Narrator
Service Leader:
Wizard/Goat
King Dum Dum
Dee Dee
Hubba|
Bubba
Baba
Wawa

PROCESSIONAL PRELUDE - # 16 "’Tis a Gift to be Simple"

In all the lands of all the world, since the beginning of recorded time, there has never been another man quite like him. That’s because he is not a man, but in fact, a wizard. He has mesmerizing powers of magic. Legendary wisdom. Cleverness incomparable. And even more than his wonderful sense of humor, he’s most famous for his ability to… well, you’ll see.

His name is ‘Wiz-And.’ Actually, that is his nickname. His full name is, "Handy, Dandy, Randy the Wonderful Wizard of the Land of And!" You can see why he’s called "Wiz-And." He spends his time traveling high and low, looking for the villages most in need of his special talents. The ones most in need of… well, you’ll see.

On this particular day, long ago, in this particular village, he’d found it. A place that was just lost enough, but not so lost, that he could help. And so he set to work.

He waited till the busiest time of day and then he walked through the village square performing feats of magic like no one had ever seen. He made rabbits appear out of hats. He made hats appear out of rabbits. He made rabbits wearing hats appear and disappear all over the place. And when he had the attention of everyone in the village, from the king to the most common of folks, he told them a secret.

(in wizard’s voice)

"There is a treasure here worth more than everything in the world put together. More than even our lives. More, because it can change any life from mundane to magical. I have hidden it here somewhere that anyone can find. It is my gift to you – as long as you find it before the end of the year. Whosoever does, in the span of this year, will know the secret of the gods and command a treasure worth more than all the money in the world. Whosoever doesn’t will carry the burden of his own worst enemy."

And with that, he smiled. He raised his arms, turned and waved at the crowd, bid them ‘good luck’ and ‘happy treasure hunting.’ Then, in the middle of the crowd, a flash went up, sparks flew, smoke billowed… and he was gone. Instead, in his place, standing on four legs was a goat.

No one could believe their eyes. They just stood there, mouths open, eyes peeled, staring at the goat. No one could move. They were too surprised to blink or even to stutter. That is, until the goat got tired of the gawking and said,

(in goat’s voice)

"What are you looking at?"

With that the people who were rubbing their eyes began rubbing their ears. ‘Had this goat just talked?’ they wondered. The goat just shrugged his shoulders as if he’d seen it before and began to sing.

HYMN # 346 "Come Sing a Song with Me"

STORY PART I

(Randy is in the center wearing all the coats. Characters are around the circle. Each has nametags – they will be provided – and when your name is called you stand up and turn your name tag around.)

Narrator:

A talking Goat. And not only a talking Goat but a singing goat. And not only that but a layered goat as well. As people got closer they noticed that this goat had layers and layers of skins atop his back. Disbelieving what they were seeing, the people moved closer. They were compelled, almost by magic, to touch the skin of the goat. The goat just smiled.

"That’s right," the goat said loudly. "They are real. These layers are coats. ‘Goat coats’ to be exact. And they are magic. And not only that, they are the most comfortable coats you will ever wear. Try one on," he offered. And they did. And it was true. They were the most comfortable coats they had ever worn.

And they were magic. For each coat was cast with a spell to make anyone who put it on feel safer and more comfortable than they’ve ever felt before. But what the people didn’t know was that it was not necessarily good magic. The coats actually heightened the natural defenses of the people who wore them. They protected people’s hearts from breaking. For anyone who protected their heart by being cynical would become more cynical. Anyone who protected their heart by being silly became more silly. But they all, indeed, felt much safer and secure.

(Bubba stands)

The first to take a coat was the father of the village people. He was a kindly, stout man who, on account of living in the very southern part of the village, was often called Bubba. Bubba had a gift for being kind and thoughtful and earning the trust of all who met him through his storytelling. But he had always, secretly, protected his own heart by being cautious. And when he put on the coat he felt every precaution of the world wrapped around him. And he smiled.

(Bubba sits, Baba stands)

The next to take a coat was Bubba’s daughter, Baby baby (Bubba had a hard time thinking up names) so people just called her ‘Baba’ for short. Baba was known as the champion of the village because she understood justice and fought for the rights of all persons. But Baba had protected her heart by sometimes being over-zealous and so when she wrapped the coat around herself she felt very righteous. And as she felt it on her shoulders she turned her nose indignantly in the air. And she smiled.

