TYLTYL
Not yet.... She's beautiful!
ANOTHER LITTLE ONE
Kiss her; it's she.
ANOTHER LITTLE ONE
There is no other.
THE SMALLEST OF THEM ALL
We want no other.
TYLTYL
(TakingTHE MOTHER'Shand.) Where do you come from?... Who are you?... Where have I seen you before?... I can't remember....
(THE MOTHERdoes not reply. Her colour comes and goes, her eyes open and shut, her life fluctuates with the ebb and flow of the memory which she strives to awaken.)
(THE MOTHERdoes not reply. Her colour comes and goes, her eyes open and shut, her life fluctuates with the ebb and flow of the memory which she strives to awaken.)
THE SMALLEST OF THEM ALL
Take care! You're hurting her!
(THE OTHER LITTLE ONESform a line in front of her as though to defend her.)
(THE OTHER LITTLE ONESform a line in front of her as though to defend her.)
A LITTLE ONE
Go away!
ANOTHER LITTLE ONE
Go away! You sha'n't have her until you know her!
ANOTHER LITTLE ONE
You sha'n't have any other!
ANOTHER LITTLE ONE
Go away! She shall stay with us till you know!
ANOTHER LITTLE ONE
Go away! We'll wait for you; we shall all be down there!
THE FIRST LITTLE ONE
Go away, go away!... You're hurting her dreadfully!
THE SMALLEST OF THEM ALL
(Embracing hisMOTHER.) Come, mummy, come!... He doesn't know yet!...
(They all gather and press closely round theirMOTHER,hurrying and dragging her along and waving good-bye toTYLTYL: "See you soon! See you soon again!... Down there, down there!... See you soon!" ...THE MOTHERturns and gazes fixedly atTYLTYL;then the outlines of the hall darken, lose their colour and distinctness, dissolve and disappear. OnlyTYLTYL, LIGHT, DESTINYandTHE SIX GIRLSremain in front of the Curtain representing the Milky Way.)
(They all gather and press closely round theirMOTHER,hurrying and dragging her along and waving good-bye toTYLTYL: "See you soon! See you soon again!... Down there, down there!... See you soon!" ...THE MOTHERturns and gazes fixedly atTYLTYL;then the outlines of the hall darken, lose their colour and distinctness, dissolve and disappear. OnlyTYLTYL, LIGHT, DESTINYandTHE SIX GIRLSremain in front of the Curtain representing the Milky Way.)
TYLTYL
Well, I'm in a nice mess!... What am I to do?... Is it my fault if I can't remember?...
LIGHT
Don't be afraid. They know what they are saying. You will find her again.... Let us go, quickly!... I am sure that she is waiting for you where you least expect her.
TYLTYL
(Dreamily.) She really is beautiful!... I believe they are right.... I believe it's really she....
(They all go out.)
(They all go out.)
CURTAIN
Before the Curtain representing the Edge of a Forest(EnterTYLTYLandLIGHT.)
Before the Curtain representing the Edge of a Forest
(EnterTYLTYLandLIGHT.)
LIGHT
Here we are at last.
TYLTYL
Where?
LIGHT
Why, near your home!... Don't you recognize your forest?
TYLTYL
My forest, my forest?... (Looking around him.) Why, so it is!... I've seen those beeches before, somewhere.
LIGHT
That's more than likely, as they're close to the house in which you were born.
TYLTYL
Well, it's about time I did get home. I am tired out.
LIGHT
It has been a fatiguing journey, but not without results.
TYLTYL
Results?... Where?... When we started I was in love with six girls; now we've returned, I love only one; and she's just the one who hasn't come back with me.... But where are those six others and what are they doing? And Destiny too? He was looking very ill....
LIGHT
Here they are.
(EnterTHE SIX GIRLS.The last, JALLINE,carriesDESTINY,who still wears his cloak and sombrero, but who has shrunk to the dimensions of quite a small child and appears very tired.)
(EnterTHE SIX GIRLS.The last, JALLINE,carriesDESTINY,who still wears his cloak and sombrero, but who has shrunk to the dimensions of quite a small child and appears very tired.)
JALLINE
(PassingDESTINYtoMILETTE.) Will you take him for a moment? He's not very big, but dreadfully heavy.
MILETTE
(Taking him fromJALLINE'Sarms.) Come to me, my little Tiny, come; there, don't cry....
DESTINY
(In a whining baby voice.) Me? I never cwy!... I'm alwayth the thame!... I'm unthakable, immovable, indefatigable, implacable and inegthowable!...
MILETTE
Yes, yes, Tiny, we know, you're a very good little boy.... (DESTINYfalls asleep in her arms.) He's gone to sleep!
JALLINE
(Wrapping him in his cape, with a motherly gesture.) He's a dear, sweet, obedient little thing, but seems very tired.
