THE
SEVEN DEADLY SINS
GO WEST
Translation Please!
By Bob Allen
“But they that
will be rich fall into temptations and a snare,”
I Timothy 6:9
“For the love of
money is the root of all evil:”
I Timothy 6:10
Deadly Sin: Greed
CHARACTERS
Rocky Rhodes, – A western cowboy.
D. D. Berezskinitski -A robber of
stagecoaches.
The Translator -A greedy
volunteer.
SCENE
A ONE-ROOM
JAIL HOUSE. ROCKY PUSHES A HANDCUFFED D. D.
INTO THE CELL AND LOCKS THE DOOR. THE
TRANSLATOR FOLLOWS CLOSE BEHIND.
ROCKY: Cuff
‘em and stuff ‘em. That’s the last stage
you’ll rob for a long, long
time.
TRANSLATOR: Good
job, Rocky. You’re getting this sheriff
job down pat.
ROCKY: (SITS
AT THE DESK TO START PAPER WORK) Thanks
for helping me find him. Now let’s get down to business. I’m going to
need your name and last place of residence.
D.D.: Domber
Dreski Berezskinitski.
ROCKY: Speak
up. I can’t hear you.
D.D: No
English. Hypi Yeodervaan.
ROCKY: I
can’t understand a word you’re saying.
TRANSLATOR: It’s
not English, that’s for sure.
ROCKY: I
know what he said. I’m not deaf.
TRANSLATOR: But
I thought you said…
ROCKY: (CROSSES
UP CLOSE TO THE BARSAND YELLS) So
how do you rob stages if you can’t even speak English? Is some
driver going to stop if you yell Hypi Hypi?
TRANSLATOR: He
had a gun.
ROCKY: (TURNS
TO THE TRANSLATOR) Right! So I’m supposed to tell the judge I don’t know
his name and I don’t know how he stopped
the stage, but he had a gun. Why is the
paper work always the
hardest part of this job?
TRANSLATOR: Maybe
I can help. His name is D. D.
Berezskinitski.
ROCKY: How
did you know that?
TRANSLATOR: It’s
what he said when you asked for his name.
ROCKY: It
is? (STARTS TO WRITE) How do you spell it?
TRANSLATOR: D. D.
ROCKY: Got
that.
TRANSLATOR: B
plus thirteen.
ROCKY: Right. Can you get the rest of these questions
answered?
TRANSLATOR: I’ll
give it a try.
ROCKY: (YELLS
AT D.D.) Did you rob the stage?
TRANSLATOR: (MOVES
NEAR THE BARS BUT AS FAR FROM ROCKY AS POSSIBLE AND MOTIONS FOR D.D. TO
JOIN HIM) Did you rob
the stage?
D.D. (STAGE
WHISPER) What are you doing? I can’t understand English,
remember? That’s my story and I’m
sticking with it.
TRANSLATOR: Right. But he doesn’t know that. Give me an answer and I’ll give one to him.
D.D. (LOUDER) Francerfriskenski.
TRANSLATOR: He
says he robbed the stage all right. He’s
your man.
ROCKY: Did
you steal the strongbox with the monthly payroll for all the miners?
TRANSLATOR: Did
you steal the strongbox with the payroll for all the miners?
D.D. Hendrick
par schlitzen frennenen.
TRANSLATOR: He
says, “You bet your sweet life I stole the payroll.”
D.D. (STAGE
WHISPER) What are you doing?
TRANSLATOR: (STAGE
WHISPER) Trust me.
ROCKY: Did
you shoot the man riding shotgun?
TRANSLATOR: Did
you shoot the man riding shotgun?
D.D. (STAGE
WHISPER) Of course I did. He already knows that.
TRANSLATOR: (STAGE
WHISPER) Just answer the question.
D.D. Navro
myele postumen.
TRANSLATOR: Of
course he did. You already know that.
ROCKY: (STANDS. PULLS HIS PISTOL AND WALKS OVER THE TO THE BARS, AIMING THE GUN AT THE
ROBBER) He was my best
friend. If you value your life you had
better tell me where the money
is buried.
D.D. (STAGE
WHISPER) It’s behind my cabin at the
edge of town. Tell
him, quick.
TRANSLATOR: (STAGE
WHISPER) You have to tell me first.
D.D. (LOUDLY) Cabinski.
Non catra essen.
TRANSLATOR: (PULLS
ROCKY AWAY FROM THE BARS AND BACK TO THE DESK.) He says he would rather die than tell you
where the money
is hidden.
ROCKY: (STARTS
BACK TOWARD THE BARS WITH THE PISTOL POINTED AT D.D.) He would, huh!
D.D. No. That’s not what I said. Don’t shoot.
They money is buried behind my cabin. It’s all there. I haven’t even opened the box.
ROCKY: (LOOKING
CLOSELY AT HIS PISTOL) Wow! Didn’t know a pistol
could be such a good English teacher.
It’s better than the Berlitz
system.
TRANSLATOR (TRYING
TO SNEAK OUT THE DOOR.) Guess he changed
his mind. You won’t be needing me any more.
ROCKY: (POINTS
PISTOL AT TRANSLATOR) Just a
cotton-pickin’ minute. I think you two are in cahoots.
D.D. No
way. He was going to let you kill me to
get the money for himself.
ROCKY: Greed
will get you every time. In that case he’d
better join you in that there cell. The judge is going to want to hear about
this. (USES
THE PISTOL TO FORCE THE TRANSLATOR TOWARD
THE CELL DOOR.)
TRANSLATOR: Don’t
put me in there. He’ll kill me.
D.D. What
did you just try to do to me? You just
wanted the money. You would
have let him kill me for the money.
(GRABS TRANSLATOR
BY THE THROAT AND STARTS TO CHOKE HIM.)
TRANSLATOR: You’re
the one who stole the money. Help. He’s going to kill me.
R0CKY: (PUTTING
THE TRANSLATOR INTO THE CELL) Shut up, both of you. If you kill each other you’ll just save us
the cost of a trial. (WALKING TOWARD THE FRONT DOOR.) I’ll be back with
the judge. Have fun.
THE END
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Why is greed considered to be a deadly sin?
- When greed does not lead to death, can it still be considered deadly?
- What motivates a greedy person to the place where he or she is willing to kill in order to increase wealth?
- Why does I Timothy 6:9 describe the result of greed as a snare?
- What other desires could motivate a greedy person besides money?
- I Timothy 6:10 says that greed forms the basis for all evil. How does greed lead to other sins besides murder?
- Why did Rocky leave to find a judge instead of going to claim the money which had been hidden?
- How does greed destroy friendship?
- What biblical principles enable a person to gain the victory over greed?
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