(Baba sits, Dee Dee stands)

The third to take a coat was Deborah the Diabolical – known as "Dee Dee" for short. Dee Dee had a gift for making people smile and loved to play tricks which made people laugh. And for this reason she was well liked. But she often hid her heart under her mischief and defiance for she never liked to be told what to do. Her coat made her instantly see all the mischief she could create and all the tricks she could play on others. And she smiled.

(Dee Dee sits)

It was at this point that the people of the kingdom stepped forth to take their coats. The people of the kingdom owned the land around the castle, including all the land of the village. They were not always liked by the people of the village because they owned everything and they didn’t always share well or play nice with others.

(Dum Dum stands)

The first to take his coat was the King, Dunsley Dunbar II. Dunsley Dunbar II liked to think of himself as a wise king, and he was indeed, pretty wise. But when the people didn’t like him they would call him Dum Dum Squared. King Dunsley used an aire of authority and judgment to protect himself and so his coat gave him a very important and pretentious nature. And he smiled.

(Dum Dum sits, Hubba stands)

After the King came the King’s sister, Harriett Underhill Bertha Barthalimieux Aghast, - which was way too much for anyone to pronounce so they just called her by her initials: HUBBA. Hubba had a good heart but had been teased her whole life because of her name and therefore was very suspicious of everyone. She spent most of her life building up and training the army to be on the lookout in case of attack by the neighboring village. When she put on the coat she felt certain she could anticipate any treachery or treason. And she smiled.

(Hubba sits, Wawa stands)

The last to take a coat was the King’s treasurer, Walter Whattapain, who because he always cried about how the kingdom never had enough money, was just called Wawa. Wawa was thoughtful and careful and well organized. But he protected himself by wanting to own everything around. He worked in the Kingdom’s treasury and the money made him feel very secure. When he put on the coat, he felt rich. And he smiled.

(Everyone stands in a line)

The problem was that even though the goat coats gave everyone more of what they had, there was still a strong feeling of something they didn’t have. Everyone chalked that up to the desire to find the hidden treasure. And everyone felt sure that their newly increased gifts would help them.

(While everyone is standing the character who’s name is called steps forward. Characters step back as the next name is called and that character steps forward)

Bubba felt certain caution would prevail

Baba felt righteousness would win out

Dee Dee felt cunning was the key

King Dunsley felt like shrewd judgment would make the difference

Hubba felt that her suspicions would save for her the treasure

And Wawa felt that his wealth would open the right doors.

Each one of these characters felt better with the coats covering their empty hearts. And each one could see the treasure in their mind’s eye. And each saw it laying somewhere out there, beyond them. They all thought of how their fortune would change when they found the treasure. And no one noticed the goat who was just shaking his head and chuckling to himself.

CHALICE LIGHTING

Service Leader:

We light this chalice for the warmth of love that shines through even the layers of defense we use to protect our heart. May we find ways for this love to break through that we may know the power that binds each to all.

Good morning! My name is Karen LoBracco and I am the Director of Religious Education here at UUMAN. This morning along with Greg Ward, our minister, Elena Boguslavsky, our pianist, Kathleen Shearer, this morning’s narrator, and a cast of thousands we welcome you to the Unitarian Universalist Metro Atlanta North congregation, affectionately known as UUMAN. Here, no matter who you are, where your from, whether your big or little, man or woman, no matter the color of your skin, the neighborhood you live in or who you fall in love with, you are welcome here.

There are a few announcements before we continue with the story.

This afternoon, starting at 1:00, there is a meeting of the Gay-Lesbian. Anyone interested in helping to support this group or offer input into the group’s future, is welcome to attend. Lunch will be provided.

There will be a rummage sale and Robyn Henry (Martina Q at the second service) will tell us about it.

There will be the secret friends celebration this morning between services. We invite you to attend and join in the celebration.

This morning’s service is about celebration and how we find the treasure that is hidden somewhere in our lives. Let us, in that light, stand and sing our opening hymn, the words are printed in your order of worship.

*HYMN # 396 "I Know This Rose Will Open"

I know this rose will open

I know my fears will burn away

I know my soul will unfurl it’s wings

I know this rose will open

*HAND OF FRIENDSHIP

Service Leader:

Now, if you’ll stand and open your heart to the people in this community, we will turn to those people closest to us and offer the hand of friendship.

