#Susan McAliley

[picturebookshelf]

Kit Saves The Day (2001)

Story: Valerie Tripp -- Art: Walter Rane & Susan McAliley

[agheaven]

Miss Winston’s Reply: A Play

Illustrations by Susan McAliley

Found in the July/August 1996 issue of American Girl Magazine

(These pictures were originally submitted by @captainandhercorgi, but then it turned out in the time between the original submission & me finally posting it, @in-pleasant-company posted some clean scans! To save myself from having to type out all the tags again in a reblog, I opted to re-save in-pleasant-company’s scans and add them to this photoset)

Since it seems like the American Girl magazine plays featuring the historical characters were never republished anywhere, I typed out a transcript of this play! You can read the whole thing below!

Miss Winston’s Reply: A Play

~1854~

Written by Janet Saw

Illustrated by Susan McAliley

Scene: Outside the Larson’s log cabin in Minnesota in September 1855

(Mama and Miss Winston are seated close together on a bench, rolling yarn into balls. Kirsten, Lisbeth, and Anna sit on the ground in front of the bench. They’re playing quietly with their dolls. Kristen’s doll is lying down. The girls walk the other dolls around her.)

Mama: (to Miss Winston) Mr. Boardman will be here any moment. Aren’t you excited?

Miss Winston: (glancing nervously over her shoulder) Oh, dear!

Mama: He’s been to see you so often lately.

Miss Winston: I know!

Mama: Today he might ask you to marry him.

Miss Winston: Oh, I hope not. Not today!

Mama: Why not today?

Miss Winston: Because – well, because I don’t know how I’d answer him.

(Kirsten overhears Miss Winston. She shushes Lisbeth and Anna, and the girls stop their play to listen eagerly to the women.)

Mama: But he’s a fine man. He’d be a good husband. You do care for him, don’t you?

Miss Winston: Yes, I do care for him. I care for him very much.

Mama: Then why don’t you want to marry him?

Miss Winston: I do want to marry him, but I don’t want to move away. I feel at home here now. And I’m afraid he wants to settle out in California.

Mama: Settle in California? That’s a surprise! Has he said he plans to move there?

Miss Winston: No, not exactly, but his brother’s panning for gold in California. I suspect he plans to join his brother.

Kirsten: (unable to contain herself any longer) Miss Winston, why don’t you ask him what his plans are?

Anna: Yes! Ask him!

Mama: Hush, now, you girls! You’re too young to understand these things.

Miss Winston: Let me try to explain. You see, a lady doesn’t ask a gentleman about his plans. That wouldn’t be proper.

Lisbeth: But why, Miss Winston?

Miss Winston: Let me put it this way—a question about plans is too forward.

Anna: Forward? Is that like being bold?

Miss Winston: Yes, Anna, bold. It’s not proper to ask personal questions of a man.

Kirsten: Not ever, Miss Winston?

Miss Winston: Well, not until the couple decide to marry. I mean….oh, it’s all so hard to talk about!

Mama: You girls ask too many questions. Go back to your dolls. What game are you playing today?

Kristen: We’re playing that Sari is sick.

Mama: (playing along) Poor Sari!

(Miss Winston bends over and picks up Sari)

Miss Winston: (also playing along) She doesn’t look well.

Lisbeth: We think it’s her stomach.

Anna: She moans and cried.

Kirsten: But she won’t tell us what’s wrong with her.

Miss Winston: (shaking her finger sternly at the doll) Listen here, Miss. If you won’t tell what troubles you, how can anyone help?

(Miss Winston hands Sari back to Kirsten)

Mama: We’d better put away our work. Mr. Boardman will be here shortly.

Miss Winston: I’ve got butterflies in my stomach! I’m so nervous. I just don’t know what to do!

Mama: I think what you should do right now is put on your fresh blouse.

(Mama and Miss Winston pick up their yarn and EXIT.)

(The girls jump happily to their feet)

Kirsten: I’m so glad Miss Winston doesn’t want to leave Minnesota!

Lisbeth: I thought she’d want to move back to her family in Maine.

Anna: I think Mr. Boardman’s so handsome. I hope he asks her to marry him!

(Anna clasps her hands and goes down on one knee in from of Kirsten)

Anna: Please give me your hand in marriage!

Kirsten: (seriously) But if he does ask her to marry him, what will her answer be?

Anna: She’ll say yes!

Lisbeth: (frowning) She might say no. You heard her say she’s worried about moving to California.

Kirsten: But she hasn’t told Mr. Boardman what she’s worried about.

Lisbeth: So if Miss Winston refuses to marry him, he won’t know why.

Anna: (picking up Sari and climbing to her feet) If Sari doesn’t tell what’s troubling her, how can anyone help? It’s the same for Miss Winston, isn’t it?

Kirsten: Yes. She should say what she’s feeling.

Lisbeth: Isn’t there some way we can help her say what’s in her heart?

Anna: You heard what Mama said—“You’re too young to understand these things.” Grown-ups won’t listen to what we say.

Kirsten: Maybe they won’t listen to us, but I’ve got an idea!

