Rascal Rite for Christmas (A Two-Act Play)

Rascal Rite feels the weight of the world as she and her sisters are kicked out of their tiny apartment, and left to fend for themselves on the streets of New York City. The year is 1855, and times are hard. Orphans run rampant on the streets, begging and stealing. Rascal decides to join them in the hope of providing food for her two sisters--Reese and Rola.

At the same time, Fredrick Collins, a Children's Aid Society advocate, helps gather up orphans and sends them to the mid-west, where farmers in Ohio are in desperate need of workers. His assistant, Eva Prescott, argues children need a happy home, not a life of labor. But Fredrick is certain the children will grow up better than they would on the streets of NYC.

As children are sent to the mid-west, word on the street travels fast--right to Rascal's ears. The three sisters have been invited to sleep in Lucy Lupine's shed for a few nights, and Rascal must find a way for her and hers sisters to escape NYC, before it's too late.

In Ohio, Clara Ivins, a farmer's wife, and Rebekah Delaney, an innkeeper, hear about the Orphan-Train Children for the first time. Clara is eager to get a boy to work their farm. Rebekah ponders the idea of bringing a young lady into her home, but she doesn't like the way Clara wants a child as a mere worker.

The Rite sisters, along with their newfound friends, are soon captured and placed on a train bound for Ohio. Miss Prescott tries to assure them good families await. But the youngsters can only imagine the worst.

The journey is long and trying, especially for Rascal, who remembers her promise to her pa to look after the other two. How can she do that if she's captured? If they're torn apart? There seems only one thing left to do. Run!

Will the Rite sisters ever find a real family?