(Here again, everyone stands or steps forward when called)

Okay, let’s recap what we know:

- Wizard comes to the Land of And announcing that there is a treasure buried somewhere that will change any life from mundane to magical. Whoever fails to find will care the burden of their own worst enemy.

- A goat appears giving out coats that heighten everyone’s protective nature

- Bubba, the father, becomes more cautious

- Baba, the daughter, becomes more righteous

- Dee Dee, the other daughter, becomes more defiant

- King Dunsley Dunbar II (who is sometimes called Dum Dum – but he hates that) becomes more judgmental

- Hubba, the King’s sister, becomes more suspicious

- And Wawa, the King’s Treasurer, becomes more greedy

All of them feel empty on the inside. But they also feel protected by their coats and certain that the coats will help them find the treasure that will cure their emptiness. Sound familiar?

One last piece of information. The goat’s name is ‘But.’ (for reasons which will become obvious)

Here’s where it gets good.

Dee Dee, who’s sister is Baba and father is Bubba, is caught in the King’s garden picking roses. She had originally followed the goat in there hoping the goat would lead her to the treasure; but when she lost sight of the goat she decided to stay and pick a bouquet to give to the King (Dum Dum), being kind of sweet on him on account of him being handsome – at least when he wasn’t being so authoritative and judgmental, which she hated. But Dum Dum caught her in the act of picking the roses and told her that she would have to go to court and stand sentence before the judge (none other than Dum Dum himself). Dum Dum sentenced Dee Dee to the dungeon, which she protested, explaining that she was just picking the roses for him. Dee Dee cried and Dum Dum thought. Perhaps I am being too hasty, he said, confessing that he, too, found her to be extraordinarily attractive. In the end, he declared a deal. If she would stay for a year in the castle with him and prove, in such time, that she would not defy him, then he would marry her. ‘But Dum Dum!’ Dee Dee declared, ‘it isn’t that simple. You must also prove to me that you won’t be forever judging me before I marry you.’ So it was agreed. Dee Dee would stay in the castle for a year. At the end of that year, if she had defied the king, he could take her most precious possession. If, on the other hand, he had stood in judgment of her, she could take whatever was his most precious possession. They both secretly thought that this deal would insure that they would get the treasure, even if the other found it first. They agreed and she moved into the castle. Into separate rooms.

Meanwhile, down in the southern part of the village, everyone had gathered around Bubba’s brew pot as they were accustom to doing since Bubba brewed the biggest batch of boiled bananas anyone had ever seen. Since bananas were about the only food that grew in the land of And, people had gotten used to it. Around the fire, Bubba would tell stories. Bubba’s stories were almost always about adventure and finding treasure. So, since the wizard had come to town, his stories had become more popular then ever. No one really cared whether or not they were true. Except one woman who had just recently started coming. She sat in the back and she wore a disguise so that no one would recognize her. It turned out that it was really the King’s sister Hubba who had come to spy on Bubba to see what he knew. Hubba figured that if Bubba knew where the treasure was, she would find a way to cheat him out of it. So whenever Bubba talked, Hubba listened and wherever Bubba went, Hubba followed, always in disguise. Hubba had also wanted to find out what made Bubba so popular. For the longest time, she had been trying to get the villagers to come to her banana boils so that she could recruit them for her army. But none of them wanted to go because Bubba told such good stories. Well, Bubba was a very cautious person, but he was not stupid. He noticed this same woman showing up at the Banana boils and saw her following him on his walks through the village forest. At first Bubba thought the woman must just be very hungry and liked his boiled bananas. Then he wondered if, maybe, just maybe, she might be attracted to him. But Bubba was too cautious to walk up to this strange woman and ask her.

Meanwhile, a little closer to the castle was a small hut in the touristy section of the village where Baba lived. Baba, being the righteous one in the family, had always been an activist. She moved around with Greenpeace and various election efforts, toured with the ‘get out the vote’ campaign… all the good causes. Baba ran a printing press in the basement of her hut. Most of the night you could hear the press chugging along. Ka-chink, Ka-chink, Ka-chink. Churning out posters for no nukes, pro choice, save the whales… She even printed the newsletter for the village’s Unitarian Universalist church. All of this, as you can well imagine, was pretty expensive. And to top that off there is not a whole lot of money in the activist business. Baba found that she could barely keep ahead of the bills coming in from the King’s treasurer. Lately, it had gotten so bad that the greedy little treasurer, Wawa, was coming around himself to collect the taxes. And he never missed a dime. To pay for all the costs, Baba had begun to support herself by printing up treasure maps for all the tourists. Hunting for the treasure had become all the rage lately and all the tourists were hungry for the latest maps. Baba usually printed them up so that they led to a place where she had buried a jar with a note in it telling them to go buy the next map. It was a pretty good racket. It seemed to have most of the village fooled. Including one money hungry treasurer who had been coming around looking for clues. Everyday, Wawa would pick up the latest map and head off into the forest. This seemed to keep him happy. For every day he would go off singing the same song.

