EnterTYLTYL, MYTYL, LIGHT,theDOG,theCAT, BREAD, FIRE, SUGAR, WATERandMILK.
LIGHT I have received a note from the Fairy Bérylune telling me that the Blue Bird is probably here.
TYLTYL Where?...
LIGHT Here, in the graveyard behind that wall.... It appears that one of the dead in the graveyard is hiding it in his tomb.... We must find out which one it is.... We shall have to pass them under review....
TYLTYL Under review?... How is that done?...
LIGHT It is very simple: at midnight, so as not to disturb them too greatly, you will turn the diamond. We shall see them come out of the ground; or else we shall see those who do not come out lying in their tombs....
TYLTYL Will they not be angry?...
LIGHT Not at all; they will not even know.... They do not like being disturbed, but, as it is their custom, in any case, to come out at midnight, that will not inconvenience them....
TYLTYL Why are Bread, Sugar and Milk so pale and why do they say nothing?...
MILK (staggering) I feel I am going to turn....
LIGHT (aside to TYLTYL) Do not mind them.... They are afraid of the dead....
FIRE (frisking about) I'm not afraid of them!... I am used to burning them.... Time was when I burnt them all; that was much more amusing than nowadays ...
TYLTYL And why Is Tylô trembling?... Is he afraid, too?...
THE DOG I?... I'm not trembling!... I am never afraid; but if you went away, I should go too....
TYLTYL And has the Cat nothing to say?...
THE CAT (mysteriously) I know what's what....
TYLTYL (to LIGHT) Are you coming with us?...
LIGHT No; it is better that I should remain at the gate of the graveyard with the Things and the Animals.... Some of them would be too frightened and I fear that the others would misbehave.... Fire, in particular, would want to burn the dead, as of old; and that is no longer done.... I shall leave you alone with Mytyl....
TYLTYL And may not Tylô stay with us?...
THE DOG Yes, yes, I shall stay; I shall stay here I... I want to stay with my little god!...
LIGHT It is impossible.... The Fairy gave formal orders; besides, there is nothing to fear....
THE DOG Very well, very well, it makes no difference. If they are vicious, my little god, all you have to do Is this ... (he whistles) and you shall see.... It will be just as in the forest: Wow! Wow! Wow!...
LIGHT Come, good-bye, dear children ... I shall not be far away.... (She kisses theCHILDREN.) Those who love me and whom I love always find me again.... (To theTHINGSand theANIMALS) This way, all of you....
(She goes out with theTHINGSand theANIMALS.TheCHILDRENremain alone in the middle of the stage. The curtain, opens and discloses the next scene.)
It is night. The moon is shining on a country graveyard.. Numerous tombstones, grassy mounds, wooden crosses, stone slabs, etc. TYLTYLandMYTYLare standing by a short stone pillar.
MYTYL I am frightened!...
TYLTYL (not too much at his ease) I am never frightened....
MYTYL I say, are the dead wicked?...
TYLTYL Why, no, they're not alive!...
MYTYL Have you ever seen one?...
TYLTYL Yes, once, long ago, when I was very young....
MYTYL What was it like, say?...
TYLTYL Quite white, very still and very cold and it didn't talk....
MYTYL Are we going to see them, say?...
TYLTYL Why, of course, Light said so....
MYTYL Where are they?...
TYLTYL Here, under the grass or under those big stones....
MYTYL Are they there all the year round?...
TYLTYL Yes.
MYTYL (pointing to the slabs) Are those the doors of their houses?...
TYLTYL Yes.
MYTYL Do they go out when it's fine?...
TYLTYL They can only go out at night....
MYTYL Why?...
TYLTYL Because they are in their shirts....
MYTYL Do they go out also when it rains?...
TYLTYL When it rains, they stay at home....
MYTYL Is it nice in their homes, say?...
TYLTYL They say it's very cramped....
MYTYL Have they any little children?...
TYLTYL Why, yes; they have all those that die....
MYTYL And what do they live on?...
TYLTYL They eat roots....
MYTYL Shall we see them?...
TYLTYL Of course; we see everything when I turn the diamond.
MYTYL And what will they say?...
TYLTYL They will say nothing, as they don't talk....
MYTYL Why don't they talk?...
TYLTYL Because they have nothing to say....
MYTYL Why have they nothing to say?...
TYLTYL You're a nuisance....
(A pause)
MYTYL When will you turn the diamond?
TYLTYL You heard Light say that I was to wait until midnight, because that disturbs them less....
MYTYL Why does that disturb them less?...
TYLTYL Because that is when they go out to take the air....
MYTYL Is it not midnight yet?...
TYLTYL Do you see the church clock?...
MYTYL Yes, I can even see the small hand....
TYLTYL Well, midnight is just going to strike.... There!... Do you hear?...
