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Brownie Girl Scout Investiture
(Can be adapted for indoors or outdoors)
Supplies: Brownie Girl Scout pins for new members, a "pond"
(mirror or covered foil) to be set on the floor surrounded by
leaves/plants - real or artificial.
Procedure: Members to be invested are outside the meeting room.
They knock on the door. Leader opens it and asks:
LEADER: "Who comes to these woods?"
GIRLS: 'We do!"
LEADER: "What do you want?"
GIRLS: "We want to be Brownie Girl Scouts."
LEADER: "Please come in."
(Brownies enter and stand in orderly line)
LEADER: We all remember the Brownie Girl Scout story from our
handbook. We, too, will perform a little magic of let's pretend.
Close your eyes. (While leader is reciting the poem, the older
Brownie Girl Scouts set up the "pond".)
LEADER:
"Cross your little fingers,
Stand upon your toes
That's a bit of magic
Every Brownie Girl Scout knows.
Now we all are standing in a forest glade.
Listen very carefully
See the magic made.
Open your eyes
Here we are in the big woods
Before you is a pond
You can almost hear the Wise Old Owl
And the friends of whom you're fond."
(Assist each girl to the pond and while turning her - repeat:)
"Twist me and turn me and show me an elf,
I looked in the water and saw.
(girl says, "Myself".)
(Place Brownie Girl Scout pin on uniform upside down, give Girl
Scout handshake, and ask the new member to repeat the Girl Scout
Promise. She then stands to the side. Repeat process for each girl.)
NOTE TO LEADERS: At this time, all girls make the Girl Scout sign
and repeat the Promise. Call each girl forward and place her
membership pin on her clothing upside down. Explain that the pin is
upside down because she should go home and do three good turns ...
one for each part of the Promise. When the good turns are completed,
her parent or guardian can turn the pin right side up. Note that you
hope to see all the pins turned over by the next meeting. (Discuss
the meaning of good turns with the girls prior to the ceremony).
Note: putting the pins on upside down is an optional activity.
(At this point, you may wish to sing a song.)
LEADER: "Uncross your little fingers,
Down from off your toes,
Then the magic goes away,
As every Girl Scout knows."
What Is a Brownie? Poem
(Suitable for Investiture or Rededication)
The following poem is a dramatization of the Brownie Girl Scout
story.
Scene I (at home)
Grandma: (speaking to children)
Oh, me, Oh, my. I've worked so hard
To clean this house all day
I think that you should help a bit,
But all you do is play.
Father:
I've chopped the wood and swept the walk
The cows and pigs are fed,
My poor old back is aching and
My legs feel like they're dead!
Grandma:
Some folks I know had all the luck
A brownie used to come
And wash the dishes, sweep the floor
And pick up every crumb.
Father:
I wish we had a brownie so
That we could rest a bit.
Where could we find one?
OH--the wise old owl--that's it!
Scene II (the wood)
Mary:
Oh! Here's the tree in which the owl
Has built his little nest
I hope that he'll be wise and not
Say no to my request.
Oh, Mr. Owl, please help me
For you're so very wise
I want to find some brownies
To take home as a surprise.
I play all day and do not help at home a
little bit.
I haven't any time to spare from play, I
must admit.
Owl:
To-whit, to-whoo, there was no reason
That you should have to roam.
For there are brownies living with
Your Grandma in your home.
Mary:
How can that be?
why they have never
shown themselves at all!
Please tell me - are they fat or thin,
And are they short or tall?
Please tell me how to find them
I will do just what you say
If I could help my Grandma
I would thank you every day.
Owl:
Go to the lake-the moon is bright
And turn three times around
Then gaze into the pool and there
A brownie will be found.
But first you say some magic words
Before you start to look
And there they are - you'll find them
Written in that open book.
Mary:
Twist me and turn me,
And show me the elf-
I looked in the mirror and saw _."
Owl:
To-whit, to-whoo, I'm really such
A very wise old bird
Do what I've told you, then you'll find
The missing magic word!
Scene III (another part of the wood)
Mary:
Well, here I am - I'll say the verse
While looking in the pool
And I shall see the brownie
Gazing up through the waters cool.
"Twist me and turn me and show me the elf,
I looked in the water and saw. MYSELF."
The Brownie Story
(Suitable for Investiture or Rededication)
A ONE-ACT PLAY
by Joan Penrod
Narrator: Once upon a time, in Northern England, there were two
little children named Mary and Tommy. They lived with their father
and grandmother. Their father was a tailor and worked very hard. The
grandmother worked hard, too. But Mary and Tommy just played all
day.
Father: Children are such a nuisance. They just play and get
in the way.
Granny: Children are a blessing.
Father: Not my kids, look at them! What help are they?
Granny: What we need are a couple of brownies.
Mary: Who are the brownies?
Granny: Oh, little people who do nice things for older people.
Narrator: Late that night, when the moon was full, Mary sneaked
out of the house and went to the woods.
Owl: Who-who-who-o-Hoot!
Mary: Why, you must be the wise old owl. Can you tell us
where we can find some brownies to help us?
Owl: Hoot! Hoot! If you go to the pond when the moon is
out you will find the brownies. Turn yourselves around three times
and say; "Twist me and turn me and show me the elf. I looked in the
water and saw.
Mary: I don't see any brownie. I just see myself. . .
myself! That's it. I'm the brownie! Oh, won't Granny and Father be
surprised!
Narrator: Mary rushed home and told her brother, Tommy. Together
they swept the floor, washed the dishes and put everything neatly
away. The next morning, Father and Grandmother came into the
kitchen.
Granny & Father: (They look around and clap their hands.) Oh
look! Our brownies are back! Our brownies
Father: are back!
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