Read-Aloud Play

I
would
rather
die

The incredible true story

of Frederick Douglass
BY SPENCER KAYDEN

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s t o r y w o r k s

Characters

Circle the character you will play.

*Narrators 1 & 2
*Freddy, a young
slave
*Old Frederick,
Freddy as a
grown man
Overseer

Slaves:
Aunt Katy
Esther
*William
Jake
Harry
Hugh Auld, a white
businessman

Key Ideas and Details As you read

UP
CLOSE this play, think about how reading changed
Frederick Douglasss life.
Look for Word Nerds 7 terms IN BOLD

The Granger Collection, New York

Scene 1

N1: The year is 1838. On a plantation in

Maryland, 7-year-old Freddy is curled in a ball
on the kitchen floor. He is shivering, wearing
only a tattered shirt.
N2: Aunt Katy, the cook, comes in to make
breakfast. She kicks Freddy in the ribs.
Aunt Katy: Get up, you. Out of my way.
N1: Freddy lingers, hoping to get a bit of food.
Aunt Katy: Get on out, or no breakfast for you.
N2: Outside, Freddy finds two boys, Jake and
William. They are watching the overseer
drag Freddys cousin Esther by the ear.
Overseer: This is twice now you have overslept.
Esther: I am sorry! I was
Overseer: Youll sleep outside tonight.
Esther: Its winter, sir!
Overseer: My word is law. Get out to the fields.
N1: Freddy winces as he hears the loud crack of
the overseers whip. He turns to the boys.
Freddy: Do you ever wonder why youre a slave?
William: My mamas a slave. Her mama was too.
Freddy: Mine too. But will we be slaves forever?
Jake: What choice do we have?
Freddy: The cows have straw to sleep on. The

*Sophy Auld,
Hughs wife
Tommy, Hugh and
Sophys son
Thomas Auld,
Hughs brother, a
plantation owner

Slave Owners 1 & 2

Joseph,
a free black man
Conductor

*indicates large speaking role

pigs have leaves. What do we have? Nothing.

William: Keep your voice down, Freddy.
Talking like that will only bring you trouble.

Scene 2

N2: At age 9, Freddy is sent to Baltimore,

Maryland, to be a slave for Hugh Auld, his
wife Sophy, and their son Tommy. One day,
the two boys play.
Tommy: How old are you?
Freddy: I dont know.
Tommy: Thats silly. When is your birthday?
Freddy: Around harvest time, I think.
Tommy: My birthday is February 19.
Freddy: Whats feb-yoo-airy?
Tommy: You dont know much, do you?
Sophy (walking in): Boys, shall I read a story?
N1: Tommy settles in on the couch next to his
mother. Freddy holds back, hesitant.
Sophy: Come here and sit with us, Freddy.
N2: Freddy sits at her feet and listens to her
lovely voice.
Sophy (reading): Then Pharaohs daughter saw
a basket among the reeds. She opened it and
saw the baby. He was crying.
Freddy (timidly): Miss Sophy, would you teach
me how to read?
Sophy: Why of course! What fun!

Scene 3

N1: A few weeks later, Sophy calls to Hugh.

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s t o r y w o r k s

The Granger Collection, New York

Sophy: Oh, Hugh! We have a surprise

for you! Show him, Freddy.
Freddy (reading): The boy has a bird.
The bird can fly. See the bird
N2: Hugh grabs the book from
Freddys hands.
Hugh (yelling): You taught this boy to
read?
Sophy: Yes! Isnt he a fast learner?
A family of
Hugh: It is unlawful to teach a slave to
slaves in Virginia
read!
Sophy: But why? Such a bright boy
should
Mr. Auld has sent him back to the plantation.
Hugh: If he learns to read, he will want to write,
N1: Freddy is harvesting wheat with other
and then, theres no telling what he will
young men, sweating in the scorching sun.
want. It will make him forever unfit for the
William: Is that you, Freddy?
duties of a slave. (to Freddy) If I ever catch
N2: Freddy turns to see a young man with a
you reading again, Ill not spare the whip.
sunken, hollow face.
Old Frederick: Those words opened my eyes. If
Freddy: William? I hardly recognize you. All
knowledge made me unfit to be a slave, then
these years youve been doing hard labor.
I suddenly understood the pathway to
How can you stand it?
freedom.
William: I see you have not changed. Please
dont stir up trouble. Ive had enough lashes.
Scene 4
N1: William lifts up his shirt and shows Freddy
Old Frederick: After that, I read whatever I
his scarred back.
could find. I took scraps of paper from the
N2: Freddy opens his mouth to speak when the
gutter and books that Mr. Auld tossed aside. I
overseer rides over on his horse. He brings his
carefully copied the letters until I could write
whip down hard on Freddys back.
my own sentences. But I had to be careful.
Overseer: No talking!
N1: Freddy pores over a newspaper in his room.
N1: Freddy crumples to the ground.
Freddy (reading): Thirty . . . dol . . . dollars for
William (whispering): Just keep your head down
the . . . cap-tour . . . capture
and do your work.
Sophy (storming in): FREDDY!
N2: She snatches the paper.
Scene 6
Sophy: How dare you! No reading!
N2: Freddy sits under a tree with William and a
Freddy: Yes, Miss Sophy.
few others. It is their one day off a week.
Sophy: Its for your own good. Nobody wants a
Freddy: Working in the fields makes me so tired
disrespectful slave.
and hungry, there is no time to think. I feel
Freddy: Yes, Miss Sophy.
my dreams of freedom slipping away.
N1: Freddy watches, his face twisted in agony,
William: Freedom? Are you crazy?
as Sophy throws the newspaper into the fire.
Freddy: We must keep our minds active. I have
an idea. Ill teach a class, right here under this
Scene 5
oak tree. Bring as many others as you can.
N2: Many years have passed. Freddy is 17, and
Harry: I could get 40 stripes for that.

