In the Garden	aee
	Accessible EasyEnglish

 

An EasyEnglish Drama Unit (Accessible Easy English) on Genesis 2:15-3:24

www.easyenglish.bible

Frances Jones

About this unit

This unit, ‘In the Garden’ has five parts.

1. Background

2. English word study

          A teaching unit on new vocabulary

3. A reading play, ‘In the Garden’ – including Script in AEE

                   This play, ‘In the Garden’ is meant to be easy to read.

          It is a play to study.

4. A speaking play, ‘In the Garden’ – including Script in AEE

English speakers do not say each word clearly. They run words together. These words are contractions. This play has contractions in it. That’s so it will sound right when speaking English.

Sometimes English speakers do not use contractions. That is when they are angry, or when they want to be sure that a person understands them.

The unit, CONTRACTIONS, can be studied with this play.

5. Word list

                   A list of the words used in the reading play

 

1. Background

 

‘In the Garden’ is based on Genesis 2:15-25 and 3:1-24. The story is about God, man and sin.

Adam and Eve are not naked in this play. It is Adam and Eve’s sin that is open to be looked at. They try to cover up their sin. Adam and Eve act as if they are naked, knowing that God sees what they do.

God is a land-owner in the story. He walks the earth and talks with Adam, his gardener. God’s clothes should reflect this part of his character.

Snake’s clothes must help him look like a snake.

We have often called the fruit from the tree, knowledge of good and evil, an apple. The Bible does not say what fruit it was. Any fruit may be used in the play. The tree of life does not have fruit on it.

Eve carries a rabbit in Scene 1. A stuffed toy or any small animal can be used. Adam’s answer to Eve will be changed if a rabbit is not used.

The garden may be arranged in any way, but the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil must have signs on them.

 

References:

New Revised Standard Bible; New English Bible; Contemporary English Version Bible

Internet Bible Gateway: Genesis 3 Footnotes

Daily Study Bible Series, Genesis Volume I, John C. Gibson

The Layman’s Commentary Bible, Genesis, Fritsch

Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Volume I

Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Walter Brueggemann

The Anchor Bible, Genesis

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary, Derek Kidner

The One Volume Bible Commentary, edited by J. R. Dummellow

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

 

2. English word study

 

Teaching new vocabulary

 

Is the sentence right or wrong?

Put a mark on the word Right if the sentence is right.

Put a mark on the word Wrong if the sentence is wrong.

 

1.       A telephone can walk.                          Right            Wrong

 

2.       My name is Uwx37#bl/m.            Right            Wrong

 

3.       A bird can sing a song.                        Right            Wrong

 

4.       Many people live in a city.          Right            Wrong

 

5.       Today is Saturday.                    Right            Wrong

 

6.       A rat can catch a cat.                          Right            Wrong

 

Write the word right:  __ __ __ __ __

 

Write the word wrong: __ __ __ __ __

 

Grandmothers and Grandfathers

 

Who is a mother? A mother is a woman that has children.

 

Who is a father? A father is a man that has children.

 

Who is a grandmother? A grandmother is the mother of a person with children.

 

Who is a grandfather? A grandfather is the father of a person with children.

 

In English, a father’s mother and a mother’s mother have the same name:

Grandmother.

 

In English, a father’s father and a mother’s father have the same name:

Grandfather.

 

Do you have a grandmother? What is her name?

 

Do you have a grandfather? What is his name?

 

Words to know:

 

Words with long sounds:

 

          ate (āt) past tense of eat. Yesterday I ate some fruit. It was an apple.

 

          breathe (brēth) when air goes in and out, you breathe.

 

          east (ēst) the sun comes up in the east.

 

          evil (ē vĭl) something that is very, very bad.

 

          heel (hēl) the back part of a foot.

 

          toes (tōz) the front parts of a foot.

 

          tree (trē) a very, very big plant. A home for birds.

 

          rule (rūl) to have the say-so; to be the boss.