(The clock strikes twelve)
MYTYL I want to go away!...
TYLTYL Not now.... I am going to turn the diamond....
MYTYL No, no!... Don't!... I want to go away!... I am so frightened, little brother!... I am terribly frightened!...
TYLTYL But there is no danger....
MYTYL I don't want to see the dead!... I don't want to see them!...
TYLTYL Very well, you shall not see them; shut your eyes....
MYTYL (clinging toTYLTYL'Sclothes) Tyltyl, I can't stay!... No, I can't possibly!... They are going to come out of the ground!...
TYLTYL Don't tremble like that.... They will only come out for a moment....
MYTYL But you're trembling, too!... They will be awful!...
TYLTYL It is time, the hour is passing....
(TYLTYLturns the diamond. A terrifying minute of silence and motionlessness elapses, after which, slowly, the crosses totter, the mounds open, the slabs rise up....)
MYTYL (cowering againstTYLTYL) They are coming out!... They are there!...
(Then, from all the gaping tombs, there rises gradually an efflorescence at first frail and timid, like steam; then white and virginal and more and more tufty, more and more tall and plentiful and marvellous. Little by little, irresistibly, invading all things, it transforms the graveyard into a sort of fairy-like and nuptial garden, over which rise the first rays of the dawn. The dew glitters, the flowers open their blooms, the wind murmurs in the leaves, the bees hum, the birds wake and flood the air with the first raptures of their hymns to the sun and to life. Stunned and dazzled,TYLTYLandMYTYL,holding each other by the hand, take a few steps among the flowers while they seek for the trace of the tombs.)
MYTYL (looking in the grass) Where are the dead?....
TYLTYL (looking also) There are no dead....
The immense halls of the Azure Palace, where the children wait that are yet to be born. Infinite perspectives of sapphire columns supporting turquoise vaults. Everything, from the light and the lapis-lazuli flagstones to the shimmering background into which the last arches run and disappear, everything, down to the smallest objects, is of an unreal, intense, fairy-like blue. Only the plinths and capitals of the columns, the key-stones, a few seats and circular benches are of white marble or alabaster. To the right, between the columns, are great opalescent doors. These doors, whichTIMEwill throw back towards the end of the scene, open upon actual life and the quays of the Dawn. Everywhere, harmoniously peopling the hall, is a crowd ofCHILDRENrobed in long azure garments. Some are playing, others strolling to and fro, others talking or dreaming; many are asleep, many also are working, between the colonnades, at future inventions; and their tools, their instruments, the apparatus which they are constructing, the plants, flowers and fruit which they are cultivating or plucking are of the same supernatural and luminous blue as the general atmosphere of the Palace. Figures of a taller stature, clad in a paler and more diaphanous azure, figures of a sovereign and silent beauty move among theCHILDRENand would seem to be angels.
Enter on the left, as though by stealth, gliding between the columns in the foreground, TYLTYL, MYTYLandLIGHT. Their arrival causes a certain movement among theBLUE CHILDREN,who come running up on every hand, form a group around the unwonted visitors and gaze upon them with curiosity.
MYTYL Where are Sugar, the Cat and Bread?...
LIGHT They cannot enter here; they would know the future and would not obey....
TYLTYL And the Dog?...
LIGHT It is not well, either, that he should know what awaits him in the course of the ages....I have locked them all up in the vaults of the church....
TYLTYL Where are we?...
LIGHT We are in the Kingdom of the Future, in the midst of the children who are not yet born. As the diamond allows us to see clearly in this region which is hidden from men, we shall very probably find the Blue Bird here....
TYLTYL Certainly the bird will be blue, since everything here is blue....(Looking all around him.) Heaven, how beautiful it all is!...
LIGHT Look at the children running up....
TYLTYL Are they angry?...
LIGHT Not at all....You can see, they are smiling, but they are surprised....
THE BLUE CHILDREN (running up in ever-increasing numbers) Live children!...Come and look at the little live children!...
TYLTYL Why do they call us the little live children?
LIGHT Because they themselves are not alive yet....
TYLTYL What are they doing, then?...
LIGHT They are awaiting the hour of their birth....
TYLTYL The hour of their birth?...
LIGHT Yes; it is from here that all the children come who are born upon our earth. Each awaits his day.... When the fathers and mothers want children, the great doors which you see there, on the right, are opened and the little ones go down....
TYLTYL What a, lot there are! What a lot there are!...
LIGHT There are many more.... We do not see them all.... There are thirty thousand halls like this, all full of them.... Just think, there are enough to last to the end of the world!... No one could count them....
TYLTYL And those tall blue persons, who are they?...
LIGHT No one exactly knows.... They are believed to be guardians.... I have heard that they will come upon earth after men.... But we are not allowed to ask them....
TYLTYL Why not?...
LIGHT Because it is the earth's secret....