Jake: Plus, whats the point? Were slaves for life.

Freddy: There has got to be more to life than
serving our masters. We have hearts and
minds and souls! If we dont try to escape,
what hope do we have?
Jake: We dont think about hope.
Freddy: Knowledge is freedom. Find books that
your masters and mistresses have cast off.
Bring them here, and I will show you how to
read them. Please.

Scene 7

Old Frederick: The following Sunday, five

brave men came to my class. The next week,
a dozen. Every week, the number grew. Soon,
slaves from nearby plantations were coming.
N1: One morning, the men sit under the tree,
their books scattered about.
Jake (reading): They have a pow-er over my
li-ber . . . Whats this word?
Freddy: Liberty. It means freedom. Its what
the slave owners have taken from us, and we

must take it back.

William: Escape is impossible, Freddy. Go by
land, their dogs will hunt us down. Go by
water, we freeze or drown.
Freddy: I would rather die than remain a slave.
William: Shhh.You hear that? Sounds like
N2: Led by Master Thomas, three plantation
owners with weapons ride up on horseback.
Thomas: Books! Papers! Whats going on here?
Freddy: We are just reading, sir.
Slave Owner 1: They are plotting an escape.
Slave Owner 2: We should kill them all.
Slave Owner 1: Nah, I paid a lot for Harry.
Slave Owner 2: This is all Freddys fault. He is
a bad sheep who is spoiling our flock.
Thomas: I will take care of it.
Slave Owner 1: If you dont, I will.
Old Frederick: I thought Id be hanged for
what I had done, but Thomas spared my life
and sent me back to live with Master Hugh
in Baltimore.

Bettmann/CORBIS

Slave family near

Savannah, Georgia,
around 1860

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Scene 8

N1: A few months

later, Freddy is
working in a
shipyard among free
black men.
Joseph: Freddy, since I
met you, all you talk
about is freedom.
Freddy: Because it is
all I think about.
Slave children
Joseph: Have you any
money?
Freddy: No. Master Hugh takes all my wages.
Joseph: Will he ever set you free?
Freddy: Never. Im a slave for life unless

I run.
Joseph (looking around): Listen, Freddy. I may
have a way to help you. I know a sailora
freeborn black man. He is willing to lend you
his free papers while hes at sea.
Freddy: Joe, you could be killed for helping me.
Joseph: I know.
Freddy: What do I have to do?
Joseph: I have a sailors outfit for you and a few
coins. Take the train to New York. There are
abolitionists there who will protect you. But
beware of slave catchers!
Freddy (in disbelief): Can this plan work?
Joseph (smiling): I hope so. Go be free, Freddy.

Scene 9

N2: Freddy sits on a train speeding out of

Baltimore. His heart pounds anxiously as the
conductor approaches.
Old Frederick: I did not hear the thundering

wheels or see the blur of

trees whizzing by. I saw
only the conductors
stern face. He did not
know that what
happened next would
save my lifeor destroy
it.
Conductor: You have
your free papers?
Freddy: Yes, sir.
N1: Freddy hands him
an official document.
Old Frederick: I held my breath. If the
conductor looked closely, he would see the
papers described a very different man. I would
surely be arrested and sold to the Deep South,
my dreams of freedom forever dashed.
Conductor: All right, sailor.
Freddy (trying not to tremble): Yes?
Conductor: Come on pay your fare.

N2: Freddy gives the man a few coins. The

conductor returns the papers and moves on.
N1: Freddy exhales deeply. He turns to stare at
the blue sky out the window.

Epilogue

N2: Frederick escaped to the free state of

Massachusetts. He began speaking at
antislavery conventions and became one of
the most important voices in the abolitionist
movement.
N1: He became an adviser to President
Abraham Lincoln and later held positions in
the U.S. government. His autobiography,
published in 1845, is widely read to this day.

WRITE TO WIN!
Explain how reading affected Frederick Douglasss journey to freedom. Use
details from I Would Rather Die to support your ideas. Send your
response to Storyworks Frederick Douglass Contest by
Find an
March 15, 2014. Five winners will each receive a copy of Elijah
activity
of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis. See page 2 for details.
sheet
online!

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