 

Words with short sounds:

 

          belly (bĕl ĭ) the centre of your front.

 

          fur (fer) the skin of animals.

 

          rabbit (răb ĭt) a small animal with four legs that hops. It has fur.

 

          rib (rĭb) one of the bones in the sides of your body.

 

          touch (tŭch) to put your finger on something.

 

          whisper (whĭs per) to talk with no sound.

 

Put in a word with a short sound:

 

I ate too much. My _____________ hurts.

 

Put in a word with a long sound:

 

I am sick. It is hard for me to _____________________.

 

Another good word to know:

 

knowledge (nŏl ĭj) all the things you know. All the things God knows.

 

          God has all the knowledge in the world.

Eve wanted knowledge. And so did Adam.

They wanted to know all things. They wanted knowledge of all the good things. They wanted to know all the bad things. They wanted all the knowledge that God has.

          Today we have a lot of knowledge, and we get more knowledge each day. But here is the question: Does knowledge help us do wrong? Or does knowledge help us do right?

3. A Reading Play

‘In the Garden’ is easy to read. It is a play to study.

In the Garden

by Frances Jones

 

Genesis 2:15-25, 3:1-24

 

 

CHARACTERS

God

Adam

Eve

Snake

Grandmother

Ben

Sarah

Angel

 

PROPS

Garden plants

Two trees

Fruit

God’s clothes

Snake’s clothes

Rabbit

A sign, Knowledge

A sign, Life

Stones for sitting

Fur clothes

 

 

 

 

SCENE ONE

 

Stage directions are from the actor’s right or left.

 

 

[Grandmother, Ben and Sarah come in front of the curtain at stage right. The children hold Grandmother’s hand. They are talking.]

 

Sarah:  Grandmother, are you ready to tell us a story? I want the one about the garden and¾

 

Ben:  I know that story! I want to hear it again, Grandmother.

 

Grandmother:  Well, then, sit here. [They sit on the floor of the stage right front.] You know this is an old, old story. It begins¾

 

Sarah:  We know! It begins before time.

 

Grandmother:  [Laughs]  Yes, you can say that. Far back in time, there was a garden. We call it The Garden of Eden, but some people call it The Garden of God.

 

Ben:  Where was it?

 

Grandmother:  The story says it was in the east. People have looked for God’s Garden, but no luck. And you know, if you go east and go east, and go east, and go east, what happens? You come right back to where you started. So who knows where east is?

 

Sarah:  And The Garden of Eden had many plants, big and little plants, vines, and good things to eat. And the animals lived there, and they were not afraid. Is that right, Grandmother?

 

Grandmother:  Yes, that is right, Sarah. And there were two trees in the garden. One was the tree of life. The other was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God made this garden for Adam and Eve. Eve did not have her name yet, but we know that is what she is going to be called. The garden was a lovely home for Adam and Eve to live in. Do you know that Adam had a job? His job was to take care of the garden.

 

CURTAINS OPEN

 

[The Garden of Eden. Two trees are on stage, one of them stage centre. The one in the centre has a sign, ‘Knowledge’ the other has a sign, ‘Life’. Adam and Eve walk on stage from stage right. They are laughing and talking. Eve has a rabbit in her arms. Snake is sitting on the floor at the back, stage right. Grandmother and the children turn to look at the stage.]

Adam:  [He waves to Snake.]  Good morning, Snake.

 

[Snake puts up his hand but he does not say anything.]

 

Eve:  Tell me again, Adam. What did you name this little animal?

 

Adam:  Rabbit, Eve.  [They sit down on a stone. Adam sits close to Eve.]

 

Eve:  Tell me again, Adam, the way you were made.

 

Adam:  I do not remember. But God said he got some dust and made me. He breathed life into me. There I was, living.

 

Eve:  And me?

 

Adam:  I was sleeping. God said he got one of my ribs out of me. He made it into you.  [He gets Eve into his arms.]  And you are just right!