TYLTYL And may one talk to the others, the little ones?...
LIGHT Certainly; you must make friends.... Look, there is one who is more curious than the rest.... Go up to him, speak to him....
TYLTYL What shall I say to him?...
LIGHT Whatever you like, as you would to a little playfellow....
TYLTYL Can I shake hands with him?...
LIGHT Of course, he won't hurt you.... But come, don't look so constrained.... I will leave you alone, you will be more at ease by yourselves.... Besides, I want to speak to the tall blue person....
TYLTYL (going up to theBLUE CHILDand holding out his hand) How do you do?... (Touching theCHILD'Sblue dress with his finger.) What's that?...
THE CHILD (gravely touchingTYLTYL'Shat) And that?...
TYLTYL That?... That is my hat.... Have you no hat?...
THE CHILD No; what is it for?...
TYLTYL It's to say How-do-you-do with.... And then for when it rains or when it's cold....
THE CHILD What does that mean, when it's cold?...
TYLTYL When you shiver like this: brrrr! brrrr!... When you blow into your hands and go like this with your arms....
(He vigorously beats his arms across his chest.)
THE CHILD Is it cold on earth?...
TYLTYL Yes, sometimes, in the winter, when there is no fire....
THE CHILD Why is there no fire?...
TYLTYL Because it's expensive and it costs money to buy wood....
THE CHILD What is money?...
TYLTYL It's what you pay with....
THE CHILD Oh....
TYLTYL Some people have money and others have none....
THE CHILD Why not?...
TYLTYL Because they are not rich.... Are you rich?... How old are you?...
THE CHILD I am going to be born soon.... I shall be born in twelve years.... Is it nice to be born?...
TYLTYL Oh, yes!... It's great fun!...
THE CHILD How did you manage?...
TYLTYL I can't remember.... It is so long ago!...
THE CHILD They say it's lovely, the earth and the live people!...
TYLTYL Yes, it's not bad.... There are birds and cakes and toys.... Some have them all; but those who have none can look at them....
THE CHILD They tell us that the mothers stand waiting at the door.... They are good, aren't they?...
TYLTYL Oh, yes!... They are better than anything in the world!... And the grannies too; but they die too soon....
THE CHILD They die?... What is that?...
TYLTYL They go away one evening and do not come back....
THE CHILD Why?...
TYLTYL How can one tell?... Perhaps because they feel sad....
THE CHILD Has yours gone?...
TYLTYL My grandmamma?...
THE CHILD Your mamma or your grandmamma, I don't know....
TYLTYL Oh, but it's not the same thing!... The grannies go first; that's sad enough.... Mine was very kind to me....
THE CHILD What is the matter with your eyes?.... Are they making pearls?...
TYLTYL No; it's not pearls....
THE CHILD What is it, then?...
TYLTYL It's nothing; it's all that blue, which dazzles me a little....
THE CHILD What is that called?...
TYLTYL What?...
THE CHILD There, that, falling down....
TYLTYL Nothing, it is a little water....
THE CHILD Does it come from the eyes?...
TYLTYL Yes, sometimes, when one cries....
THE CHILD What does that mean, crying?...
TYLTYL I have not been crying; it is the fault of that blue... But if I had cried, it would be the same thing....
THE CHILD Does one often cry?...
TYLTYL Not little boys, but little girls do.... Don't you cry here?...
THE CHILD No; I don't know how....
TYLTYL Well, you will learn.... What are you playing with, those great blue wings?...
THE CHILD These?... That's for the invention which I shall make on earth....
TYLTYL What invention?... Have you invented something?...
THE CHILD Why, yes; haven't you heard?... When I am on earth, I shall have to invent the thing that gives happiness....
TYLTYL Is it good to eat?... Does it make a noise?...
THE CHILD No; you hear nothing....
TYLTYL That's a pity....
THE CHILD I work at it every day.... It is almost finished.... Would you like to see it?...
TYLTYL Very much.... Where is it?...
THE CHILD There, you can see it from here, between those two columns....
ANOTHER BLUE CHILD (coming up toTYLTYLand plucking his sleeve) Would you like to see mine, say?...
TYLTYL Yes, what is it?...
THE SECOND CHILD The thirty-three remedies for prolonging life.... There, in those blue phials....
A THIRD CHILD (stepping out from the crowd) I will show you a light which nobody knows of!... (He lights himself up entirely with an extraordinary flame.) It's rather curious, isn't it?...
A FOURTH CHILD (pullingTYLTYL'Sarm) Do come and look at my machine which flies in the air like a bird without wings!...
A FIFTH CHILD No, no; mine first! It discovers the treasures hidden in the moon!...
THE BLUE CHILDREN (crowding roundTYLTYLandMYTYLand all crying together) No, no, come and see mine!... No, mine is much finer!... Mine is a wonderful invention!... Mine is made of sugar!... His is no good!... He stole the idea from me!...
