Lights come up. Justin is sitting at the table, reading newspaper. Ian, Lyric, Tiff, and Matthew watching TV, eating popcorn.

IAN

What's on next?

MATTHEW

Fear Factor. Two hours.

LYRIC

How old is that show anyhow?

IAN

Old. Let's just say.

Enter Amanda, carrying a packet of papers.

AMANDA

Tiff, your report printed.

Tiff stands up, takes report, and goes back to "den".

Lights dim, sound effect of power-down.

MATTHEW

WHAT?!

IAN

Power's out.

JUSTIN

Here, I'll get flashlights.

Ian rises to help him, returns to couch with a flashlight.

MATTHEW

Why of all times? Just before Fear Factor!

Enter Tiff, holding papers.

TIFF

Just when I was almost done, too. That figures.

(She sits on the couch.)

Now what do we do?

JUSTIN

You know what we did when the power went out when I was a kid?

AMANDA

Don't start, Justin, it makes us sound old.

JUSTIN

We told each other stories.

MATTHEW

Yeah, right. What are we gonna tell? I'd rather play video games.

IAN

The power's out, stupid, that means you can't charge your Game Boy either.

TIFF

Great. Then someone start telling, or I'm going to bed.

AMANDA

All right.

Amanda walks to center stage. Spotlighted.

AMANDA

Once, there was a rich man. There was a disease in his eyes that hurt so badly that sometimes he couldn't sleep.

Lights come up on rest of family.

MATTHEW

Wouldn't he have died from sleep deprivation?

Tiff kicks him.

TIFF

Shut up and listen.

Lights dim, spotlight on Amanda.

AMANDA

A poor old candy peddler heard of the reward for a cure, and set out to find one. He went into the woods, and met a group of ants whose nest was flooding. The peddler moved the stone that was blocking the creek, and went on, not thinking about his good deed.

Lights up.

MATTHEW

Aw, come on, no one's that great!

Ian kicks him.

IAN

Shut up and listen.

Lights dim, spotlight on Amanda.

AMANDA

The old peddler walked for a while longer, then stopped to rest for the night. He had a dream of knights in black armor, and a queen robed in black. When he woke up, he found that he had walked back near the ants' nest the night before.

Lights up.

MATTHEW

How convenient.

IAN

Will you shut up?

Lights dim, spotlight on Amanda.

AMANDA

The peddler continued to walk. He walked all day, and by nightfall, he had come to a ruined shack in the woods. He started for it to stay the night, but saw a caterpillar, attempting to escape from a swooping bird. He shooed the bird away, picked up the caterpillar, and set it down inside with him.

Lights up.

MATTHEW

COME ON. NO ONE IS-

Ian kicks him.

IAN

SHUT. UP. MATT.

Lights dim, spotlight on Amanda.

AMANDA

That night, the old peddler dreamed that the caterpillar spoke to him. It told him of a split-trunked oak tree in the forest. A cousin of the caterpillar's had spit on it many years ago, and now the bead, when dissolved in wine and swallowed, would cure any disease of the eyes.

Lights up.

MATTHEW

The caterpillar SPIT ON IT?!

IAN

I have to agree, Mom, that's sort of weird.

TIFF

Shut up.

Lights dim, spotlight on Amanda.

amanda

When the peddler woke up the night morning, the caterpillar was gone. Then the peddler realized that he had saved a magic caterpillar.

Lights up.

Pause. Then all but Amanda burst out laughing.

Matthew

A....magic....CATERPILLAR?

JUSTIN

(laughing)

OK, OK, let's hear the end, kids.

Lights dim.

AMANDA

The peddler walked all day until he found the oak tree with a split trunk. He was worried that his eyes would be too weak to find the tiny bead, so he called the ants. They found it and brought it to him.

Lights up.

MATTHEW

Wait, if the old man couldn't see, why didn't he drink the bead thing?

TIFF

SHH!

Lights dim, spotlight on Amanda.

AMANDA

The old peddler brought the bead to the rich man, who drank it. Almost instantly, his eyes were better. he was so glad that he gave the old peddler double the reward.

Amanda sits down on the end of the couch.

All is silent for a moment.

MATTHEW

All right, I'm going to bed.