 

Eve:  I love hearing the way God made us. And then he put us in this lovely garden. I love it here, Adam.

 

CURTAINS CLOSE

 

[Grandmother and the children stay, sitting on the floor of the stage.]

 

SCENE TWO

 

CURTAINS OPEN

 

[Eve is in the garden. She is looking under some plants. Snake walks to her.]

 

Snake:  Good day to you, woman. What are you doing?

 

Eve:  [Parting the plants and looking into them]  Looking for the little rabbit.

 

Snake:  Yes, the rabbit.  [Looks here and there.]  This garden is good, is it not?  [Looks up at the tree of knowledge of good and evil.]  But one thing is not so good. There is not much to eat here.

Eve : [Turning to look at Snake]  Oh, yes there is! There is very much to eat. Anything we want. And it is all good.

 

Snake:  But you cannot eat all this good fruit on the trees.

 

Eve:  Yes, we can. We eat from all the trees. All but one. We cannot eat fruit from the knowledge of good and evil tree.  [Whispers]  If we touch it, we will die!

 

Snake:  [Laughs]  As I live and breathe, who told you that? Not true, not true.

 

Eve:  God said if we eat that fruit we will die.

 

Snake:  [Laughs again]  You will not die; you will change. You will get knowledge. That is why God does not want you to eat that fruit. If you eat it, you will know good from evil. More than that, you will understand what is good and what is better. And you will know what is bad and what is not so bad. You will know the good and bad of all things, just as God knows. That is why God says, ‘Do not eat the fruit.’ He does not want you to know what he knows.

 

Eve:  Oh.

 

Snake:  Think of knowing all that God knows. Think of being as God is.

 

Eve:  Well…  [She looks up at the tree.]  That lovely fruit does look good. And I do want to know what is good and what is evil. Maybe one will not hurt me.  [She gets a fruit and eats a little of it.] You are right, it is good.

 

[Adam comes from stage left. Snake goes back to stage right and sits down.]

 

Eve:  Oh, Adam, look at this.  [She holds up the fruit.]  It is good, Adam. Snake said it was good to eat. I ate some and I did not die. See, I am not dead.

 

Eve:  Here, have some too.

 

[Adam takes the fruit. He eats a little.]

 

Adam and Eve:  What did I do? What did you do?  [Adam throws the fruit under the tree.]

 

Adam:  [Looks back and whispers.]  God said not to eat fruit from that tree, Eve! Why did you do that?

 

Eve:  Well, you had some, too. You had some.

 

Eve:  [Whispers]  What are we going to do? God will look at us and know we ate the fruit. He will look at us and know.

 

Adam:  Try to cover up what we did! It was wrong!

 

Eve:  Why did you not stop me, Adam. Why? God will know!

 

Adam:  You are the one that did it!

 

Eve:  You did, too.

 

Adam:  Come, get under these plants.  [Adam gets the fruit from under the tree.]  Put this under there too.  [They get under the plants. There is silence.]

 

Eve:  The sun is going down. It is getting dark, Adam. God will come. We will have to face him.

 

Adam:  Sh! I hear his steps.

 

God:  [Comes into the garden from stage left.]  Where are you, Adam? Adam, where are you?

 

Adam:  [Comes slowly from the plants. He holds his clothes together as if covering up.]  I heard you, but I was afraid.

 

God:  You were afraid?

 

Adam:  You know all things. What I did was wrong, so I was afraid.

 

God:  Who said what you did was wrong?  [God looks at the tree of knowledge of good and evil.]  Did you eat the fruit from that tree? The tree of knowledge of good and evil? Did you eat the fruit I said not to eat?

 

Adam:  That woman. The one you made for me. She said to eat the fruit, so I did. Here it is.  [Adam holds up the fruit.]

 

[Eve comes from the plants. She is holding her clothes together. She tries to cover her head. Snake stands up at back right stage.] 