(Amid these disordered exclamations, theLIVE CHILDRENare dragged towards the blue workshops, where each of the inventors sets his ideal machine going. There ensues a cerulean whirl of wheels, disks, flywheels, driving-wheels, pulleys, straps and strange and as yet unnamed objects shrouded in the bluey mists of the unreal. A crowd of odd and mysterious mechanisms dart forth and hover under the vaults or crawl at the foot of the columns, whileCHILDRENunfold charts and plans, open books, uncover azure statues and bring enormous flowers and gigantic fruits that seem formed of sapphires and turquoises.)
A LITTLE BLUE CHILD (bending under the weight of some colossal blue daisies) Look at my flowers!...
TYLTYL What are they?... I don't know them....
THE LITTLE BLUE CHILD They are daisies!...
TYLTYL Impossible!... They are as big as tables!...
THE LITTLE BLUE CHILD And they smell so good!...
TYLTYL (smelling them) Wonderful!...
THE LITTLE BLUE CHILD They will grow like that when I am on earth....
TYLTYL When will that be?...
THE LITTLE BLUE CHILD In fifty-three years, four months and nine days....
(TwoBLUE CHILDRENarrive, carrying, like a lustre hanging on a pole, an incredible bunch of grapes, each larger than a pear.)
ONE OF THE CHILDREN (carrying the grapes) What do you say to my fruits?...
TYLTYL A bunch of pears!...
THE CHILD No, they are grapes!... They will all be like that when I am thirty.... I have found the way....
ANOTHER CHILD (staggering under a basket of blue apples the size of melons) And mine!... Look at my apples!...
TYLTYL But those are melons!...
THE CHILD No, no!... They are my apples and they are not the finest at that!... They will all be alike when I am alive.... I have discovered the system!...
ANOTHER CHILD (wheeling a blue barrow with blue melons bigger than pumpkins) What do you say to my little melons?...
TYLTYL But they are pumpkins!...
THE CHILD WITH THE MELONS When I come on earth, the melons will be splendid!... I shall be the gardener of the King of the Three Planets....
TYLTYL The King of the Three Planets?
THE CHILD WITH THE MELONS The great king who for thirty-five years will bring happiness to the Earth, Mars and the Moon.... You can see him from here....
TYLTYL Where is he?...
THE CHILD WITH THE MELONS There, the little boy sleeping at the foot of that column.
TYLTYL On the left?...
THE CHILD WITH THE MELONS No, on the right.... The one on the left is the child who will bring pure joy to the globe....
TYLTYL How?...
THE CHILD (the one that first talked toTYLTYL) By means of ideas which people have not yet had....
TYLTYL And the other, that little fat one with his fingers to his nose, what will he do?...
THE CHILD He is to discover the fire that will warm the earth when the sun is paler than now....
TYLTYL And the two holding each other by the hand and always kissing; are they brother and sister?...
THE CHILD No; they are very comical....They are the Lovers....
TYLTYL What is that?...
THE CHILD I don't know.... Time calls them that, to make fun of them.... They spend the day looking into each other's eyes, kissing and bidding each other farewell....
TYLTYL Why?...
THE CHILD It seems that they will not be able to leave together...
TYLTYL And the little pink one, who looks so serious and is sucking his thumb, what is he?...
THE CHILD It appears that he is to wipe out injustice from the earth....
TYLTYL Oh!...
THE CHILD They say it's a tremendous work....
TYLTYL And the little red-haired one, who walks as if he did not see where he was going, is he blind?...
THE CHILD Not yet; but he will become so....Look at him well; it seems that he is to conquer Death....
TYLTYL What does that mean?...
THE CHILD I don't exactly know; but they say it's a great thing....
TYLTYL (pointing to a crowd ofCHILDRENsleeping at the foot of the columns, on the steps, the benches, etc.) And all those asleep, what a number of them there are asleep!... Do they do nothing?...
THE CHILD They are thinking of something....
TYLTYL Of what?...
THE CHILD They do not know yet; but they must take something with them to earth; we are not allowed to go from here empty-handed....
TYLTYL Who says so?...
THE CHILD Time, who stands at the door.... You will see when he opens it.... He is very tiresome....
A CHILD (running up from the back of the hall and elbowing his way through the crowd) How are you, TYLTYL?...
TYLTYL Hullo!... How does he know my name?...
THE CHILD (who has just run up and who now kissesTYLTYLandMYTYLeffusively.) How are you?... All right?... Come, give me a kiss, and you too, Mytyl. It's not surprising that I should know your name, seeing that I shall be your brother.... They have only just told me that you were here.... I was right at the other end of the hall, packing up my ideas.... Tell mummy that I am ready....
TYLTYL What?... Are you coming to us?...