LIGHT
Poor little Destiny!... He has no luck!... But we will see to him later.... What we have to do now, my children, is to bid one another good-bye ... and for the last time....
TYLTYL
For the last time!...
LIGHT
Why, yes; we can't spend our whole life travelling! Besides, you are near your homes, since you all of you dwell round the forest. We have learned what we sought and we know what we wanted to know, that man is granted only one love, while the others are merely unfortunate errors that bring sorrow to innumerable lives.... You were all of you about to choose wrongly; and you may rejoice, therefore, even now, when we have to part, that the mistake was discovered before it was too late.... And, more than this, the Fairy has charged me with glad tidings for you all: the one love you have each of you sought is waiting for you by your own fire-side, in your own home, or at least will be there very soon.... So do not linger, but hasten to meet it.... The hour grows late; soon the cocks will be crowing; the birds are beginning to wake. Let us bid one another good-bye, quickly, without regret, without sad thoughts or tears....
MILETTE
(HandingDESTINYtoAIMETTE.) Just take him for a minute, while I kiss TYLTYL.... (KissingTYLTYL.) Good-bye, Tyltyl dear. I must go first. Dad gets up early and there would be awful trouble if he didn't find me in the house. Good-bye. Let me kiss you again.... Be nice to me when we meet: we're neighbours and shall have to spend all our lives in this forest.
TYLTYL
(Kissing her affectionately.) Be nice to you, Milette? Of course I will! It's not your fault or mine: we both know that.
MILETTE
Good-bye, good-bye!... I must fly!...
(She runs out.)
(She runs out.)
AIMETTE
(HandingDESTINYtoJALLINE.) Take hold of the little man for a second, will you? (KissingTYLTYL.) Good-bye, Tyltyl.... Don't let us forget each other.... I shall perhaps love somebody else; but I shall never love him as I loved you.
LIGHT
Come, come, you are wasting time.... We shall never have done if we go on like this.... If the cock crows before you return, your parents will know everything; and then they'll be angry.... Just give him a sisterly kiss: that's all that's necessary.... You're not going far; and you'll meet again many a time, in real life, and will like each other the better because of your truer knowledge....
(ROSARELLEandBELLINEkissTYLTYLwithout speaking and go out. ROSELLEblows her nose vigorously, dabs at her eyes and stammers, "My dear Tyltyl! my dear Tyltyl!... He was so nice!... I shall see you again, sha'n't I, I shall see you again?... You shall have the best of everything at the inn!"Then she rushes out. JALLINEalone lingers behind, holdingDESTINYin her arms.)
(ROSARELLEandBELLINEkissTYLTYLwithout speaking and go out. ROSELLEblows her nose vigorously, dabs at her eyes and stammers, "My dear Tyltyl! my dear Tyltyl!... He was so nice!... I shall see you again, sha'n't I, I shall see you again?... You shall have the best of everything at the inn!"Then she rushes out. JALLINEalone lingers behind, holdingDESTINYin her arms.)
LIGHT
Well, Jalline, what are you doing here?
JALLINE
I can't go away at once, just like the others!...
LIGHT
But you must, dear Jalline. Not because it is fate, as men say, but because it is the will of those who know everything and who never die.... Good-bye, my little Jalline. You have been very sweet, very loving, very exquisite; and I thought that you would be chosen.... Don't cry, dear. Hand over poor little Destiny to me, I will take care of him; and give Tyltyl a long, long kiss....
JALLINE
(HandsDESTINYtoLIGHTand givesTYLTYLa long kiss.) Good-bye, Tyltyl.
TYLTYL
Good-bye, Jalline!
(JALLINEmoves away with slow reluctant steps.)
(JALLINEmoves away with slow reluctant steps.)
LIGHT
And, now that we are alone, let me kiss you too.... We shall meet once again to take another and a longer journey....
TYLTYL
Another journey? And a longer one?
LIGHT
The last, the happiest and the most beautiful. But I am not allowed to speak of it yet.... Good-bye, Tyltyl. Remember, dear, that you are not alone in this world and that all that you see in it has neither beginning nor end. With this thought in your heart, letting it grow with your growth, you will always know, whatever may happen, the right thing to say, the right thing to hope for.... And you, Tiny, don't cry like that! Some day we shall begin to understand each other.
DESTINY
(Half-asleep, tearfully, lisping.) Me? I never cwy!... I order a thtop!... Forward! Forward! Forward!
(LIGHTgoes out on the left, carryingDESTINYin her arms. TYLTYLfollows her a little way, waving his hand in farewell; and the Curtain opens on the last scene.)
(LIGHTgoes out on the left, carryingDESTINYin her arms. TYLTYLfollows her a little way, waving his hand in farewell; and the Curtain opens on the last scene.)