 

God:  [To Eve]  What did you do?

 

Eve:  [Looks down at the floor.]  It was Snake. I said, ‘If I eat that fruit I will die.’ But he said it was not true. He said, if I eat the fruit I will have knowledge. He said I will know all things. It looked good to eat. So I got the fruit. And I ate some. Just a little.

 

God:  [To Snake]  You did this! From this day on, you have the biggest curse of any animal. You will go on your belly all the days of your life. You will live in dust. You will live in dust and eat dust. [Snake begins to get on the floor. He puts his arm up to cover his head.]  You and Eve will hate each other. Your children and her children will hate each other. They will hate each other for all time. One of her children will strike your head. And you will strike his heel.  [Snake goes on his belly off stage right.]

 

God:  [To Eve]  From this time on you will hurt much, having children. Yet, in your heart, you will want to be married. And you will want children. Your husband will rule over you.

 

God:  [To Adam]  As for you, Adam, you listened to the woman. You did what I said not to do. So from this day, the earth is cursed. You will work in the dust of the earth so that you can eat. You will work all your life, and the work will be hard. You are made from dust, Adam, and when you die, you will go back to dust.

 

God:  [To Adam and Eve]  You cannot live in my garden one more day. But I will care for you when you go away. I made these clothes for you. Take them with you.  [Gives Adam and Eve fur clothes.]

 

Adam and Eve:  [Whispering]  Thank you.

 

God:  Today you two are like gods. You know good from evil. Next time you will eat from the tree of life and then you will not die. You cannot live in my garden and do what is wrong. So I am putting you out. The gate is closed to you. Go forth to the world. Go!

 

[Adam and Eve go off stage right. An Angel comes from stage left. It stands with arms out at stage centre front.]

 

CURTAINS CLOSE

 

[Grandmother, Ben and Sarah stand up.]

 

Ben:  That was a good story, Grandmother. 

 

Sarah:  God was angry with Adam and Eve. Am I right, Grandmother?

 

Grandmother:  Yes, Sarah, but he loved them. He made them some better clothes. He loved them, but he was sorry for what they did. He was sorry.  [They walk off stage right.]

 

 

4. A Speaking Play

 

English speakers do not say each word clearly. They run words together. These words are contractions. This speaking play has contractions in it. That’s so it will sound right when speaking English.

The unit, CONTRACTIONS, can be studied with this play.

 

 

In the Garden

by Frances Jones

 

Genesis 2:15-25, 3:1-24

 

 

CHARACTERS

God

Adam

Eve

Snake

Grandmother

Ben

Sarah

Angel

 

PROPS

Garden plants

Two trees

Fruit

God’s clothes

Snake’s clothes

Rabbit

A sign, Knowledge

A sign, Life

Stones for sitting

Fur clothes

 

 

SCENE ONE

 

Stage directions are on the actor’s right and left.

 

 [Grandmother, Ben and Sarah come in front of the curtain at stage right. The children hold Grandmother’s hand. They are talking.]

 

Sarah:  Grandmother, are you ready to tell us a story? I want the one about the garden and¾

 

Ben:  I know that story! I want to hear it again, Grandmother.

 

Grandmother:  Well, then, sit here. [They sit on the floor of the stage right front.] You know this is an old, old story. It begins¾

 

Sarah:  We know! It begins before time.

 

Grandmother:  [Laughs]  Yes, you can say that. Far back in time, there was a garden. We call it The Garden of Eden, but some people call it The Garden of God.

 

Ben:  Where was it?

 

Grandmother:  The story says it was in the east. People have looked for God’s Garden, but no luck. And you know, if you go east and go east, and go east, and go east, what happens? You come right back to where you started. So who knows where east is?

 

Sarah:  And The Garden of Eden had many plants, big and little plants, vines, and good things to eat. And the animals lived there, and they were not afraid. Isn’t that right, Grandmother?

