Introduce the activity by saying: To help us think about who owns the earth, we’re going to make puppets and act out a story from West Africa. (Show West Africa on map, globe, or atlas.)

Getting ready for the play: There are many possible ways to do the play, depending on the ages and size of your group. Characters include a narrator (could be leader) and God, who have the largest speaking parts, and a lizard and frog with smaller parts. The remaining children can choose whichever puppet-animal they’d like to be.

Decorate puppets according to taste, assembling the parts and attaching them to the body sticks as shown. Youngest participants may color the body sticks and cut them out while older ones do the more complicated work. Some might create a well by rolling and coiling clay or play dough, or by coloring and decorating a small box.

Begin the play!

Narrator: There was once a drought in the country. The streams dried up, and the wells went dry. There was no place for anybody to get water. The animals met to talk it over–(list your animals). They decided to ask God for help. Together they went to God and told God how bad things were.
God: Hmmm. I’m thinking. But don’t worry. They don’t call me God for nothing. Hmmm. I will give you one well for everyone to use.

All animals: Thank you God. You are very kind.

God: You will have to take good care of the well. One of you will have to be caretaker. The caretaker will stay by the well at all times and see that no one makes it dirty. Hmmm. (God looks at all the animals.) The lizard looks like the best caretaker. Therefore I appoint the lizard to be caretaker.The well is over there in the grove.

Narrator: The animals went away. The lizard went straight to the well. Soon the animals began coming to the well. Lizard stopped them.

Lizard: (In a deep voice.) Who is it? Who is it? Who is walking in my grove?

1st animal: It is I, the _______. I am coming for water.

Lizard: Go away! This is my well, and the well is dry!

Narrator: So the ___________ went away thirsty. Then another animal came to the well.

Repeat until all the animals have asked for water.

Narrator: So the animals went away thirsty because they had no water to drink. God saw all the suffering going on.

God: I gave the animals a well to drink from, but they are all dying of thirst. What is the matter? I will go to the well and find out.

Lizard: Who is it? Who is it? Who is walking in my grove?

God: It is I, God. I am coming for water.

Lizard: Go away, God. The well is dry.

God: Lizard, you are making me angry. It is I, God. I am coming for water.

Lizard: I told you already. Go away, God. The well is dry.

Narrator: God said no more to the lizard. God sent for the animals to come to the well.

God: You came to me because you were thirsty and I gave you a well. I made Lizard the caretaker. But Lizard gave no thought to all the other animals. If a woman has a banana tree in her garden, it is hers. If a man has a cotton tree in his garden, it is his. But if a person has a well in the garden, only the hole in the ground belongs to the person. The water is God’s and belongs to all creatures.

Because the lizard abused the responsibility, the lizard is no longer caretaker. Henceforth Lizard must drink water from rain puddles. The new caretaker will be the frog. The frog will not say, "Go away, the well is dry." Frog will say, "This is God’s well. It belongs to everyone."

Narrator: So the animals drank at the well. The lizard went away and drank rain water wherever it could be found. The frog is now the caretaker. All night Frog calls out:

Frog: This is God’s well. It belongs to everyone. This is God’s well. It belongs to everyone.

Narrator: People have a saying: The hole in the ground is yours, the water is God’s.