As part of the program, “Books Are Our Friends, Fables Are Our Imagination,” the Hamazkayin L. Shant Chapter of Valence, France, on October 30, 2018, staged Derenik Demirchian’s Puy-Puy Mknike folk tale as a play. The event took place at the Maison de la Culture Armenienne.
The program began with a reading, by Maral Harboyan and Peggy Ekmanian, of the folk tale—in which a mouse makes its way into a coconut, eats its fill, and having put on some weight, cannot get out until it sheds those grams. With the help of props and gestures, they brought the tale to life for the children. Their goal was to encourage reading in the new generation.
The children followed happily and seriously and answered the teachers’ questions. They were even happier when face paint transformed each child into the titular mouse. The children got to hear the mouse play the guitar and tasted some coconut as well.
After that, an animated film of the story was shown. The children joined in song and dance and games. The children were given a picture of the mouse and the words of a song as souvenirs. The program ended with a reception.
—Areni Tcholakian and Serly Yemenjian (students at École Tavitian)