 

Grandmother:  Yes, that’s right, Sarah. And there were two trees in the garden. One was the tree of life. The other was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God made this garden for Adam and Eve. Eve didn’t have her name yet, but we know that’s what she’s going to be called. The garden was a lovely home for Adam and Eve to live in. Do you know that Adam had a job? His job was to take care of the garden.

 

CURTAINS OPEN

 

[The Garden of Eden. Two trees are on stage, one of them stage centre. The one in the centre has a sign, ‘Knowledge’ the other has a sign, ‘Life’. Adam and Eve walk on stage from stage right. They’re laughing and talking. Eve has a rabbit in her arms. Snake is sitting on the floor at the back, stage right. Grandmother and the children turn to look at the stage.]

 

Adam:  [He waves to Snake.]  Good morning, Snake.

 

[Snake puts up his hand but he doesn’t say anything.]

 

Eve:  Tell me again, Adam. What did you name this little animal?

 

Adam:  Rabbit, Eve.  [They sit down on a stone. Adam sits close to Eve.]

 

Eve:  Tell me again, Adam, the way you were made.

 

Adam:  I don’t remember. But God said he got some dust and made me. He breathed life into me. There I was, living.

 

Eve:  And me?

 

Adam:  I was sleeping. God said he got one of my ribs out of me. He made it into you.  [He gets Eve into his arms.]  And you are just right!

 

Eve:  I love hearing the way God made us. And then he put us in this lovely garden. I love it here, Adam.

 

CURTAINS CLOSE

 

[Grandmother and the children stay, sitting on the floor of the stage.]

 

 

SCENE TWO

 

CURTAINS OPEN

 

[Eve is in the garden. She’s looking under some plants. Snake walks to her.]

Snake:  Good day to you, woman. What are you doing?

 

Eve:  [Parting the plants and looking into them]  Looking for the little rabbit.

 

Snake:  Yes, the rabbit.  [Looks here and there.]  This garden is good, isn’t it?  [Looks up at the tree of knowledge of good and evil.]  But one thing isn’t so good. There’s not much to eat here.

 

Eve : [Turning to look at Snake]  Oh, yes there is! There’s very much to eat. Anything we want. And it’s all good.

 

Snake:  But you can’t eat all this good fruit on the trees.

 

Eve:  Yes, we can. We eat from all the trees. All but one. We can’t eat fruit from the knowledge of good and evil tree.  [Whispers]  If we touch it, we’ll die!

 

Snake:  [Laughs]  As I live and breathe, who told you that? Not true, not true.

 

Eve:  God said if we eat that fruit we’ll die.

 

Snake:  [Laughs again]  You won’t die; you’ll change. You will get knowledge. That’s why God doesn’t want you to eat that fruit. If you eat it, you’ll know good from evil. More than that, you’ll understand what’s good and what’s better. And you’ll know what’s bad and what’s not so bad. You’ll know the good and bad of all things, just as God knows. That’s why God says, ‘Do not eat the fruit.’ He doesn’t want you to know what he knows.

 

Eve:  Oh.

 

Snake:  Think of knowing all that God knows. Think of being as God is.

 

Eve:  Well…  [She looks up at the tree.]  That lovely fruit does look good. And I do want to know what’s good and what’s evil. Maybe just one won’t hurt me.  [She gets a fruit and eats a little of it.] You’re right, it’s good.

 

[Adam comes from stage left. Snake goes back to stage right and sits down.]

 

Eve:  Oh, Adam, look at this.  [She holds up the fruit.]  It’s good, Adam. Snake said it was good to eat. I ate some and I didn’t die. See, I’m not dead.

 

Eve:  Here, have some too.

 

[Adam takes the fruit. He eats a little.]

 

Adam and Eve:  What did I do? What did you do?  [Adam throws the fruit under the tree.]

 

Adam:  [Looks back and whispers.]  God said not to eat fruit from that tree, Eve! Why did you do that?