The AwakeningThe same scene as in Act I. TYLTYLis sound asleep. The light trickles gaily through all the crannies of the closed shutters. The Blue Bird is singing madly in his cage.(A knock at the door.)
The Awakening
The same scene as in Act I. TYLTYLis sound asleep. The light trickles gaily through all the crannies of the closed shutters. The Blue Bird is singing madly in his cage.
(A knock at the door.)
TYLTYL
(Waking with a start.) Who's there?
MUMMY TYL
(Behind the door.) It's me!... Open the door quickly!... We're expecting a visitor....
TYLTYL
Wait, wait, till I slip on my breeches.... (Rising and seeing with amazement that he is dressed.) Hullo, I've gone to bed with my clothes on! How did I come to do that?...
(He opens the door. EnterMUMMY TYLfussily, carrying a bundle of sticks.)
(He opens the door. EnterMUMMY TYLfussily, carrying a bundle of sticks.)
MUMMY TYL
Quick, quick!... Help me light the fire and tidy the room.... Go and wake up Mytyl.... They'll be here in a minute.
TYLTYL
(Doing his best to help her.) Who's "they"?
MUMMY TYL
Of course, you don't know. Daddy Tyl met them yesterday, but you had gone to bed.... Do open the shutters, I can't see what I'm doing.... (TYLTYLopens the shutters and the daylight floods the room.) And call Mytyl, so that she can help me to get things straight.... What a mess!... And the dust! I can't let them see my house like this. (EnterMYTYL.)
TYLTYL
Hullo, there Mytyl is!... But you haven't told me....
MUMMY TYL
(ToMYTYL.) The fire's beginning to burn up.... You make the coffee, while I start cleaning.... What's this? More cabbage leaves under the tap!
MYTYL
It's not my fault. Tyltyl promised me....
MUMMY TYL
Well, I never! A nice thing!... It's a blessing that I came to look for myself!... Take the broom, Tyltyl, while I give a rub to the plates and put them away.
TYLTYL
But look here: who's coming? Is it the Shah of Persia or the Emperor of China?
MUMMY TYL
Much better than that. You'll never guess.... Do you remember our neighbour?
MYTYL
What neighbour?
MUMMY TYL
There aren't so many of 'em.... The one with the pretty little pink house, by the road-side, and a garden full of sunflowers and hollyhocks.
TYLTYL
Of course!... And they had a little girl to whom I gave my dove?
MUMMY TYL
That's right.
TYLTYL
They've been gone a long time.
MUMMY TYL
Five or six years, that's all. They went to the town to live with the girl's uncle. He was a widower, with no children of his own, and has died and left them all his money. They told Daddy Tyl they're coming back here for good, going into their nice little house again. It belonged to little Joy's uncle.
TYLTYL
Little Joy?
MUMMY TYL
Yes, yes, you know: that's the little girl's name. They used to call her Jojo when she was small; but her name is Joy. Daddy Tyl met her last night, says that he could hardly believe his eyes, that she's taller than you and beautiful ... well, there! With hair like gold, real gold! That's worth thinking about.... So I want the house tidy and all of us to look decent and respectable.... You can never tell what may happen. We're of good stock too. Your grandfather's father was a pork-butcher.
TYLTYL
It's curious, I didn't meet him.
MUMMY TYL
Whom?
TYLTYL
My grandfather's father.
MUMMY TYL
That's not to be wondered at: he's been dead these fifty-seven years.
TYLTYL
(Sweeping the floor lustily.) Perhaps I had better put on my Sunday clothes?
MUMMY TYL
No, you needn't; you're all right as you are. We'll just lay the white tablecloth.... Besides, there's no time now; here they come; I can hear them walking up the path.
(A knock at the door. MUMMY TYLopens it. EnterTHE NEIGHBOURandJOY,followed byDADDY TYL,with his axe on his shoulder.)
(A knock at the door. MUMMY TYLopens it. EnterTHE NEIGHBOURandJOY,followed byDADDY TYL,with his axe on his shoulder.)
DADDY TYL
(Calling out from the threshold.) Here they are! Here they are!
THE NEIGHBOUR
Yes, it's Joy and I, Madame Tyl.... Good-morning, a Merry Christmas and good luck to everybody, as my poor husband used to say when he was alive. I'm glad to see you looking so well.... And these are the children? Don't tell me that this great, big, pretty girl is Mytyl? And can that be Tyltyl, that strapping young fellow who looks so smart?
MUMMY TYL
Yes, yes, Madame Berlingot, they're the sort that keep on shooting up till you don't know where you are. Tyltyl hasn't grown as much as his sister; but he's stronger. There's not a sturdier lad in all the country-side.... But it's your young lady who's beautiful!... She looks the very picture of the blessed saints!... (ObservingTYLTYL,who stands wide-eyed and entranced.) Now then, Tyltyl, where are your manners? Don't you, know your little playmate? Be civil, say how-do-you-do, shake hands and give her a chair.