THE CHILD Certainly, next year, on Palm Sunday.... Don't tease me too much when I am little.... I am very glad to have kissed you both beforehand.... Tell daddy to mend the cradle.... Is it comfortable in our home?...
TYLTYL Not bad.... And mummy is so kind!...
THE CHILD And the food?...
TYLTYL That depends.... We even have cakes sometimes, don't we, Mytyl?...
MYTYL On New Year's Day and the fourteenth of July.... Mummy makes them....
TYLTYL What have you got in that bag?... Are you bringing us something?...
THE CHILD I am bringing three illnesses: scarlatina, whooping-cough and measles....
TYLTYL Oh, that's all, is it?... And, after that, what will you do?...
THE CHILD After that?... I shall leave you....
TYLTYL It will hardly be worth while coming!...
THE CHILD We can't pick and choose!...
(At that moment, a sort of prolonged, powerful, crystalline vibration is heard to rise and swell; it seems to emanate from the columns and the opal doors, which are irradiated by a brighter light than before.)
TYLTYL What is that?...
THE CHILD That's Time!... He is going to open the gates!...
(A great change comes over the crowd ofBLUE CHILDREN,Most of them leave their machines and their labours, numbers of sleepers awake and all turn their eyes towards the opal doors and go nearer to them.)
LIGHT (joiningTYLTYL) Let us try to hide behind the columns.... It will not do for Time to discover us....
TYLTYL Where does that noise come from?...
A CHILD It is the Dawn rising.... This is the hour when the children who are to be born to-day go down to earth....
TYLTYL How will they go down?... Are there ladders?...
THE CHILD You shall see.... Time is drawing the bolts....
TYLTYL Who is Time?...
THE CHILD An old man who comes to call those who are going....
TYLTYL Is he wicked?...
THE CHILD No; but he hears nothing.... Beg as they may, if it's not their turn, he pushes back all those who try to go....
TYLTYL Are they glad to go?...
THE CHILD We are sorry when we are left behind, but we are sad when we go.... There! There!... He is opening the doors!...
(The great opalescent doors turn slowly on their hinges. The sounds of the earth are heard like a distant music. A red and green light penetrates into the hall; TIME,a tall old man with a streaming beard, armed with his scythe and hourglass, appears upon the threshold; and the spectator perceives the extremity of the white and gold sails of a galley moored to a sort of quay, formed by the rosy mists of the Dawn.)
TIME (on the threshold) Are they ready whose hour has struck?...
BLUE CHILDREN (elbowing their way and running up from all sides) Here we are!... Here we are!... Here we are!...
TIME (in a gruff voice to theCHILDRENdefiling before him to go out) One at a time!... Once again, there are many more of you than are wanted!... It's always the same thing!... You can't deceive me!...(Pushing back aCHILD.) It's not your turn!... Go back and wait till to-morrow.... Nor you either; go in and return in ten years.... A thirteenth shepherd?... There are only twelve wanted; there is no need for more; the days of Theocritus and Virgil are past.... More doctors?... There are too many already; they are grumbling about it on earth.... And where are the engineers?... They want an honest man, only one, as a phenomenon.... Where is the honest man?... Is it you?... (THE CHILDnods yes.) You appear to me to be a very poor specimen!... Hallo, you, over there, not so fast, not so fast!... And you, what are you bringing?... Nothing at all, empty-handed?... Then you can't go through.... Prepare something, a great crime, if you like, or a fine sickness, I don't care ... but you mast have something.... (Catching sight of a littleCHILDwhom the others are pushing forward, while he resists with all his strength.) Well, what's the matter with you?... You know that the hour has come.... They want a hero to fight against injustice; you're the one: you most start....
THE BLUE CHILDREN He doesn't want to, sir....
TIME What?... He doesn't want to?... Where does the little monster think he is?... No objections, we have no time to spare....
THE CHILD (who is being pushed) No, no!...I don't want to go!... I would rather not be born!... I would rather stay here!...
TIME That is not the question.... When the hour comes, it comes!... Now then, quick, forward!...
A CHILD (stepping forward) Oh, let me pass!... I will go and take his place!... They say that my parents are old and have been waiting for me so long!...
TIME None of that!... You will start at your proper hour, at your proper time.... We should never be done if we listened to you.... One wants to go, another refuses; it's too soon or it's too late.... (Pushing back someCHILDRENwho have encroached upon the threshold.) Not so near, you children!... Back, you inquisitive ones!... Those who are not starting have no business outside.... You are in a hurry now; later, when your turn comes, you will be frightened and hang back.... Look, there are four who are trembling like leaves.... (To aCHILDwho, on the point of crossing the threshold, suddenly goes back.) Well, what is it?... What's the matter?...
THE CHILD I have forgotten the box containing the two crimes which I shall have to commit....
