The Project Gutenberg eBook ofThe Betrothal

The Project Gutenberg eBook ofThe BetrothalThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: The BetrothalAuthor: Maurice MaeterlinckTranslator: Alexander Teixeira de MattosRelease date: November 16, 2010 [eBook #34343]Most recently updated: March 18, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Marc D'Hooghe*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BETROTHAL ***

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The BetrothalAuthor: Maurice MaeterlinckTranslator: Alexander Teixeira de MattosRelease date: November 16, 2010 [eBook #34343]Most recently updated: March 18, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Marc D'Hooghe

Title: The Betrothal

Author: Maurice MaeterlinckTranslator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

Author: Maurice Maeterlinck

Translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

Release date: November 16, 2010 [eBook #34343]Most recently updated: March 18, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Marc D'Hooghe

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BETROTHAL ***

CHARACTERS(arranged in the order of their entrance on the stage)TYLTYLTHE FAIRY BÉRYLUNEMILETTE (the Wood-cutter's Daughter)BELLINE (the Butcher's Daughter)ROSELLE (the Inn-keeper's Daughter)AIMETTE (the Miller's Daughter)JALLINE (the Beggar's Daughter)ROSARELLE (the Mayor's Daughter)JOY (the Veiled Girl, or the White Phantom)DESTINYTHE MISERLIGHTSOME USUAL THOUGHTSGRANNY TYLGAFFER TYLTHE GREAT MENDICANTTHE GREAT PEASANTTHE RICH ANCESTORTHE SICK ANCESTORTHE DRUNKEN ANCESTORTHE MURDERER ANCESTORTHE GREAT ANCESTOROTHER ANCESTORSSOME OF TYLTYL'S "ME'S"VARIOUS CHILDREN IN THE ABODE OF THE CHILDRENTHE FIVE LITTLE ONESTHE SMALLEST OF THEM ALLMUMMY TYLMYTYLDADDY TYLTHE NEIGHBOUR

ACT IScene1The Wood-cutter's Cottage.ACT II2Outside the Door.3The Miser's Cave.4A Closet in the Fairy's Palace.5A Ballroom in the Fairy's Palace.ACT III6Before the Curtain representing Rocks.7The Abode of the Ancestors.ACT IV8Before the Curtain representing the Milky Way.9The Abode of the Children.ACT V10Before the Curtain representing the Edge of a Forest.11The Awakening.

The Wood-cutter's CottageThe cottage-scene in The Blue Bird: the interior of a wood-cutter's cabin, simple and rustic in appearance, but in no way poverty-stricken. A recessed fireplace containing the dying embers of a wood-fire. Kitchen-utensils, a cupboard, a bread-pan, a grandfather's clock, a spinning-wheel, a water-tap, etc. A dog and a cat asleep. A large blue-and-white sugar-loaf. On the wall hangs a round cage containing a blue bird. At the back, two windows with closed shutters. On the left is the front-door, with a big latch to it. A ladder leads up to a loft. But there is only one bed, TYLTYL'S;he is now sixteen years of age. It is dark; the scene is lit only by a few moonbeams which filter through the shutters. TYLTYLis sound asleep.(A knock at the door.)

The Wood-cutter's Cottage

The cottage-scene in The Blue Bird: the interior of a wood-cutter's cabin, simple and rustic in appearance, but in no way poverty-stricken. A recessed fireplace containing the dying embers of a wood-fire. Kitchen-utensils, a cupboard, a bread-pan, a grandfather's clock, a spinning-wheel, a water-tap, etc. A dog and a cat asleep. A large blue-and-white sugar-loaf. On the wall hangs a round cage containing a blue bird. At the back, two windows with closed shutters. On the left is the front-door, with a big latch to it. A ladder leads up to a loft. But there is only one bed, TYLTYL'S;he is now sixteen years of age. It is dark; the scene is lit only by a few moonbeams which filter through the shutters. TYLTYLis sound asleep.

(A knock at the door.)

TYLTYL

(Waking with a start.) Who's there? (Another knock.) Wait till I put on my breeches. The door's bolted. I'll come and open it.

THE FAIRY

(Behind the door.) Don't trouble, don't trouble!... It's only me!... How do you do? (The door has opened of its own accord andTHE FAIRY BÉRYLUNEenters under the guise of an old woman, as in the first scene of the Blue Bird. At the same time the room is filled with a strange brightness, which remains after the door is closed again.)

TYLTYL

(In surprise.) Who are you?

THE FAIRY

Don't you know me? Why, Tyltyl, it's hardly seven years since we said good-bye to each other!

TYLTYL

(Bewildered and vainly searching his memory.) Yes, yes, I remember ... and I know what you mean....

THE FAIRY

Yes, but you don't quite grasp who I am and you don't remember anything at all. You haven't changed, I see: just the same careless, ungrateful, wool-gathering little fellow that you always were!... But you have grown taller and stronger, my lad, and quite handsome! If I were not a fairy, I should never have known you! Yes, really quite handsome!... But are you aware of it? It doesn't seem to have occurred to you!

TYLTYL

We only had one tiny looking-glass in the house, about as big as your hand. Mytyl took it and keeps it in her room.

THE FAIRY

So Mytyl has a room of her own now?

TYLTYL

Yes, she sleeps next door, under the stairs, and I here, in the kitchen. Shall I wake her?

THE FAIRY

(Growing suddenly and unreasonably angry, as on her former visit.) There's no need to do anything of the sort!... I have nothing to do with her; her hour has not struck; and, when it does I shall be quite capable of finding her, without being shown the way as though I were blind!... In the meantime, I want nobody's advice....

TYLTYL

(In dismay.) But ma'am, I didn't know....

THE FAIRY

That will do.... (Recovering her temper as suddenly as she lost it.) By the way, how old are you?

TYLTYL

I shall be sixteen a fortnight after Epiphany.

THE FAIRY

(Growing angry again.) A fortnight after Epiphany!... What a way of reckoning!... And here am I without my almanack, having left it with Destiny last time I called on him, fifty years ago!... I don't know where I stand.... However, never mind: I'll make the calculation when we see him, for we shall have to get it exactly right.... And what have you been doing these seven years since we met?

