show interest in.

Father: Here, follow me and I will instruct you on the fine points of how to nibble paper. This glue here, is tasty, and the paper edges are crunchy and yummy. And these squiggles are very tasty. You try. First a bite of some glue and then follow it with a crunch of the paper.
Despereaux: Once upon a time.
Father: What?
Despereaux: nothing..
Father: Eat
Despereaux: I couldn’t possibly. It would ruin the story.
Father: What story? Something is not right with you.
Narrator: Despereaux waited until he was gone and he read the story of a beautiful princess and the brave knight who serves and honors her.
Despereaux: (sneeze and shiver wipe nose) Once upon a time.
Narrator: Despereaux did not know it, but he would need, very soon, to be brave himself. He went to the library and read over and over again the story of the fair maiden and the knight who rescued her.



Despereaux: Do you hear that sweet, sweet sound?
Despereaux wandered the rooms of the castle and finally discovered the source of the sweet sound. Music. The king was playing his guitar to his daughter, the princess Pea.
Despereaux: Oh, it sounds like heaven.
The mouse listened with all his heart and he was spied by the sharp-eyed Princess Pea.
Pea: Oh, papa. Look, a mouse.
King: Where?
Pea: There.
King: That my dear pea is a bug, not a mouse. It is much to small to be a mouse.
Pea: No, no. It’s a mouse. I think he was listening to the music. Play something Papa.”
King: “A king play music for a bug?”
Pea: “I told you, he’s a mouse.”
King: “Oh, well, if it will make you happy, I, the king, will play music for a bug.”
Pea: “Mouse.”
Narrator. Despereaux forgot all his fear. He only wanted to hear the music. The princess looked down at Despereaux. He decided she looked just like the picture of the fair maiden in the book in the library. The princess smiled. And then, the mouse fell in love. You may ask; is it ridiculous for a very small, sickly, big-eared mouse to fall in love with a beautiful human princess named Pea?
The answer is.. Yes. Of course, it’s ridiculous. Love is ridiculous. But love is also wonderful. And powerful.
The princess picked up the mouse in her hand. She cupped him in her palm and scratched his oversize ears.
Pea: You have lovely ears. They are like small pieces of velvet.
Despereaux: My name is Despereaux. I honor you!
Narrator: I honor you is what the knight said to the fair maiden in the story that Despereaux read.
Pea: Despereaux.
Despereaux: I honor you.
Pea: (put Despereaux down)
Narrator. He put his paw over his heart. He bowed so low that his whiskers touched the floor. He was, alas, a mouse deeply in love.

Everything, as you well know, cannot be always sweetness and light. As our story continues, we must go to a rat. A rat named Roscuro. A rat in the darkness of the dungeon. His heart was put together wrong. Rats are about darkness. They are about suffering. A rat’s job in this world is to make others suffer. He had a plan. He intended to take the princess to the deepest, darkest part of the dungeon. He intended to put chains on the princess’s hands and her feet, and keep the glittering, glowing, laughing princess there in the dark.
Roscuro: “I will make the princess suffer!”
Narrator: Roscuro put his terrible plan into effect. The princess was led to her fate as everyone slept.

Narrator: “The sun rose and shed light on what Roscuro had done. The princess was gone.
Despereaux: I will be the knight in shining armor. There is no other way. It has to be me.
Narrator: Love, as we have already discussed is a powerful, wonderful, ridiculous thing, capable of moving mountains. Despereaux tied a needle around his waist and stood at the top of the dungeon stairs.
Despereaux: Oh my.
Narrator: But his heart was full of love for the princess and Despereaux felt brave and strong. So he maneuvered down the dungeon steps.

Narrator: We must go backward before we go forward. We must consider, for a moment, what had occurred with the rat and the princess down in the dungeon before Despereaux made his way to them. Roscuro led the Pea into the dungeon to a hidden chamber.
Roscuro: Now, princess, I will tell you what your future holds. I consign you to a life spent in this dungeon! The princess shall stay here in the darkness.
Despereaux: Princess, I have come to save you!
Pea: “Despereaux.”
Narrator: “There is nothing sweeter in this world than the sound of someone you love calling your name. He ran towards the princess, but Roscuro, baring his teeth, blocked the mouse’s way.”
Princess: “Oh no, rat, please! Don’t hurt him. He is my friend.
Narrator: But Roscuro, baring his teeth, blocked the mouse’s way. He drew his needle and placed the sharp tip of it right where the rat’s heart should be.
Despereaux: Don’t move. I will kill you.
Narrator: Despereaux held the trembling needle against Roscuro’s heart. He knew that as a knight, it was his duty to protect the princess.
Roscuro: Kill me. It will never work. All I wanted was some light. That is why I brought the princess here, really. Just for some beauty of my own.
Princess: No Despereaux, don’t kill him. Roscuro, would you like to eat in the banquet hall?
Roscuro: Don’t torment me.”
Princess: I promise you that if you lead us out of here, I you can eat in the banquet hall.
Roscuro: In the banquet hall?
Princess: Yes
Roscuro: Really?
Princess: Truly. I promise. Despereaux, you are my knight, with a shining needle. And I am so glad you found me. Let’s go upstairs. Let’s eat some soup.

Narrator: Imagine an adoring king, a glowing princess and a rat all gathered
around a table in a banquet hall. Sitting in the place of honor, right next to the princess, is a very small mouse with big ears.
It so happened that this mouse was the one who was selected by fate to serve the princess, to honor her, and to save her from the darkness of the terrible dungeon.

Narrator: But the question you want answered, I know, is did they live happily ever after? Well, they did not marry if that is what you mean by happily ever after. Even in a world as strange as this one, a mouse and princess cannot marry. But together they had many adventures. Those adventures, however, are another story.