(The girls bring their dolls and crouch behind the bush. Kirsten whispers and Anna and Lisbeth nod. In a few moments, Mr. Boardman enters from one side and Miss Winston enters from the other.)

Mr. Boardman: Good day, Miss Winston.

Miss Winston: (shyly) Good day, Mr. Boardman.

(Mr. Boardman and Miss Winston sit nervously on the bench. They don’t notice the girls, who are peeking over the bush.)

Mr. Boardman and Miss Winston: (at the same time) How are you?

(Mr. Boardman and Miss Winston laugh, embarrassed)

Mr. Boardman and Miss Winston: (at the same time) Fine, thank you.

(The girls giggle silently)

(Mr. Boardman takes an envelope form his jacket pocket and hands it to Miss Winston.)

Mr. Boardman: The storekeeper asked me to bring this letter to you.

Miss Winston: (taking the letter) Thank you. It’s from my father in Maine.

Mr. Boardman: I saw that it was. Your family must miss you terribly.

Miss Winston: And I miss them too.

Lisbeth: (whispering) Now’s the time to try your plan, Kirsten!

(Kirsten and Anna move closer to center stage, sit with their backs to the bush, and present the dolls are talking to each other.)

Kirsten: (In a high voice, as if her doll is speaking) I’m so glad you’ve come today!

Anna: (In a low voice, as if her doll is a man) I’m so glad you’ve invited me.

Mr. Boardman: Why, it’s Kirsten and her cousin. What do you suppose they’re doing?

Miss Winston: (Smiling) Oh, they’ve been playing with their dolls all day. They act out all sorts of stories with them. They have such strong imaginations.

Kirsten: (In a high voice) I’ve looked forward so much to seeing you.

Anna: (forgetting to lower her voice) Me, too!

Kirsten: (whispering to Anna) Remember, your doll is supposed to be Mr. Boardman! Don’t forget to keep your voice low, like a man’s.

Anna: (in a low voice) I mean—and I’ve looked forward to seeing you.

Kirsten: (In a high voice) Isn’t this a lovely day?

Anna: (In a low voice) It’s you who are lovely, my dear.

Mr. Boardman: (shaking his head) What will these girls think of next?

Miss Winston: (nervously) I think they’re pretending their dolls are courting. I’ve never heard them play this game before. We shouldn’t listen.

Mr. Boardman: But I like what I hear. The doll is saying what I’m thinking. You are lovely, Miss Winston.

Miss Winston: Oh, Mr. Boardman!

(The girls are delighted)

Lisbeth: (whispering) Keep going!

Kirsten: (in a high voice) Just look around. Isn’t the prairie beautiful today? The waving grass reminds me of the ocean waves back home.

Anna: (In a low voice) It would be wonderful to live by the sea. You must be homesick for it.

Kirsten: (In a high voice) I do miss it sometimes, but my life is here now.

Miss Winston: (softly) How strange. The doll is saying what I’m thinking too.

Mr. Boardman: What are you thinking, my dear?

Miss Winston: I’m thinking how I love the prairie. I can’t imagine living anywhere else now.

Mr. Boardman: But I’ve always thought you wanted to go back to Maine!

Miss Winston: I’ve never said that!

Mr. Boardman: No, you didn’t. And I never asked because I was afraid of what you might say.

(The girls are delighted)

Lisbeth: (whispering) Kirsten, it’s your turn again!

Kirsten: (in a high voice) Do you like it here in Minnesota?

Anna: (forgetting to lower her voice) Oh, yes.

Lisbeth: (pinching Anna’s arm) Your doll’s Mr. Boardman!

Anna: (in her own voice) Ouch!

Anna: (in a low voice again) I mean, ouch!

Miss Winston: (her gaze on Mr. Boardman) I’ve thought you planned to go to California.

Mr. Boardman: (startled) Go to California?

Miss Winston: Yes, to join your brother. I’ve thought you planned to live there.

Mr. Boardman: Not at all. I never said that.

Miss Winston: No, you didn’t. I suspected it, but I never asked because I didn’t think it was proper.

Mr. Boardman: (taking Miss Winston’s hand) My life is here, believe me.

Miss Winston: I do believe you!

(Kirsten and Anna scramble to join Lisbeth, and all three girls peek over the bush at the couple.)

Miss Winston: We didn’t say what was in our hearts, so we’ve both been worrying about the wrong things.

Mr. Boardman: It’s true! And there’s something else in my heart that I want to tell you. Come walk with me, please.

(Mr. Boardman offers Miss Winston his arm and they EXIT.)

(The girls jump to their feet in excitement.)

Lisbeth: Kirsten, your plan worked. Now he’ll ask her!

Anna: (in a low voice) Oh, please, please, Miss Winston, will you be my wife?

Kirsten: (in her own voice) I will! I will! I will!

(The girls hug one another in triumph and delight).

[dandelion-daisys]

Kaya and Lone Dog ~ Pictures and Vignettes

Illustrations by Bill Farnsworth, Vignettes by Susan McAliley

Available to borrow from the Open Library