TYLTYL

I have been working in the forest with daddy.

THE FAIRY

That means you've been helping him cut down trees. I don't like that very much. You call that working, do you? Ah, well, men evidently can't live without destroying the last things of beauty that remain on the earth!... So let's talk of something else.... (Mysteriously.) Can any one hear us?

TYLTYL

I don't think so.

THE FAIRY

(Growing angry once more.) It doesn't matter what you think, but whether you're sure. What I have to say is tremendously important ... and strictly private. Come here, quite close, so that I can whisper it.... Whom are you in love with?

TYLTYL

(In amazement.) Whom am I in love with?

THE FAIRY

(Still cross and quite forgetting the importance of speaking in a low voice.) Yes, yes! I'm not talking Greek, am I? I want to know if you're in love with any one.

TYLTYL

Yes, certainly; I love everybody: my parents, my friends, my sister, my neighbours, all the people I know.

THE FAIRY

Now oblige me and don't play the fool.... You know perfectly well what I mean.... I'm asking whether there's any one girl among those you meet whom you love more than the rest.

TYLTYL

(Blushing and considering.) I don't know....

THE FAIRY

(Angrier than ever.) What do you mean; you don't know? Who does know, if you don't? At your age a boy ought to think of nothing else: if he doesn't, he's a booby, a nincompoop and not worth bothering about!... There's nothing to blush at: it's when one's not in love that one should feel ashamed.... You and I are miles away just now from the falsehood of words: we are with the truth of our thoughts, which is a very different thing.... Come, among all the girls you've met....

TYLTYL

(Timidly.) I don't meet very many....

THE FAIRY

That's no reason; it's not necessary to meet them by the dozen. Very often it's enough if you come across just one: when you've nobody else, you love that one and are not to be pitied.... But come, among those close by....

TYLTYL

There aren't any close by....

THE FAIRY

There are at the neighbours'.

TYLTYL

There are hardly any neighbours....

THE FAIRY

There are girls in the village, in the town, way back in the forest and in every house. You find them everywhere when your heart's awake.... Which is the prettiest?

TYLTYL

Well, they're all very pretty.

THE FAIRY

How many do you know?

TYLTYL

Four in the village, one in the forest and one by the bridge.

THE FAIRY

Oho! That's not bad, for a beginning!

TYLTYL

We don't see many people here, you know.

THE FAIRY

You're not the baby one would think.... But tell me, between ourselves, do they love you too?

TYLTYL

They haven't told me so; they don't know that I love them.

THE FAIRY

But these are things which it isn't necessary to know or to tell!... You see that at once when you're living in the truth. A look is enough; there's no mistaking it; and the words which people say merely hide the real ones which the heart has spoken.... But I'm in a hurry: would you like me to make them come here?

TYLTYL

(Terrified.) Make them come here? They wouldn't want to! They hardly know me. They know I'm poor. They don't know where I live, especially those in the village: they never come this way.... It's an hour's walk from the church to the house; the roads are bad; it's dark....

THE FAIRY

Dear, dear, anything more? Don't let us talk about that. Remember, we've done with untruths. I've only to lift my finger and they'll come....

TYLTYL

But I'm not even sure that they've noticed me at all.

THE FAIRY

Have you looked at them?

TYLTYL

Yes, sometimes....

THE FAIRY

And have they looked back at you?

TYLTYL

Yes, sometimes....

THE FAIRY

Well, that's enough; that's the truth; and one doesn't need anything more. You'll find that's the way people tell each other in the world where I'm going to take you, the world of real things. The rest doesn't matter.... They make no mistake. You'll see, once we are there, how well they know all that has to be known; for what we see is nothing: it is what we do not see that makes the world go round.... And now, watch me!... I'm taking the little green hat out of my bag again!... Do you remember it?

TYLTYL

Yes, but it's bigger....

THE FAIRY

(Angrily.) Of course it's bigger! So's your head: they grew up together.... Always making those unnecessary remarks!...

TYLTYL

And the diamond has changed colour. I should call it blue....

THE FAIRY

But, you see, it isn't the diamond! This time we're not concerned with the souls of Bread, Sugar and other simple and unimportant things. We have to choose the great and only love of your life; for each man has only one. If he misses it, he wanders miserably over the face of the earth. The search goes on till he dies, with the great duty unfulfilled which he owes to all those who are within him. But he seldom has an idea of this. He walks along, his eyes shut; seizes some woman whom he chances to meet in the dark; and shows her to his friends as proudly as though the gates of Paradise were opening. He fancies himself alone in the world and imagines that in his own heart all things begin and end.... Which is absurd.... But no more of that! Is everything ready? Put on your hat and turn the sapphire; then they'll come in....

TYLTYL

(Scared.) But I'm not dressed!... Wait, wait!... What shall I put on?... Oh, what luck!... There are my Sunday clothes on the chair: my breeches—they're almost new—and my clean shirt!... (He dresses hurriedly.)

THE FAIRY

Come, come, have done! All this doesn't matter; they won't mind your clothes.... You're not going to meet a lot of silly children. You won't find them the same as they were in the other life, because this is the real one; and it's the truth in them that you'll see here.

TYLTYL

(Very uneasy.) Will they all come in together? There are six of them, at least: I can't remember.... Suppose they started quarrelling and pulling one another's hair?

THE FAIRY

Just the least bit conceited, aren't you?

TYLTYL

No, but I'm afraid of their making a noise, because of daddy.

THE FAIRY

Haven't I told you again and again, we're no longer in the world below!... Can't you feel that the air is much purer and the light quite different?... We are now in a sphere in which men and women don't quarrel or wish one another harm. All of that was merely make-believe and doesn't exist deep down.... If some of them are unhappy because you hesitate in your choice, they will none the less hope on until the end; and they know very well that where there is love there must also be sorrow....

TYLTYL

How will they come in?

THE FAIRY

Upon my word, I don't know. Each of them will do what occurs to her: one will choose the window, another the roof, the wall, the cellar or the chimney ... one or two even will come in by the door; but those are the least interesting: they lack imagination.... However, we shall see when the time comes. We've talked enough; time presses; come, turn the sapphire....