ANOTHER CHILD And I the little pot with my idea for enlightening the crowd....
A THIRD CHILD I have forgotten the graft of my finest pear!...
TIME Run quick and fetch them!... We have only six hundred and twelve seconds left.... The galley of the Dawn is already flapping her sails to show that she is waiting.... You will come too late and you won't be born!... Come, quick, on board with you!... (Laying hold of aCHILDwho tries to pass between his legs to reach the quay.) Oh, no, not you!... This is the third time you've tried to be born before your turn.... Don't let me catch you at it again, or you can wait forever with my sister Eternity; and you know that it's not amusing there!... But come, are we ready?... Is every one at his post?... (Surveying theCHILDRENstanding on the quay or already seated In the galley.) There is still one missing.... It is no use his hiding, I see him in the crowd.... You can't deceive me!... Come on, you, the little fellow whom they call the Lover, say good-bye to your sweetheart....
(The twoCHILDRENwho are called the Lovers, fondly entwined, their faces livid with despair, go up toTIMEand kneel at his feet.)
THE FIRST CHILD Mr. Time, let me stay behind with her!...
THE SECOND CHILD Mr. Time, let me go with him!...
TIME Impossible!... We have only three hundred and ninety-four seconds left....
THE FIRST CHILD I would rather not be born!...
TIME You cannot choose....
THE SECOND CHILD (beseechingly) Mr. Time, I shall come too late!...
THE FIRST CHILD I shall be gone before she comes down!...
THE SECOND CHILD I shall never see him again!...
THE FIRST CHILD We shall be alone in the world!...
TIME All this does not concern me.... Address your entreaties to Life.... I unite and part as I am told....(Seizing one of theCHILDREN.) Come!...
THE FIRST CHILD (struggling) No, no, no!... She, too!...
THE SECOND CHILD (clinging to the clothes of theFIRST) Leave him with me!... Leave him!...
TIME Come, come, he is not going to die, but to live!... (Dragging away theFIRST CHILD.) Come along!...
THE SECOND CHILD (stretching her arms out frantically to theCHILDthat is being carried off) A sign!... A sign!... Tell me how to find you!...
THE FIRST CHILD I shall always love you!...
THE SECOND CHILD I shall be the saddest thing on earth!... You will know me by that!...
(She falls and remains stretched on the ground.)
TIME You would do much better to hope.... And now, that is all.... (Consulting his hour-glass.) We have only sixty-three seconds left....
(Last and violent movements among theCHILDRENdeparting and remaining. They exchange hurried farewells.)
THE BLUE CHILDREN Good-bye, Pierre!... Good-bye, Jean!... Have you all you want?... Announce my idea!... Have you got the new turnscrew?... Mind you speak of my melons!... Have you forgotten nothing?... Try to know me again I... I shall find you!... Don't lose your ideas!... Don't lean too far into space!... Send me your news!... They say one can't... Oh, try, do try!... Try to tell us if it's nice!... I will come to meet you I... I shall be born on a throne!...
TIME (shaking his keys and his scythe) Enough! Enough!... The anchor's raised!...
(The sails of the galley pass and disappear. The voices of theCHILDRENin the galley are heard in the distance: "The Earth! The Earth!... I can see it!... How beautiful it is!... How bright it is!... How big it is!"...Then, as though issuing from the depths of the abyss, an extremely distant song of gladness and expectation.)
TYLTYL (toLIGHT) What is that?... It is not they singing.... It sounds like other voices....
LIGHT Yes, it is the song of the mothers coming out to meet them....
(Meanwhile, TIMEcloses the opalescent doors. He turns to take a last look at the hall and suddenly perceivesTYLTYL, MYTYLandLIGHT.)
TIME (dumbfoundered and furious) What's that?... What are you doing here?... Who are you?... Why are you not blue?... How did you get in?... (He comes forward, threatening them with his scythe.)
LIGHT (toTYLTYL) Do not answer!... I have the Blue Bird.... He is hidden under my cloak.... Let us escape.... Turn the diamond, he will lose our traces.... (They slip away on the left, between the columns in the foreground.)
The stage represents a wall with a small door. It is the break of day.
(EnterTYLTYL, MYTYL, LIGHT, BREAD, WATER, SUGAR, FIREandMILK) You would never guess where we are....
TYLTYL Well, no, Light, because I don't know....
LIGHT Don't you recognise that wall and that little door?...
TYLTYL It is a red wall and a little green door.
LIGHT And doesn't that remind you of anything?...
TYLTYL It reminds me that Time shewed us the door....
LIGHT How odd people are when they dream.... They do not recognise their own hands....
TYLTYL Who is dreaming?... Am I?...
LIGHT Perhaps it's myself.... Who can tell?... However, this wall contains a house which you have seen more than once since you were born....