 

Eve:  Well, you had some, too. You had some.

 

Eve:  [Whispers]  What are we going to do? God will look at us and know we ate the fruit. He’ll look at us and know.

 

Adam:  Try to cover up what we did! It was wrong!

 

Eve:  Why didn’t you stop me, Adam. Why? God will know!

 

Adam:  You’re the one that did it!

 

Eve:  You did, too.

 

Adam:  Come, get under these plants.  [Adam gets the fruit from under the tree.]  Put this under there too.  [They get under the plants. There is silence.]

 

Eve:  The sun is going down. It’s getting dark, Adam. God will come. We’ll have to face him.

 

Adam:  Sh! I hear his steps.

 

God:  [Comes into the garden from stage left.]  Where are you, Adam? Adam, where are you?

 

Adam:  [Comes slowly from the plants. He holds his clothes together as if covering up.]  I heard you, but I was afraid.

 

God:  You were afraid?

 

Adam:  You know all things. What I did was wrong, so I was afraid.

 

God:  Who said what you did was wrong?  [God looks at the tree of knowledge of good and evil.]  Did you eat the fruit from that tree? The tree of knowledge of good and evil? Did you eat the fruit I said not to eat?

 

Adam:  That woman. The one you made for me. She said to eat the fruit, so I did. Here it is.  [Adam holds up the fruit.]

 

[Eve comes from the plants. She’s holding her clothes together. She tries to cover her head. Snake stands up at back right stage.]

 

God:  [To Eve]  What did you do?

 

Eve:  [Looks down at the floor.]  It was Snake. I said, ‘If I eat that fruit I’ll die.’ But he said it wasn’t true. He said, if I eat the fruit I’ll have knowledge. He said I’ll know all things. It looked good to eat. So I got the fruit. And I ate some. Just a little.

 

God:  [To Snake]  You did this! From this day on, you have the biggest curse of any animal. You’ll go on your belly all the days of your life. You’ll live in dust. You’ll live in dust and eat dust. [Snake begins to get on the floor. He puts his arm up to cover his head.]  You and Eve will hate each other. Your children and her children will hate each other. They will hate each other for all time. One of her children will strike your head. And you will strike his heel.  [Snake goes on his belly off stage right.]

 

God:  [To Eve]  From this time on you’ll hurt much, having children. Yet, in your heart, you’ll want to be married. And you’ll want children. Your husband will rule over you.

 

God:  [To Adam]  As for you, Adam, you listened to the woman. You did what I said not to do. So from this day, the earth is cursed. You’ll work in the dust of the earth so that you can eat. You’ll work all your life, and the work will be hard. You’re made from dust, Adam, and when you die, you’ll go back to dust.

 

God:  [To Adam and Eve]  You cannot live in my garden one more day. But I’ll care for you when you go away. I made these clothes for you. Take them with you.  [Gives Adam and Eve fur clothes.]

 

Adam and Eve:  [Whispering]  Thank you.

 

God:  Today you two are like gods. You know good from evil. Next time you’ll eat from the tree of life and then you will not die. You can’t live in my garden and do what is wrong. So I am putting you out of the garden this minute. The gate is closed to you. Go forth to the world. Go!

 

[Adam and Eve go off stage right. An Angel comes from stage left. It stands with arms out at stage centre front.]

 

CURTAINS CLOSE

 

[Grandmother, Ben and Sarah stand up.]

 

Ben:  That was a good story, Grandmother. 

 

Sarah:  God was angry with Adam and Eve, wasn’t he, Grandmother?

 

Grandmother:  Yes, Sarah, but he loved them. He made them some better clothes, didn’t he? He loved them, but he was sorry for what they did. He was sorry.  [They walk off stage right.]

5. Word List

A list of words in the reading play

 

 

© 1997-2004, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in Accessible EasyEnglish.

February 2004

Visit our website: www.easyenglish.bible