TYLTYL

(Trying to gain time, in order to conceal his terror.) Which way round am I to turn it?

THE FAIRY

The same as with the diamond, from right to left.... (Looking atTYLTYL.) Goodness me, how pale you are!... What has come over you? Surely you're not afraid?...

TYLTYL

Not at all, on the contrary.... I always look like this....

THE FAIRY

You needn't be ashamed to admit it: this is a very serious moment; and, if men knew what happened, in this life and all the others, when they made a bad choice, they'd never dare to get married at all.... But what you're trying to do is to put off the dreadful moment; and I'm a goose to be listening to you.... Come, turn the sapphire!

(TYLTYLturns the sapphire. No sooner has he done so than the cottage is filled with a supernatural light, which invests all things with beauty, purity and a transcendent joy. A window opens noiselessly and a young girl, dressed like a wood-cutter and carrying a hatchet in her hand, steps into the room and runs up and kissesTYLTYL.)

THE GIRL

Good evening, Tyltyl!... You called me: here I am!...

TYLTYL

Hullo, it's Milette!... (ToTHE FAIRY.) This is Milette, my cousin, the daughter of Feltree, the wood-cutter.... We see each other sometimes in the forest.... (ToMILETTE.) So you loved me?... You never said so!...

MILETTE

Do people say such things in a life where everything is forbidden? Need they say them?... But I knew at once and from the first that you loved me; and so did I love you.... It was one evening when you went past with your father. You were carrying a bundle of laurel-twigs. You didn't know my name then and said, "Good evening," and looked into my eyes. I answered, "Good night," and cast my eyes down; but I had that look of yours in my heart; and, since then, without leaving home, I've been here very often; but you didn't seem to know....

TYLTYL

No, no, it's I who every evening after sunset used to go to you. I was never at home. Mummy would ask, "What are you thinking of, Tyltyl?" And daddy answered, "He's up in the moon again!" I wasn't in the moon at all, I was with you; but you paid no attention: you were seeing to the fire, or the soup, or the rabbits; you were cutting chips or tying up bundles, as if no one had entered your cottage....

MILETTE

No, I was here and kissing you all the time; but you didn't kiss me....

TYLTYL

I tell you it was I who was always kissing you; I tell you it was you who were never there....

MILETTE

It's funny that we can never see things till we've learnt how to look for them.... But, now that we do know, now that we see, we can really kiss each other....

TYLTYL

(Eagerly kissingMILETTE.) Yes, yes, let's kiss each other again and again till we have no kisses left!... Oh, how wonderful it is!... I never kissed anybody till now; and I'd no idea what it was like!... Oh, how wonderful, how wonderful!... I could kiss you for ever! I could spend my life kissing you!...

MILETTE

And I, I too!... I'd never kissed anybody either: I mean, I'd only kissed daddy and mummy; it's not the same thing at all.... But tell me, Tyltyl, is it true that you love me and only me?... Who is that coming in?

(Opening the wall, which closes again behind her, enter a second young girl, dressed in a blood-red skirt and bodice. A butcher's knife hangs from her belt.)

THE SECOND GIRL

(Rushing up toTYLTYLand kissing him.) Here I am, Tyltyl darling, here I am!

TYLTYL

(ToTHE FAIRY.) This is Belline, my cousin, the butcher's daughter.... (ToBELLINE.) What's the matter with you, Belline dear? You're wet through and quite out of breath!...

BELLINE

I should think I was!... It's a long way from the village to your place!... I didn't even wait to wash my hands.... I was helping daddy to cut up a calf; the moment your thoughts came, I dropped my knife and left everything so as to get here quicker.... I even believe that, while I was there, I cut my finger rather badly; but here it doesn't show.... Daddy hasn't the least idea what has happened; he must be furious. (Catching sight ofMILETTE.) How do you do, Milette?

MILETTE

How do you do, Belline?... Do you love him too?

BELLINE

Why, yes, of course!... You're not angry with me?

MILETTE

Not at all, I'm glad.... We'll both of us love him....

BELLINE

How pretty you look this evening, Milette dearest....

MILETTE

No, it's you, Belline: you've never been more beautiful....

TYLTYL

(ToTHE FAIRY.) They're taking it very well!...

THE FAIRY

Of course they are; they know it's not your fault....

(At this point, the chimney-recess lights up, opens at the hack and admits a third young girl, dressed like the maid at an inn and carrying a pewter tray under one arm and a bottle under the other.)

THE THIRD GIRL

(Enthusiastically, darting atTYLTYL.) Here I am, here I am! It's me!... Good evening, everybody; but first a kiss for Tyltyl!...

TYLTYL

Hullo, you too, Roselle?... (ToTHE FAIRY.) This is Roselle, the daughter of the landlord of the Golden Sun.... (ToROSELLE.) Was there no one at the inn this evening, that you were able to come?

ROSELLE

On the contrary, heaps of people! You can imagine, on Christmas Eve! There were men sitting and drinking on the counter and on all the window-sills. I dropped a tray with twelve glasses on it when you called me. Why, I've still got the tray under this arm and a bottle of the best brandy under the other. It gets in my way when I'm kissing you.... I left them shouting after me, down there, as though I had set the house on fire.... They must be wondering if I'm mad. But I don't care, I was so delighted that you were thinking of me. A sudden happiness came over me.... How are you, Tyltyl dear?... Kiss me again!... You're even handsomer than when I saw you last....

TYLTYL

(Kissing her.) And you, dear Roselle, you are prettier than ever; and your cheeks are so soft and cool.... I never dared kiss you before.... When any one else did, I always said to myself, "How happy he must be!"

ROSELLE

The others didn't matter.... But I knew well enough that you didn't dare.... I didn't dare either, though I was dying to kiss you.... Do you remember the first time you came to the inn, six weeks ago? It was on a Sunday morning, after High Mass; you didn't look at anybody; but suddenly, when I came near, your eyes grew so bright and opened so wide....