TYLTYL A house which I have seen more than once since I was born?...
LIGHT Why yes, sleepy-head!... It is the house which we left one evening, just a year ago, to a day....
TYLTYL Just a year ago?... Why, then....
LIGHT Come, come!... Don't open great eyes like sapphire caves.... It's the dear old house of your father and mother....
TYLTYL (going up to the door) But I think.... Yes, really.... It seems to me.... This little door.... I recognise the wooden pin.... Are they in there?... Are we near mummy?... I want to go in at once.... I want to kiss her at once!...
LIGHT One moment.... They are sound asleep; you must not wake them with a start.... Besides, the door will not open till the hour strikes....
TYLTYL What hour?... Is there long to wait?...
LIGHT Alas, no!... A few poor minutes....
TYLTYL Aren't you glad to be back?... What is it, Light?... You are quite pale, you look ill....
LIGHT It's nothing, child.... I feel a little sad, because I am leaving you....
TYLTYL Leaving us?...
LIGHT I must.... I have nothing more to do here; the year is over, the Fairy is coming back to ask you for the Blue Bird....
TYLTYL But I haven't got the Blue Bird!... The one of the Land of Memory turned quite black, the one of the Future turned quite pink, the Night's are dead and I could not catch the one in the Forest.... Is it my fault if they change colour, or die, or escape?... Will the Fairy be angry and what will she say?...
LIGHT We have done what we could.... It seems likely that the Blue Bird does not exist or that he changes colour when he is caged....
TYLTYL Where is the cage?...
BREAD Here, master.... It was entrusted to my diligent care during our long journey; to-day, now that my mission is drawing to an end, I restore it to your hands, untouched and carefully closed, as I received it.... (Like an orator making a speech) And now, in the name of all, I crave permission to add a few words....
FIRE He has not been called upon to speak!...
WATER Order!...
BREAD The malevolent interruptions of a contemptible enemy, of an envious rival....
FIRE An envious rival!... What would you be without me?... A lump of shapeless and indigestible dough....
WATER Order!...
FIRE I won't be shouted down by you! ...
(They threaten each other and are about to come to blows.)
LIGHT (raising her wand) Enough!...
BREAD The insults and the ridiculous pretensions of an element whose notorious misbehaviour and whose scandalous excesses drive the world to despair....
FIRE You fat pasty-face!
BREAD (raising his voice) Will not prevent me from doing my duty to the end.... I wish, therefore, in the name of all...
FIRE Not in mine!... I have a tongue of my own!...
BREAD In the name of all and with a restrained but simple and deep emotion, to take leave of two distinguished children, whose exalted mission ends to-day.... When bidding them farewell, with all the grief and all the fondness which a mutual esteem....
TYLTYL What?... You are bidding us farewell?... Are you leaving us too?...
BREAD Alas, needs must, since the hour when men's eyes are to be opened has not yet come.... I am leaving you, it is true; but the separation will only be apparent, you will no longer hear me speak....
FIRE That will be no loss!...
WATER Order! Silence!...
FIRE I shall keep silence when you cease babbling in the kettles, the wells, the brooks, the waterfalls and the taps....
LIGHT (threatening them with her wand) That will do, do you hear?... You are all very quarrelsome; It is the coming separation that sets your nerves on edge like this....
BREAD (with great dignity) That does not apply to me.... I was saying, you will no longer hear me speak, no longer see me in my living form.... Your eyes are about to close to the invisible life of the Things; but I shall always be there. In the bread-pan, on the shelf, on the table, beside the soup, I who am, if I may say so, with Water and Fire, the most faithful companion, the oldest friend of Man....
FIRE Well, and what about me?...
LIGHT Come, the minutes are passing, the hour is at hand which will send us back into silence.... Be quick and kiss the children....
FIRE (rushing forward) I first! I first!... (Violently kissing theCHILDREN.) Good-bye, Tyltyl and Mytyl!... Good-bye, my darlings.... Think of me if ever you want any one to set fire to anything....
MYTYL Oh! Oh!... He's burning me!...
TYLTYL Oh! Oh!... He's scorched my nose!...
LIGHT Come, Fire, moderate your transports.... Remember you're not in your chimney....
WATER What an idiot!...
BREAD What a vulgarian!...
FIRE There, look; I will put my hands in my pockets.... But don't forget me.... I am the friend of Man.... I shall always be there, in the hearth and in the oven; and I will come sometimes and put out my tongue for you when you are cold or sad.... I shall be warm in winter and roast chestnuts for you....
WATER (approaching theCHILDREN) I shall kiss you without hurting you, tenderly, my children....
FIRE Take care, you'll get wet!...
WATER I am loving and gentle; I am kind to human beings....
FIRE What about those you drown?...
WATER Love the wells, listen to the brooks.... I shall always be there....
FIRE She has flooded the whole place....