*HYMN – # 348 "Guide My Feet

Guide my feet while I run this race (x3)

because I don’t want to run this race in vain

Give me Strength…

Search my heart…

STORY PART III

(Characters walk around the circle)

The whole time people frantically searched for the treasure, they continued to wear their goat coats. At first, in the winter, when they first got them, it seemed like a good idea. But pretty soon, spring came. Then early summer. And as it got pretty hot, the people with the goat coats began to get more and more uncomfortable. Still they felt pretty attached to them, even though they were clearly a little too warm and displayed a poor choice of seasonal fashion sense.

The goat thought this was very funny. He walked around and whenever he saw one of them he would make sure to walk beside them and talk to them. "Isn’t that a great coat?" he would ask them. "Have you ever worn a more comfortable coat in all your life?" He could see them sweating, almost suffocating in their coats. Yet, he could also see that they had grown far too attached to their false sense sense of security to take them off.

"A coat like that has got to make you feel great, I bet. Sure does for me. I never take mine off," the goat said. This made the people think and remember that peculiar sense of emptiness inside them which had not gone away even after months of wearing the coat. "I bet that coat is about the most precious thing in your life," the goat continued, trying to chide them. And then the people would remember the treasure they were looking for and how precious that seemed. "Well… I don’t know," they said. Or, "I’m not sure I would say that," they continued.

"Tell you what," continued the goat. "I’ll make you a deal. I can’t give you the treasure. But I can make sure that if you give me the coat now, that you don’t have to carry your worst enemy’s burden." The people thought about it for a minute. But one by one they all decided that they wanted to find the treasure. So they declined his offer and kept their coats.

"You said that the coat wasn’t the most precious thing in the world, didn’t you?" asked the goat. "Why don’t you give it to me and then look for what is most precious?" And one by one they all hemmed and hawed. Then they’d all, in one way or another, turn back to the goat and say, well I would but…

And each time they would say the word, ‘but,’ the goat would wait till they turned around. And then he would run up from behind them and bump them right in the ___________. That’s right, in the (ahem… bottom). And that’s how the goat got his name. ‘But’ the goat.

(This HAS TO BE short – not sure how we can keep this to a minimum but we’re going to have to try)

Now is the time in the service where the love that binds us together is spoken aloud. If you have a joy or concern that by sharing with this caring community might bring a moment of hope or a measure of healing, we invite you to come forward – or speak from where your standing – say your name and the joy or concern you would have this community hold in its heart for the week to come.

For those joys and concerns spoken and for those still left in the silent sanctuary of our hearts, this community exists as the prayer that would help you through the week to come.

Now, in the early fall of the season, Dee Dee, who’s father is Bubba and sister is Baba, continued to go for long walks in the forest even after she moved into the castle with Dum Dum. She had begun to see a different side of him now. Although he worked all day long acting as judge over the land, she could see that he did so with as much care as he had in his heart. But as he spent so much time in the kingdom’s court, she had lots of time to continue to explore the forest. And she could not help but notice what had been going on. She noticed that someone was following her father, Bubba, on his trips to the village. As she quietly snuck up behind the disguised woman, Dee Dee could see that it was actually Hubba who Dee Dee recognized from the castle. Seeing Hubba in disguise made Dee Dee figure she was up to no good. So Dee Dee decided she would play a trick. Every day from then on, she would go to the castle gardens and pick the most beautiful roses. Then she would carry them while she hid in the forest. After her father, Bubba, passed by, Dee Dee would emerge from hiding, place the Roses in the places he’d passed, and hurry out of site. Inevitably, Hubba would come along and find the roses. After so many days she felt certain that it must be Bubba leaving them for her to find. But she was still suspicious.