TYLTYL

And so did yours open wide: they looked like two lakes.

ROSELLE

What were they doing, our eyes? What happened?... I know that, since that day, I think of nothing but you, I do no work, I'm always here; but you came very seldom....

(Coming down the ladder from the attic, enter a fourth young girl, in rustic clothes, all white with flour.)

TYLTYL

(Turning round.) Who's there? You, Aimette?... (ToTHE FAIRY.) This is Aimette, another cousin, the miller's daughter....

THE FAIRY

Go on, go on, you're doing very nicely!

AIMETTE

(A little shyly.) I came as I was, from the mill. I've not had time to brush myself.

TYLTYL

That doesn't matter. Kiss me all the same. How fresh and rosy you are, underneath all that flour!...

AIMETTE

I shall never dare.... You'd be covered with it....

(She has hardly finished speaking when, through the other window, enter a fifth young girl, bare-foot, bare-headed, clad in rags and carrying in her hand a wooden bowl with a few halfpence clinking in it. She does not dare come forward.)

TYLTYL

One more!... (ToTHE FAIRY.) This is Jalline, the little beggar-girl from the bridge by the Hermitage.

THE FAIRY

Excellent, excellent!... I'd better wake your father and tell him the house won't be big enough; then he can start building at once....

TYLTYL

But it's not my fault. I didn't do it on purpose. One can't help loving them!... How are you, Jalline?... What have you done with your poor old father?

JALLINE

I left him at the bridge.

TYLTYL

What, all alone in the dark! And he blind and a cripple! Isn't that very dangerous?...

JALLINE (On the verge of tears.) Yes, I know it's wrong. It was very wrong of me, very. I won't do it again. But I couldn't help it, Tyltyl, really. When you called me, I couldn't stay where I was.

TYLTYL

(Kissing her.) There, there, don't cry. I'll help you to bring him home.... Do you remember, I did that once before, one evening when I was crossing the bridge and gave you a halfpenny: it was all I had!

JALLINE

I've kept it ever since, Tyltyl. I put it in a box. I shall never lose it.

TYLTYL (Kissing her again.) Oh, the sweet smell of lavender and thyme!...

(This time the door opens slowly. Enter a sixth young girl. She is in evening-dress, with a fur cloak over her shoulders, and carries a fan in her hand.)

TYLTYL

Who is this?

THE FAIRY

But where do they all come from? At your age too! I should never have believed it!...

TYLTYL

But I didn't know.... (ToTHE FAIRY.) Why, it's Rosarelle!... The mayor's daughter!... You know, from the great big farm-house, with the three round turrets, at the other end of the village!... What shall I do? She's so proud!...

THE FAIRY

Not a bit; she won't be any prouder than the others. Speak to her and you'll see.

TYLTYL

I'll never dare.... What could I say?

ROSARELLE

(Coming forward.) Well, Tyltyl, don't you know me?

TYLTYL

Yes, miss, but I wasn't sure....

ROSARELLE

Miss? What do you mean? That's not my name. My name's Rosarelle; and you know it.... There was a big dinner at my father's, for Christmas. Your thoughts came to fetch me while we were at dessert. I jumped up at once and upset a glass of champagne. They were alarmed and thought I was ill and began to fuss: it was as much as I could do to get away. Still, here I am and I'm going to kiss you.... Do you remember how we used to look at each other when you came to the yard with your bundles of wood?...

TYLTYL

Oh, yes! You were so lovely, I couldn't take my eyes off you.... But you are lovelier than ever to-day.

ROSARELLE

That was the beginning; but I didn't quite realize it till the day you gave me the three little bullfinches which you found in the forest.

TYLTYL

Yes, yes, I remember.... I knew too.... Are they still alive?

ROSARELLE

Two of the little things are dead; but the third is splendid.... I keep him in a gilt cage, by the window; and each time he sings....

THE FAIRY

Come, come, these little confidences are most interesting, but we've no time to lose. Everything must be settled to-night, for an opportunity like this comes only once to a man; and woe to him who lets it slip: he will never have another chance! But what we have to do now is to put our heads together and prepare for the great choice, which is to decide the happiness of two human beings first and of many others after that.

TYLTYL

(Greatly perturbed.) Must I make my choice at once and can I only choose one?...

THE FAIRY

Don't distress yourself; it's not your affair; it's not you who'll choose....

TYLTYL

(Utterly bewildered.) Not I who'll choose?...

THE FAIRY

Why, no, it doesn't concern you.

TYLTYL

(Completely stupefied.) It doesn't concern me?...

THE FAIRY

No, no, I told you so: of course it doesn't.

TYLTYL

(Failing to understand a word.) Then I can't love whom I want to?

THE FAIRY

Why, no.... Nobody loves whom he wants to or does what he wants to in this world. You must first of all learn what is wanted by those on whom you depend.

TYLTYL

By those on whom I depend?...

THE FAIRY

Why, yes: your ancestors, to begin with.

TYLTYL

My ancestors?

THE FAIRY

All those who have died before you.

TYLTYL

What business is it of theirs, since they're dead? I don't know them.

THE FAIRY

I dare say not, but they know you.... And then there are all your children.

TYLTYL

My children? What children? I've never had any!

THE FAIRY

Yes, yes, yes, you've had thousands who aren't born yet and who're waiting for the mother whom you're going to give them.

TYLTYL

Then it's they who will choose my bride?

THE FAIRY

Why, of course; that's how things always happen.... But let's have no more talk: we have to make a few preparations for the great journey; it's going to be rather long and tiring.... And first we must get some money: I've none left at home; and my magic wand that brings it me is being repaired a few thousand miles down in the centre of the earth ... don't quite see where we're to get what we want: the expenses will be quite heavy.... (ToTHE GIRLS.) Has any one of you a few thousand francs on her?

JALLINE

I've only sixpence halfpenny in my bowl, besides Tyltyl's halfpenny, which I can't part with.

ROSELLE

I've seven francs fifty, to-night's takings.

MILETTE

I've nothing at all.

ROSARELLE

I've nothing on me, but grandfather's very rich.

THE FAIRY

That's all right, it's all we need: he can lend us some money.

