Script
Arlequin the clown and his beautiful friend Rosana decide to visit the city to tell everyone how to clean a house without polluting the environment. They knock at the door of Mrs. Salina who is reluctant to receive them because she thinks they are selling expensive cleaning products.
Rosana and Arlequin calm her down and they give her practical advice about cheap, non-polluting ways to clean her home.
( Sound of knocking; sound of door opening )
Mrs. Salina:
Oh no, more salespeople! I told you a thousand times that I don’t want to buy anything – I don’t have any money.
Arlequin:
But Ma’am, we are not selling anything.
Mrs. Salina:
Sorry, sorry. I thought you were salespeople.
Rosana:
No, no, no.
Mrs. Salina:
They come all the time, “Detergent Ma’am,” “a broom Ma’am,” grease removers, garbage disposals, unbreakable glasses, roach killers, ant dust… (getting agitated)
Rosana:
Calm down, calm down.
Mrs. Salina:
Worst of all is that I want to buy them, but I don’t have enough money in my budget.
Arlequin:
Don’t despair. We have come to help. I am Arlequin.
Rosana:
And my name is Rosana. I am from a country that is clean, warm, and beautiful. Look Mrs. Salina, inside this little case we have some…
Mrs. Salina:
(interrupts) I knew it! You are salespeople, salespeople in disguise. I don’t have any money.
Arlequin:
No Mrs. Salina, we’re not selling anything, we are giving advice.
Mrs. Salina:
Advice won’t clean up the dirt in this house. I need Superclean, Superclean.
Rosana:
Mrs. Salina, we are going to give some wonderful advice, and your house is going to be bright and clean. Your friends are going to envy you!
Arlequin:
Our ideas cost almost nothing, and most importantly, they won’t pollute the environment.
Mrs. Salina:
Really? With these products that you recommend, I won’t sneeze anymore?
Rosana and Arlequin:
No you won’t.
Mrs. Salina:
And they won’t make my hands red?
Arlequin:
After cleaning, your hands will be as soft as can be.
Mrs. Salina:
But tell me, what are these marvellous products?
Rosana:
To clean the house, you need a dash of vinegar, and soft fragrant rosewater. Dirt on the tiles will disappear with vinegar, and if there is grease, then it will also disappear. It will be so easy to clean…
Mrs. Salina:
It cannot be so easy to clean my stove.
Rosana:
It is easy. With baking soda, it’s inexpensive and effective.
Mrs. Salina:
And what about all my greasy pots and lids?
Rosana:
Lots of soap and water, and perhaps a little abrasive powder if the pots are very dirty. Or a little vinegar or lemon juice, which help get rid of the grease.
Arlequin:
And the bathroom?
Mrs. Salina:
The bathroom is terrible. It is so hard to clean. To clean them I need Superclean, Superclean… (sings)
Rosana:
No, Mrs. Salinas. With a hard-bristled brush and a bit of abrasive powder you can get them perfectly clean.
Mrs. Catalina:
Yes, yes, all that is fine, but there is one thing that natural products cannot do.
Arlequin:
Tell me, what thing is so terrible that nature cannot combat it?
Mrs. Salina:
Insects. It cannot get rid of insects. And eight-legged spiders weaving spiderwebs. To kill disgusting things like that I need Flu Fla Fli. (Sings) Only a spray or two will do the job, and you will sleep as peacefully as an angel, without any mosquitos buzzing in your ear and biting your eyebrows.
Rosana:
Then grow basil or a small lavender plant in a flowerpot. Your kitchen will be beautiful, and the scent will send the insects away.
Mrs. Salina:
And what about the spiders?
Rosana:
Don’t kill the spiders. Most spiders don’t cause any harm and better yet, they eat the mosquitos.
Mrs. Salina:
I’ll get a flowerpot here and another over there, and use a lot of basil to season the meat for spaghetti.
Arlequin:
Mrs. Salina, we must leave now.
Mrs. Salina:
How can you leave so soon. Please stay and drink some coffee with me.
Arlequin:
Hot coffee, that sounds wonderful!
( Water running in a faucet )
Arlequin:
Mrs. Salina, make sure to turn the water tap off tightly so that none is wasted. We might run out of water someday.
Mrs. Salina:
The water? Run out? But there is lots of water in the rivers.
Rosana:
Yes, there is a lot, but we are polluting it so much that it is getting more difficult to find water that is safe to drink.
Mrs. Salina:
That’s true.
Rosana:
If we are not careful with our water, then a day will come when we won’t have it anymore.
Mrs. Salina:
That cannot happen. I couldn’t live without water. Without my coffee, without clean clothes, without my daily bath, without a basil plant.
Arlequin:
But it is still possible to have all those things. Just be careful with the water. Don’t waste it. Use it only when necessary.
Mrs. Salina:
From now on, I won’t spill a drop of this precious water.
Arlequin:
That’s the right attitude!
Mrs. Salina:
Let’s drink our coffee before it gets cold.
Arlequin and Rosana:
Mmmm, it’s delicious.
Arlequin:
Mrs. Salina, it’s been a pleasure.
Mrs. Salina:
The pleasure was mine, and I have learned a lot. From now on my house will be bright and clean, but naturally, and water will be counted by the drop.
Rosana:
See you later Mrs. Salinas. And please tell your friends about all this.
Arlequin:
Yes, don’t forget to tell your friends.
Rosana:
You can keep your house clean without harming nature. You can make this the land of your dreams if you try to protect the environment, starting with your own home.
Acknowledgements
This script was adapted from the radio broadcast “Latinoamerica por la vida: segunda parte, Numero 2 – Empecemos por casa” (Latin America for life: part 2, Number 2 – Let’s start in the home), part of a series of broadcasts about environmental issues. It is published in Spanish by CIESPAL (Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de Comunicacion para America Latina), Av. Almagro y Andrade Marin, Aptdo, 17-01-584, Quito, Ecuador.