WATER When you sit down, in the evening, beside the springs—there is more than one here in the forest—try to understand what they are trying to say....
FIRE Enough! Enough!... I can't swim!...
WATER I shall no longer be able to tell you as clearly as I do to-day that I love you; but you will not forget that that is what I am saying to you when you hear my voice.... Alas!... I can say no more.... My tears choke me and prevent my speaking....
FIRE It doesn't sound like it!...
WATER Think of me when you see the water-bottle.... Alas! I have to be silent there; but my thoughts will always be of you.... You will find me also in the ewer, the watering-can, the cistern and the tap....
MILK (approaching timidly) And me in the milk-jug....
TYLTYL What, you too, my dear Milk, so shy and so good?... Is everybody going?...
SUGAR (naturally mawkish and sanctimonious) If you have a little corner left in your memory, remember sometimes that my presence was sweet to you.... That is all I have to say.... Tears are not in harmony with my temperament and they hurt me terribly when they fall on my feet....
BREAD Jesuit!...
FIRE (yelping) Sugar-plum! Lollipop! Caramel!...
TYLTYL But where are Tylette and Tylô gone to?... What are they doing?...
(TheCATis heard to utter shrill cries.)
MYTYL (alarmed) It's Tylette crying!... He is being hurt!...
(Enter theCAT,running, his hair on end and dishevelled, his clothes torn, holding his handkerchief to his cheek, as though he had the toothache. He utters angry groans and is closely pursued by theDOG,who overwhelms him with bites, blows and kicks.)
THE DOG (beating theCAT) There!... Have you had enough?... Do you want any more?... There! There! There!...
LIGHT, TYLTYL and MYTYL (rushing forward to part them) Tylô!... Are you mad?... Well, I never!... Down!... Stop that, will you?... How dare you?... Wait, wait!...
(They part theDOGand theCATby main force.)
LIGHT What is it?... What has happened?...
THE CAT (blubbering and wiping his eyes) It's the Dog, Mrs. Light.... He insulted me, he put tin tacks in my food, he pulled my tail, he beat me; and I had done nothing, nothing, nothing at all!...
THE DOG (mimicking him) Nothing, nothing, nothing at all!... (In an undertone, with a mocking grimace) Never mind, you've had some, you've had some and you're going to have some more!...
MYTYL (pressing theCATin her arms) My poor Tylette, where has he hurt you?... Tell me.... I shall cry too....
LIGHT (to theDOG,severely) Your conduct is all the more, unworthy since you have chosen for this disgraceful exhibition the already most painful moment when we are about to part from these poor children....
THE DOG (suddenly sobered) To part from these poor children?...
LIGHT Yes; the hour which you know of is at hand.... We are going to return to silence.... We shall no longer be able to speak to them....
THE DOG (suddenly uttering real howls of despair and flinging himself upon theCHILDREN,whom he loads with violent and tumultuous caresses.) No! No!... I refuse!... I refuse!... I shall always talk!... You will understand me now, will you not, my little god?... Yes! Yes! Yes!... And we shall tell each other everything, everything, everything!... And I shall be very good.... And I shall learn to read and write and play dominoes!... And I shall always be very clean.... And I shall never steal anything in the kitchen again.... Shall I do a wonderful trick for you?... Would you like me to kiss the Cat?...
MYTYL (to theCAT) And you, Tylette?... Have you nothing to say to us?...
THE CAT (in an affected and enigmatic tone) I love you both as much as you deserve....
LIGHT Now let me, in my turn, children, give you a last kiss....
TYLTYL and MYTYL (hanging on toLIGHT'Sdress) No, no, no, Light!... Stay here with us!... Daddy won't mind.... We will tell mummy how kind you have been....
LIGHT Alas! I cannot!... This door is closed to us and I must leave you....
TYLTYL Where will you go all alone?...
LIGHT Not very far, my children; over there, to the Land of the Silence of Things....
TYLTYL No, no; I won't have you go.... We will go with you.... I shall tell mummy....
LIGHT Do not cry, my dear little ones.... I have not a voice like Water; I have only my brightness, which Man does not understand.... But I watch over him to the end of his days.... Never forget that I am speaking to you in every spreading moonbeam, in every twinkling star, in every dawn that rises, in every lamp that is lit, in every good and bright thought of your soul.... (Eight o'clock strikes behind the wall.) Listen!... The hour is striking!... Good-bye!... The door is opening!... In with you, in with you!...
(She pushes theCHILDRENthrough the door, which has half-opened and which closes again behind them. BREADwipes away a furtive tear, SUGARandWATER,etc., all in tears, flee precipitously and disappear in the wings to the right and left. TheDOGhowls behind the scenes. The stage remains empty for a moment and then the scenery representing the wall and the little door opens in the middle and reveals the last scene.)