ROSARELLE

Yes, but he's a miser!

THE FAIRY

No, that's a mistake; there are no misers. Thanks to the sapphire which reveals the heart and essence of things, you will see that he is no more of a miser than you or I and that he will give us whatever we ask. That's the first visit we shall have to pay.... Well, are you all ready? Which way shall we go out?

(At this point, a trap-door opens, in the middle of the stage, and from it there rises slowly, like a tower, a gigantic shape, twice a man's height. It is square, enormous, imposing and overwhelming; it gives the impression of a mass of granite and of immense, blind, inflexible force. Its face is not seen. It is draped in grey folds that are rigid as rock.)

THE SHAPE

It's I. You have forgotten me, as usual!...

TYLTYL

(Not a little frightened.) Who is this gentleman?

THE FAIRY

He's right, I had forgotten him. It's nobody, it's Destiny. I didn't foresee that the sapphire would make him visible also. He will have to come with us; we can't prevent him; he's entitled to. Give him your hand.

TYLTYL

Will he lead us?

THE FAIRY

That remains to be seen. We must hear what Light says: it's a matter for her.

TYLTYL

Why, of course. Light!... Where is she?... Isn't she going with us?

THE FAIRY

Yes, yes, but she has a great deal to do at the moment.... She wasn't free this evening.... We shall find her at my place, where we shall go straight from your visit to the miser.

TYLTYL

How glad I shall be to see her again!... She was so nice, so sweet, so beautiful, so affectionate and kind!...

THE FAIRY

Come, give Destiny your hand; it's time to start.

(TYLTYLstretches out his arm to the monster, who grips the boy's little hand and wrist in his huge bronze-coloured hand.)

TYLTYL

Here you are, sir.... (Giving a cry.) Hi!... It's not a hand. It's a steel vice!...

THE FAIRY

It's nothing, you'll get used to it.... Come, is everything ready at last? Nothing more that we've forgotten? Then one, two, three and off we go!...

(A knock at the door.)

THE FAIRY

(Crossly.) Who's come to disturb us now? Shall we never get out of this hovel?

(Another knock.)

TYLTYL

Come in!...

(A third knock.)

TYLTYL

Who's there?... Come in, can't you?...

(The door opens slowly and reveals a female form shrouded in long white veils, like an antique statue. The face, hands, mouth, eyes, hair and eyebrows are lifeless and white as marble. It stands motionless on the threshold.)

TYLTYL

What is it?

THE FAIRY

Really, I don't know.... It must be one of those whom you've forgotten....

TYLTYL

(Vainly ransacking his memory.) I?... I've forgotten nobody.... I've never seen her before.... I can't remember.... (Going up toTHE VEILED FORM.) Who are you? (THE VEILED FORMdoes not reply.)

THE FAIRY

It's no use asking her. She can't tell you, she can't come to life till you remember her.

TYLTYL

But I don't. I'm thinking and trying as hard as I can, but I can find nothing.

THE FAIRY

Very well, very well, we shall see later, when everything is cleared up.... As she blocks the path, we must go out by the window.... Come, this way! We have taken our fate in our hands; and things have begun!...

DESTINY

Excuse me, excuse me! It's I who am Fate and it's I who begin and it's I who give orders.... I go first, for it is I who direct everything and I am the only master!...

(The windows open down to the ground and all go out into the starry night, preceded byDESTINYdraggingTYLTYLby the hand. THE VEILED FORMfollows them slowly, at a distance.)

CURTAIN

Outside the DoorThe curtain represents a huge double door surmounted with a flattened arch. The door is old, thick and massive, unyielding, bound and studded with iron bars and nails. In the middle of the door is a formidable lock.(EnterTHE FAIRYandTYLTYL,who carries an empty wallet over his shoulder.)

Outside the Door

The curtain represents a huge double door surmounted with a flattened arch. The door is old, thick and massive, unyielding, bound and studded with iron bars and nails. In the middle of the door is a formidable lock.

(EnterTHE FAIRYandTYLTYL,who carries an empty wallet over his shoulder.)

THE FAIRY

This is the Miser's door.

TYLTYL

Where are my sweethearts?

THE FAIRY

At home, in my palace; they'll wait there for you and will be quite safe.... Be quick and come back soon.

TYLTYL

What about Destiny? I thought he would never leave me again?

THE FAIRY

That's true; it's curious. But it's not our business to run after him; it's his own affair; he's by no means indispensable.

TYLTYL

Are you coming with me to the Miser?

THE FAIRY

No, it's better that you should see him alone.... You're not frightened, are you?

TYLTYL

Not a bit; but I don't quite know what I am to do.

THE FAIRY

It's very simple: when you're in there, you turn the sapphire; and he'll give you anything you want.

TYLTYL

He won't attack me? I've no weapons, you know.

THE FAIRY

On the contrary, he will be delighted to be of service.

TYLTYL

How shall I get in? There's no bell and no knocker. Am I to tap at the door?

THE FAIRY

Do nothing of the sort! That would be giving him a hint; and he would become unmanageable.... But this also is quite simple. I will touch the big lock with my wand; the doors will slide back to right and left; and you will suddenly be on the other side, that is to say, right inside the cave, before he even suspects it. Once there, you can keep quiet in your corner for a moment and watch him playing with his gold, if that amuses you; and it will amuse you, for it's rather curious. Then, when you've had enough, turn the sapphire. Get over there, on the left, against the wall of the arch, so that you can slip into his den at once, without making a noise.... Look out! The door will disappear! And I'll take myself off this way!... (She touches the great lock with her wand.)

The Miser's Cave(The heavy doors open in the middle, slide right and left and disappear in the slips, revealing the whole ofTHE MISER'Sden, an immense cave with low arches in which are piled large sacks bursting with gold, silver and copper coins. The only light comes from a wretched smoking candle. TYLTYLhides himself as well as he can in a dark corner. THE MISER,an old, hook-nosed man, with a dirty white beard and long, scanty hair, is dressed in a sort of squalid, patched dressing-gown. On the floor is an old carpet, with three sacks bulging with gold at one corner.)