Meanwhile, Bubba, noticed that Hubba was following him. He thought she might be friendly but was too shy to say so. But being cautious, he thought she might be a stalker. Caution won out and Bubba decided to dig a deep pit just in case. And after a few days, when he had it finished, he covered the top with branches and leaves so no one could tell.

This would have all been fine except for the trap happened to be almost directly in the path of the latest map which Baba had drawn up. So, early the following week, while on his way out following the latest treasure map, Wawa failed to watch where he was going and – you guessed it – fell right into the trap. So there he sat, screaming and screaming from the bottom of the trap.

Meanwhile, Hubba who had been following the trail looking for Bubba, had just found the flowers left by Dee Dee when she heard the screams. Turning around she ran with the flowers, dropping several on the way as she followed the sound of the screaming. But, she too, didn’t see the trap and fell right in landing at the feet of of Wawa, still holding the flowers. "Wawa!" cried Hubba suspiciously. "Hubba," cried Wawa greedily. Then, spying the flowers in her hand, Wawa lunged to grab them. And just as Wawa got hold of the flowers, Bubba appeared at the edge of the pit.

Bubba had come running when he heard the commotion. He had seen Hubba running in front of him and picked up the flowers she had dropped thinking they were meant for him. When he got to the pit and saw Hubba on her knees looking like she was proposing to Wawa. He became so incensed with jealousy, he ripped off his coat and threw caution to the wind and jumped into the pit to save the honor of his beloved Hubba.

This happened just at the same moment Baba, who had been hiding his latest treasure map, heard the screams and came running to the edge of the pit. Seeing the arms of his father around the neck of the much smaller accountant, Baba figured it was a justice issue and threw herself into the pit to fight for the little guy. Hubba, seeing someone trying to attack Bubba, threw off her coat and began to defend Bubba. Wawa, no longer feeling greedy, threw off his coat to save Baba. Baba, being the righteous one, simply had her coat ripped off. And there they all were. Fighting amidst each other, flowers flying when they saw the King.

Dum Dum ordered everyone to be arrested and taken out of the pit and marched in to court. He had found his flowers missing and came to look for the culprits. And when he saw the fiasco in the pit he knew they were all going to pay. Big time.

 

Now is the time in the service where we all pay. Big time. We will now receive this morning’s offering for the work of the church, within and beyond our walls.

For the work of the church which is weaving a tapestry of love with our lives, we give thanks for this offering and the people who make it possible.

OFFERTORY RESPONSE

"We sing now together in joyful thanksgiving acclaiming creation whose bounty we share; both sorrow and gladness we find now in our living, we sing a hymn of praise to the life that we bear."

The scene in the court room was a bigger fiasco than what just occurred in the pit. Fingers pointed and accusations flew. Only three things, at the end of the trial, seemed clear.

1. Everyone was stripped of their goat coats and they sat in the courtroom feeling at the mercy of the King. And at the mercy of their own hearts which had begun to tell them things. In all the commotion at the pit, and in the time they had to think about it on the way to the castle, the hearts of the four who were arrested had ceased to be empty. They were all filled with thoughts of their beloved.

2. It seems that over the course of the past year Hubba had fallen in love with Bubba. And Bubba had fallen in love with her. And although it was still not completely clear where the flowers came from they could see that their attraction and devotion had won out over her suspicions and over his caution. They called out to each other their mutual love from across the courtroom as Dum Dum just pounded his gavel.

3. It also turned out that Wawa had fallen in love with Baba and Baba had fallen in love with him. Baba had a crisis of conscience when she realized that it was her maps that were responsible for his falling in the pit. And Wawa realized that anyone who was willing to fight for him, like Baba, was worth more than all the money in the treasury. They too confessed their love as Dum Dum continued to pound his gavel.

Sitting atop the bench, adorned in his goat coat, Dum Dum sat in judgment of everyone. Against many protests he sentenced them all to spend the remainder of the year in separate dungeons. Shrieks of disbelief went up in the courtroom. But none greater than those of Dee Dee. Except no one heard her cries, for she kept them to herself. She didn’t confess that she was the one taking the roses. She kept her silence as the others were led away to the dungeons. She just felt the emptiness of her heart as she pulled the goat coat tightly around her. And as she stood up to leave the courtroom she stopped in front of the bench and looked up at the king.