DADDY TYL
Before you sit down, would you like to see the cows?
THE NEIGHBOUR
What, do you keep cows now?
DADDY TYL
Why, yes; we've not done so badly either.... Two little cows and a calf.... Little cows are better than big ones; and they only eat half as much.... One of them, the red one, gives us twenty quarts of milk every day.
THE NEIGHBOUR
Then you've put up a cow-house? You hadn't one before.
DADDY TYL
Yes, I ran it up myself, with Tyltyl to help.... (Leading her towards the door on the left.) It's this way: we made a good job of it and it's quite worth seeing.
THE NEIGHBOUR
Dear me, yes; I'd like to see it at once.
(They all go out, exceptTYLTYLandJOY,who remain standing face to face. As soon as they are gone, TYLTYLgoes up toJOYand takes her hand.)
(They all go out, exceptTYLTYLandJOY,who remain standing face to face. As soon as they are gone, TYLTYLgoes up toJOYand takes her hand.)
TYLTYL
Is it ... really you?
JOY
Yes, it's I.
TYLTYL
I knew you at once.
JOY
And I you.
TYLTYL
You are even more beautiful than up there.
JOY
You too.
TYLTYL
I say, it's funny that I couldn't remember....
JOY
I hadn't forgotten.
TYLTYL
Oh, how lovely you are!... Let me kiss you.
JOY
You may if you like.
(They kiss each other awkwardly, but affectionately.)
(They kiss each other awkwardly, but affectionately.)
TYLTYL
They haven't a suspicion.
JOY
You think that?
TYLTYL
I'm sure of it. They don't know what we know. But the little ones knew.
JOY
What little ones?
TYLTYL
The little ones up there.... They were very clever. They knew you at once.... Were you so very unhappy?
JOY
Why?
TYLTYL
Because I couldn't remember.
JOY
It wasn't your fault.
TYLTYL
I know, but I hated it.... And you were so pale, so dreadfully pale; and you never spoke.... How long had you loved me?
JOY
Ever since I first saw you, when you gave me the Blue Bird.
TYLTYL
So have I, so have I, but I had forgotten.... Never mind: we're going to be tremendously happy, for they've settled it, you see; they want it.
JOY
Do you think they've done it on purpose?
TYLTYL
I'm quite sure; there isn't a doubt.... Everybody wanted it, but especially the little ones, all six of them.
JOY
Oh!
TYLTYL
Yes!... We're going to have six!... I say, do you believe it?
JOY
Six what?
TYLTYL
Why, six children, of course!
JOY
Oh, Tyltyl!
TYLTYL
I know it's a great many; but we'll manage somehow. There's nothing to be afraid of.... What a dream, eh?
JOY
Yes.
TYLTYL
The loveliest I ever had; and you?
JOY
Yes.
TYLTYL
I saw you as you are now, just like that. But here, all the same, you are more real and more beautiful.... Oh, I must kiss you again!
(They kiss each other lingeringly. At that momentDADDY TYLopens the door, with the others behind him.)
(They kiss each other lingeringly. At that momentDADDY TYLopens the door, with the others behind him.)
DADDY TYL
(Catching them in the act.) Well, I never!... You're getting on, you two!... You're losing no time!
THE NEIGHBOUR
(Entering withMUMMY TYLandMYTYL.) What's the matter?
DADDY TYL
What did I say, when we were looking at the rabbits? These two are made for each other.... They were kissing away like anything!
THE NEIGHBOUR
Joy! Aren't you ashamed?
JOY
But, mummy....
DADDY TYL
Come, come, there's no great harm in it. We did as much, Mummy Tyl and I, when we were young, didn't we, old lady?
MUMMY TYL
We did indeed!... They make such a pretty pair!...
THE NEIGHBOUR
That they do; but Joy is still very young and I'd like to think it over.
DADDY TYL
That's right enough.... He's very young too; but you won't find a better boy in the whole country-side.... He's a strong, healthy lad, with a civil tongue in his head, and he works like a nigger.... Think it over by all means, only, as this is a holiday, there's no harm in their kissing each other; and let's see them do it: it's good for one!... (Seeing thatTYLTYLandJOYdo not move, he pushes them close together.) Well?... Look at them: they don't want to now!
TYLTYL
(In a whisper, toJOY,as he kisses her.) It was better when we were by ourselves, wasn't it?
JOY
(Also whispering.) Yes, it was!
TYLTYL
They were right, weren't they?
JOY
Who?
TYLTYL
The others.
JOY
Yes.
TYLTYL
Don't say a word to any one: it is our secret, yours and mine....
CURTAIN