The Miser's Cave

(The heavy doors open in the middle, slide right and left and disappear in the slips, revealing the whole ofTHE MISER'Sden, an immense cave with low arches in which are piled large sacks bursting with gold, silver and copper coins. The only light comes from a wretched smoking candle. TYLTYLhides himself as well as he can in a dark corner. THE MISER,an old, hook-nosed man, with a dirty white beard and long, scanty hair, is dressed in a sort of squalid, patched dressing-gown. On the floor is an old carpet, with three sacks bulging with gold at one corner.)

THE MISER

To-day I shall count the contents of these three sacks all over again. I must have made a mistake in my last reckoning. There are three louis missing. Three louis are sixty francs, which make a considerable difference in a total of six hundred thousand francs. It's quite impossible to sleep with that anxiety on one's mind. Each of these three sacks ought to hold two hundred thousand francs, the first and second in louis of twenty francs and the third in ten-franc pieces. I shall empty them on the carpet first to see what a lovely heap they make.... (He empties the contents of the first sack on the carpet.) How they sparkle, how they sparkle!... What a lot of them there are!... When you see the gold spreading itself out, it's impossible to believe that it all could go into one sack!... Let's have another.... This is the sack with the little ten-franc pieces.... (He empties a second sack.) They are as lovely as the big ones.... They are younger, that's all, and there are more of them.... Now let's see what the third holds.... (He empties the third sack. A few gold coins roll of the carpet. He throws himself flat on the floor to catch them.) Oh, no, oh, no, children!... This won't do!... You mustn't run away like that!... Nothing is allowed to leave this cave!... Trying to hide yourselves, are you? To go where, pray? Don't you know that there's no place like home?... Fancy running away like that from daddy! I should never have thought it of you! This way, children, this way, darlings. This way, my pretty ones! Back to the heap, back to the cradle, then you'll be happy!... (He picks up a coin which has rolled farther than the rest.) Don't do it again, you: you're always making off; you're a little torment and you set a bad example. Beg my pardon, or I'll punish you. You shall be the first to be spent; I'll give you to a beggar, do you hear?... (Kissing it.) No, no, I'm only pretending.... There, there, don't cry!... I was merely frightening you.... I love you all the same, but don't do it again!... Here, here, here, they're here, in front of me and all around me.... It will take me quite a fortnight to count them all and to weigh them in my scales.... What a lot of them, what a lot of them! And how pretty they are!... I know them every one, I could call them by their names.... They would need a hundred and twenty thousand different names; and each of those names stands for a treasure!... (He rolls on the carpet amidst the gold.) I love to see them close!... Oh, what a cosy bed! And what a joy it is to be among one's daughters!... For they are my daughters: I brought them into the world; I have nurtured them, protected them from harm, fondled and pampered them; I know their history, the trouble they've given me, but all is forgotten: they love me, I love them and we shall never part again!... Oh, what a fine thing happiness is!... (He fills his two hands with the gold, makes it trickle over his heart, on his forehead and in his heard and utters little sighs of pleasure which gradually swell into roars of delight. Suddenly, he shudders, starts and springs up, thinking that he has heard a sound.) What is it?... Who's there?... (Reassuring himself.) No, no, it's nothing ... no one would dare.... (He seesTYLTYLand gives a shout.) A thief!... A thief!... A thief!... You here!... You here!... (With his hands clutching like claws, terrified and terrifying, he rushes uponTYLTYL,who jumps back and quickly turns the sapphire. THE MISERstops short. After an inward struggle which seems violent and lasts for some seconds, his hands drop to his sides, his face brightens and loses its hardness. He seems to wake from a bad dream and tries to wipe the memory of it from his forehead. He gazes with astonishment at the gold spread over the carpet, feels and pushes it with his foot, seems not to know what it is and then addressesTYLTYLin a very calm and gentle voice.)

THE MISER

You must have awakened me.... How did you get here?... What have you come for?...

TYLTYL

I've come to ask you to lend me a little money.... I understand that I want some in order to discover my bride....

THE MISER

Have you anything to put it in?

TYLTYL

I've brought this wallet.

THE MISER

I shall be delighted to fill it for you; but I warn you that gold is very heavy and that you won't be able to carry it away.

TYLTYL

You must put in just what you think fit.

THE MISER

(Pouring the gold by handfuls into the wallet.) Help me, will you?... We'll fill it to the brim and see how that does.... We can easily lighten it afterwards, if it's too heavy....

TYLTYL

Oh, you're giving me too much, I don't want all that!... So you're not a miser, as they told me?

THE MISER

I? Not at all. Why should I be?... I have only a few weeks to live and am not in need of anything.... I hardly eat at all; and I drink nothing but water.

TYLTYL

Why were you lying on your gold when I came in, kissing it and calling it by pet names? You seemed to worship it.

THE MISER

Oh, I don't know! It amuses me. When a man grows old, he has to amuse himself as best he can.... But it isn't I who do it. All that is only a sort of dream. I am thinking of something very different.... All men are like that at my age. They are not often where you see them; they are not often doing what they appear to do; and every one lives in one of those dreams which have nothing to do with the truth.... But this is not the moment to explain things to you.... There, your wallet it full. Can you lift it?

TYLTYL

(Making an effort.) No, really, it is a bit too heavy.... Let's take some of it out....

THE MISER

(Emptying part of the wallet.) I daresay that's better.

TYLTYL

Oh, look here, you're taking it all!... There won't be enough left.... I must put a little of it back....

THE MISER

I say, are you becoming a miser now?

TYLTYL

No, but I don't know that I shall have a chance of coming back again.... Just help me lift the wallet on my shoulder....

THE MISER

(Helping him with the wallet.) There you are!

TYLTYL

(Staggering under the load.) I say, what a weight gold is!

THE MISER

Don't I know it?... Have you far to go?

TYLTYL

I really can't tell.

THE MISER

What's the weather like outside?

TYLTYL

It was bright sunshine.

