The Tapestry in the Attic Read Online Free PDF Page A

like the Creation, the Fall of Man, and the Flood from the Old Testament, and the Incarnation, and the Crucifixion from the New Testament. In this case, “mystery” refers to divine action in the course of human history. For a population that was largely illiterate, it was a good way to teach them about the Bible.”
    “I don’t remember any Bible story about a King Lemuel,” said Peggy.
    “He is an obscure person from the Bible, mentioned only once or twice, I believe, but if I were to tell you the play has to do with the Proverbs 31 woman, I’d wager you are all familiar with her,” said Stella.
    “You mean the woman whose ‘price is far above rubies’?” asked Gwen. She didn’t wait for an answer, but laughed and said, “I remember reading an article in a magazine a few years ago titled ‘Why I Hate the Proverbs 31 Woman.’ The writer didn’t really ‘hate’ her, she just enumerated the reasons why reading about that paragon of womanhood made her feel like she could never succeed at living up to that ideal ‘virtuous woman.’”
    “She is intimidating,” agreed Alice. “I reread those verses only a couple of months ago. She does just about everything—she gets up in the middle of the night to start preparing food so she can feed her household and the poor; she weaves cloth and sells it, and she makes all of her family’s clothing and her own; she buys land and plants fruit trees on it—or maybe it was a vineyard—I can’t remember. Anyway, the point is that she produces everything that is needed for her household, from scratch no less, and as I recall, she also manages the household finances. And on top of everything else, every word that comes out of her mouth is kind and wise. Talk about multitasking! How could any woman live up to all of that?”
    All the ladies smiled at Alice’s description, and Gwen said, “Well, I guess we would all do whatever we had to, if we lived in that time, to care for our families.”
    “The point isn’t so much about what she is doing,” said Stella, “but it’s the underlying principle—the reason why she is to be praised is because she ‘fears the Lord.’ That is, she respects His Word and takes seriously the responsibilities that are laid upon her as a wife and mother. When you read the play, I think you’ll see that this is its focus.”
    Indicating the title page, Annie said to Stella, “I noticed Jacob’s wife’s maiden name was Fortescue—is she related to your friends?”
    Stella’s expression changed. “Yes. Ophelia was their daughter. They’ve had a difficult time dealing with her death, as you can imagine. I hope being part of this production will help mend some of those wounds, not just for themselves but for their relationship with their son-in-law.”
    “Were there hard feelings between them?” asked Kate.
    Stella shook her head. “I’ve said too much. It’s not our business. Our business is to make King Lemuel’s Treasure the best production we possibly can.” Stella paused and seemed to draw herself up even straighter. “Let’s get back to it. If you turn to page two, you’ll see the cast list—there are eight characters who have speaking parts—and then we’ll also need a small number of extras for the king’s court and a few of his subjects; the characters are described in more detail as they enter the plot, so you will see those descriptions in italics as you read through. Below the cast list is a short synopsis of the scenes, and then on the next few pages, Jacob gives a detailed description of the stage setting, including the location of doors and windows, and the placement of furniture and other props. Most of the play takes place in the great hall of the king’s castle. Because this play is based on a type of play from medieval times, you will see that Jacob has described the setting and the costumes in terms of that era rather than the time of King Solomon, the writer of Proverbs. So, our set and costumes