Two things ran through her mind. The first was that she had him right where she wanted him. He had stood in judgment and now she had won the deal between them. On top of that, no one knew that she had defied him and taken the roses. Now, according to their agreement, she could take the one thing of his that she considered most precious.

The second thought that ran through her mind was a certainty. She now knew, without any doubt, that she was hopeless in love with him. Despite his judgment. Despite his authority. Despite that stupid gavel he kept pounding. She knew she loved him. But she couldn’t quite get her heart to say so. Her sense of cunning was still too deep. She just pulled the coat around her shoulders and looked up at the king with a tear in her eye.

Seeing this, Dum Dum felt his heart sink. He did not want to be a judge. He did not want to rule over people. Originally, he felt that with the others out of the way, the treasure would be easy to find. But he knew that even if he found it, he would give it to her. And if she found it, all the better. But now, he didn’t even want this stupid treasure anymore. He would trade it all, undo everything, if only he could. Anything to take the sadness from his beloved’s heart. But as he saw her pull the coat tightly around her and walk out of the room, he did the same. And they both wished they had been walking out together instead of alone.

*HYMN – # 348 "Guide My Feet

Guide my feet while I run this race (x3)

because I don’t want to run this race in vain

Stand by me…

Take my hand…

It was the day before the end of the year and no one had found the treasure mentioned by the wizard. Each of the four who were sentenced to the dungeon continued to wait, pining away for their mate, hoping for clemency. Their hearts were no longer empty, but filled with tremendous longing.

The same was so for both Dee Dee and Dum Dum. In the last few months they realized they loved one another but they couldn’t undo what had been done and risk the scorn of their beloved. They had gone along for the last few months in the castle, hardly talking. Their only solace, their only reassurance and warmth, came from wrapping their goat coats around them.

On the night before the end of the year, they ate dinner together. After a long silence Dee Dee spoke.

"It is the end of the year tomorrow. I don’t believe I can stay here and marry you. You have cast judgment on my family. And because of that I am entitled to take the one thing most precious in your castle." Dum Dum could not deny this. Though his heart was breaking he said that she could take anything she wanted. He said that he wished only that he had found the treasure so that she could have that. He then ordered his servants to help prepare and carry whatever she wanted. With that, he finished his meal, and went to bed with great sadness in his heart. But before he left the room he took off his goat coat – for the first time in a year – and laid it across the chair. "In case this is the precious gift that you wish to take," he said. Then he went to bed and cried himself to sleep.

In the night Dee Dee ordered the servants as to what to take and they carried it with her across the village to her old house. The servants brought her treasure inside, set it down and left. By the time they arrived and set down the treasure, it was almost light. The sun was coming up and so she sat at the kitchen table and waited.

When Dum Dum woke up he was startled for a second. He looked around, expecting to see the empty castle around him. But that wasn’t what he saw. When he looked around he didn’t recognize anything. He rose from his bed and turned around and there was Dee Dee. She stood there without her coat, with the morning sun coming from behind her. She was beautiful and radiant because her heart was full.

"What is happening here? Where am I?" Dum Dum asked. "You are in my home," Dee Dee explained. "Why am I here and how did I get here?" he asked.

"You said that I was allowed to bring whatever in the castle was most precious to me. That is exactly what I took."

And with that the Wizard appeared in the room smiling with joy.

"I see you have found your treasure," he exclaimed. I was worried that you would be stuck carrying the burdens of your own worst enemy."

"I think we both discovered," said Dum Dum, "that our own worst enemy were the defenses that we wore around our heart." "Had we not summoned the courage to take off our coats," Dee Dee added, "we probably would have carried those burdens for years to come."

For the rest of the day there was much rejoicing. Dum Dum released all the prisoners and gave up his castle and all the money in his treasury that they may forgive him. Their hearts were softened by the reunion with their true loves, forgiveness reigned and in the days to come all three couples were married.

The King’s sister married Dee Dee’s father and as they were inseparable, they were known as Hubba-Bubba. They went on to become chewing gum magnets.

The activist and the treasurer married and started an investigative reporting show called Baba Wawa reports.

And the King and Deborah were married, became inseparable, and were known forevermore as Dum-Dee-Dum-Dee-Dum.

And the wizard? Finished in his work of helping hearts to find that which is most precious, the wizard turned himself into a goat and went on to the next village.

The End.

*HYMN – # 368 "Now Let Us Sing"

POSTLUDE – "’Tis a Gift to Be Simple"

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