THE MISER

One wouldn't think it in here.... Fancy, it's years since I've looked at the sky or the green trees!... But you can't breathe under the weight of your bag, you poor little man!... Come, kiss me good-bye: there's no knowing when we shall meet again.... Thanks for the pleasant time you have given me and especially for waking me up.... I shall make the most of my remaining days....

TYLTYL

Which is the way out?

THE MISER

That way, I suppose.

(TYLTYLsteps forward through the arch. The doors at once slide and close behind him and he is left standing alone, in the dark, in front of the great shut door.)

TYLTYL

It's dark.... I'm all alone.... Where am I?... Where am I to go?

DESTINY

(Looming up out of the shadow.) This way!

TYLTYL

Hullo! You're there, are you? I thought you had deserted me....

DESTINY

(Grasping his hand.) I was here all the time.... I never lose sight of you....

TYLTYL

Yes, but, I say, don't walk so fast!... My bag's frightfully heavy.... It would be much kinder of you if you helped me to carry it a little, instead of making me rush along like this....

DESTINY

I am not man's servant.... Forward, forward, forward!...

(They go out.)

A Closet in the Fairy's PalaceA sort of waiting-room or lumber-room containing the principal accessories of the Tales of Mother Goose: Cinderella's pumpkin and glass slipper; Red Ridinghood's cake and bowl; Hop-o'-my-Thumb's pebbles; the Ogre's daughters' golden crowns; the Sleeping Beauty's distaff and snake-tub; the Giant's seven-leagued hoots; Blue Beard's key; the Blue Bird in his silver cage; and, hanging from the wall, Catskin's weather-coloured, moon-coloured and sun-coloured dresses. All these things look rather tawdry in the grey and unbecoming light. TYLTYL'Sseven little friends are locked up in this room. In the same unsympathetic light they look much less pretty than when they entered the cottage and they seem rather tired, discontented and glum, exceptTHE VEILED GIRL,who stands on one side, motionless, impassive and unrevealing.

A Closet in the Fairy's Palace

A sort of waiting-room or lumber-room containing the principal accessories of the Tales of Mother Goose: Cinderella's pumpkin and glass slipper; Red Ridinghood's cake and bowl; Hop-o'-my-Thumb's pebbles; the Ogre's daughters' golden crowns; the Sleeping Beauty's distaff and snake-tub; the Giant's seven-leagued hoots; Blue Beard's key; the Blue Bird in his silver cage; and, hanging from the wall, Catskin's weather-coloured, moon-coloured and sun-coloured dresses. All these things look rather tawdry in the grey and unbecoming light. TYLTYL'Sseven little friends are locked up in this room. In the same unsympathetic light they look much less pretty than when they entered the cottage and they seem rather tired, discontented and glum, exceptTHE VEILED GIRL,who stands on one side, motionless, impassive and unrevealing.

BELLINE

Where have they brought us?

ROSARELLE

I don't know; but I must say that it's not a nice place in which to keep young ladies waiting.

BELLINE

Yes, it looks like a lumber-room where they've stored all the odds and ends and litter of the house.

ROSARELLE

(Touching the various objects in disgust.) What's this? A distaff? Bless me, what for?... A pumpkin, a cake, an old bowl and goodness knows what else!... A tub full of dead eels! Gracious, how they smell!... It's all disgracefully kept.... And that lot of old fly-blown, spun-glass dresses!... My dear, how horrible!... What sort of place can this be? A potting-shed, a rag-and-bone shop, a pawn-broker's, or a thieves' kitchen? Whom can it belong to? A receiver of stolen goods? (Touching the more bizarre dresses.) Or a Hottentot dressmaker?

BELLINE

There's something of everything ... except a broom and a duster.

ROSARELLE

One wouldn't be enough.

BELLINE

And nothing to sit on but an old wooden bench....

ROSARELLE

But it's carved, my love!...

BELLINE

Yes, carved in dust.

ROSARELLE

Reach me one of those hideous rags and let me wipe it....

BELLINE

(Eagerly and obsequiously.) Wait, miss, I'll do that.... (She takes the moon-coloured dress and dusts the seat with it.) There, that's a little better; that's at least one corner nearly clean enough to sit on.

ROSARELLE

(Sitting down.) I'm tired out!

BELLINE

(Sitting down beside her.) So am I; my feet are dreadfully sore.

ROSARELLE

(Looking around through her lorgnette.) But what I want to know is where have we got to? My dear, have we fallen into a trap?

BELLINE

The company certainly is a little mixed. There's the miller's daughter, the girl from the inn, the wood-cutter....

ROSARELLE

Or rather, to be accurate, the wood-stealer.... There's even the little beggar-girl from the bridge by the Hermitage, to whom I refused a penny last Sunday.... My dear, you should have heard the insolent way in which she asked for it!...

BELLINE

And what's that white image standing in the corner, the one that never stirs, never speaks and follows us wherever we go?

ROSARELLE

That great lump of clay, that ugly wax-work? That washed-out plaster saint?

BELLINE

She looks very ill.

ROSARELLE

She may have Jewish leprosy or Zanzibar plague or Bombay cholera.... I tell you, we must be careful: that's all very catching....

AIMETTE

(Coming up to the bench timidly.) I should like to sit down too, I'm very tired....

ROSARELLE

Mind what you're about, miss!... There's dust enough as it is; I don't want flour into the bargain.

ROSELLE

What's all this, what's all this? Are we turning up our nose at flour now?

ROSARELLE

I wasn't addressing my remarks to you, madam.

ROSELLE

No, but I'm speaking to you. What bread would you eat if you had no flour?

ROSARELLE

You would do better to tell your father to pay the three quarters' rent that's in arrear.

ROSELLE

He'll pay his rent when your horrid old miser of a grandfather has seen to those repairs. We've been asking to have them done these last three years.

BELLINE

Is it the repairs that prevent your father from paying his butcher's bills?

ROSELLE

Does he owe anything at your shop?

BELLINE

It's six months since we saw the colour of his money.

ROSELLE

He's waiting to see the colour of yours at the inn.

BELLINE

Of mine indeed? You can wait a long time before I set foot in your dirty dram-shop.

ROSELLE

Yes, but that father of yours isn't so squeamish when he comes on Sundays and tipples till we have to put him out dead-drunk.

ROSARELLE

Don't answer her, my dear; we are not accustomed to these pot-house brawls.

ROSELLE

As for you, miss, who pretend to be so particular, you just go and ask your father, the mayor, who it was that nibbled the holes, which were not made by rats, in the town's cash-box.

ROSARELLE

(Springing to her feet, furiously.) Holes which were not made by rats! What do you mean?

ROSELLE

I mean what every one in the village means!...

ROSARELLE

Mind what you're saying; and say it again if you dare.

ROSELLE

Well, what would you do if I did say it again? You don't frighten me with your airs and graces.

ROSARELLE

Never mind my airs and graces; I'll soon show you what I'll do.

ROSELLE

Well, then, I do say it again.

ROSARELLE

(Boxing her ears.) And take that for your answer!...

(Piercing screams and a general turmoil. ROSELLE and AIMETTEmake a rush atBELLINEandROSARELLE,whileMILETTEandJALLINEvainly try to separate the combatants. THE VEILED GIRLalone remains motionless in her corner, as though she were not present. The others claw one another's faces, tear one another's hair and end by uttering such piercing yells and shrieks thatTYLTYL,returning from theMISER'S,hears them from the far end of the palace and comes running up, scared and dismayed. He is bare-headed and only half-dressed and does not understand what is going on.)

TYLTYL

What is it? What's the matter? What has happened? An accident? Are you hurt? What have you been doing?

THE GIRLS

(All speaking together.) It's she!... No, no, it was Rosarelle who began!... I tell you, it was she!... She insulted me!... She boxed my ears!... She dared to talk against my father!... She spoke ill of my mother!... She's lying, she's lying!... She nearly pulled my ear off!... She's driven a hairpin into my cheek!...

(EnterTHE FAIRY.)

THE FAIRY

Why, what's the matter?

TYLTYL

(In bewilderment.) I don't know, ma'am. I think they must have gone mad. They were so sweet when I left them. I should never have known them!... Look, look, they are quite different!... Rosarelle and Belline's eyes are blazing like furies', Aimette looks so spiteful and Roselle so brazen, Jalline hasn't washed herself and Milette's cheeks are as red as a turkey-cock's.... (Bursting into tears and hiding his eyes with his arm, like a child crying.) I can't bear it! Oh, I can't bear it!

THE FAIRY

But, you little silly, it's your own fault!

TYLTYL

My fault?

THE FAIRY

Yes, of course, it's your fault.... And, first, where have you come from? What have you done with your jacket and your green hat?

TYLTYL

Why, ma'am, I was busy dressing; I was putting on the little pair of silk breeches and the jacket embroidered with pearls which you told me I was to wear when I went to see the Ancestors.... Then I heard screams, dropped everything, ran up and found them fighting, tearing out one another's hair and scratching one another's faces....

THE FAIRY

A pretty business!... That will teach you to run after them without your talisman, which reveals the truth.... I call it most incorrect and improper.... Don't you see that you are not seeing them now as they are?...

TYLTYL

I'm not seeing them as they are?... Then how do I see them?...

THE FAIRY

Why, as they are not, that is to say, as you ought never to see them.... It's all so wonderfully simple: anything that's ugly isn't true, never has been true and never will be.

TYLTYL

That's easily said; but you see what you do see.

THE FAIRY

When you see what you do see, you see nothing at all.... I've told you before, it's what you do not see that makes the world go round.... All this doesn't count; it's only a little foam on the surface of the ocean.... But run quickly and fetch the sapphire and we shall once more see deep down into their souls, the truth of their hearts and the well-spring of their life.... Wait, you needn't trouble: I see Light coming; she has brought you your hat.

(EnterLIGHT.)

LIGHT

Good-evening, Tyltyl.

TYLTYL

(Throwing himself passionately into her arms.) Oh, Light, Light!... It's my dear Light!... Where were you?... What have you been doing ever since I saw you last?... I have missed you so much and looked for you so often!...

LIGHT

My dear little Tyltyl!... I have never lost sight of you.... I have guided you and counselled you and kissed you very often, without your knowing it.... But we will talk about all this later; to-day we have no time; I have only one night to give you and there is a great deal to be done.

(EnterDESTINY.)

DESTINY

Where is Tyltyl?

TYLTYL

Here. I'm not trying to hide.

DESTINY

And quite right too, for it would be no use; there's no escaping me....

TYLTYL

(Contemplating him in astonishment.)

But what's the matter with you?... What has happened to you? You look so much smaller!... You seem to be less tall and less broad.... You're not ill, are you?...

DESTINY

(Who has indeed shrunk appreciably.)

I? I never change, I am always the same; I am insuperable, insensible, invulnerable, immutable, inexorable, irresistible, invisible, inflexible and irrevocable!...

TYLTYL

All right, all right, what I said was merely....

THE FAIRY

(Aside, toTYLTYL.) Be quiet, you will only vex him and he will get out of hand.... It is probably being so close to Light that has upset him; they never did agree.... (Aloud.) Come, children, it's time.... Put on your hat, Tyltyl, and turn the sapphire; we shall see what happens: sometimes it works upon people's hearts, sometimes on their minds, sometimes on the objects around them and often on all three; one cannot tell before-hand....

(He turns the sapphire. The closet brightens with a blue and supernatural light which gives beauty and life to everything in the room; the accessories of Mother Goose seem to wake up: the spindle revolves madly and unreels threads of gold and crystal; the pumpkin swells, sways from side to side and lights up; the Blue Bird bursts into song; the snake-tub bubbles and pours forth fruits and flowers; the moon-coloured and sun-coloured dresses wave and glitter; the columns and aisles gleam with precious stones. But the group ofGIRLSespecially undergoes a radical and wonderful transformation: their features relax, their eyes open wider, smiles blossom on their lips, their frocks become gay and splendid, innocence, gladness, kindness and beauty bloom once more; andTYLTYL,in an ecstasy, clapping his hands, intoxicated with delight, rushes into the midst of them, giving and receiving kisses and not knowing which of them to listen to.)

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