A forest. It is night. The moon is shining. Old trees of various kinds, notably an OAK, a BEECH, an ELM, a POPLAR, a FIR-TREE, a CYPRESS, a LIME-TREE, a CHESTNUT-TREE, etc.
ENTER the CAT.
THE CAT (bowing to the trees in turn) To all the trees here present, greeting!....
THE TREES (murmuring in their leaves) Greeting!....
THE CAT This is a great day, a day of days!.... Our enemy is coming to set free your energies and to deliver himself into your hands..... It is Tyltyl, the son of the wood-cutter, who has done you so much harm.... He is seeking the Blue Bird, whom you have kept hidden from Man since the beginning of the world and who alone knows our secret.... (A murmuring in the leaves.) What do you say?... Ah, it's the Poplar!... Yes, he possesses a diamond which has the virtue of setting free our spirits for a moment; he can compel us to hand over the Blue Bird and thenceforth we shall be definitely at Man's mercy.... (A murmuring in the leaves.) Who is speaking?... Ah, the Oak!... How are you?... (A murmuring in the leaves of the OAK.) Still got your cold?... Does the Liquorice no longer look after you?... Can't you throw off your rheumatism?... Believe me, that's because of the moss; you put too much of it on your feet.... Is the Blue Bird still with you?... (A murmuring in the leaves of the OAK.) I beg your pardon?... Yes, there is no room for hesitation; we must take the opportunity; he must he done away with.... (A murmuring in the leaves.) I didn't quite catch.... Oh, yes, he is with his little sister; she must die, too.... (A murmuring in the leaves.) Yes, they have the Dog with them; there is no keeping him away.... (A murmuring in the leaves.) What did you say?... Bribe him?... Impossible.... I have tried everything.... (A murmuring in the leaves.) Ah, is that you, Fir-Tree?... Yes, get four planks ready.... Yes, there are Fire, Sugar, Water and Bread besides.... They are all with us, except Bread, who is rather doubtful.... Light alone is on Man's side; but she won't come.... I made the children believe that they ought to steal away while she was asleep.... There never was such an opportunity.... (A murmuring in the leaves.) Ah, that's the Beech's voice!... Yes, you are right; we must inform the animals.... Has the Rabbit got his drum?... Is he with you?... Good, let him beat the troop at once.... Here they are!...
(The roll of the RABBIT'S drum is heard, diminishing in the distance. Enter TYLTYL, MYTYL and the DOG.)
TYLTYL Is this the place?...
THE CAT (obsequiously, eagerly, mealy-mouthed, rushing to meet the CHILDREN) Ah, there you are, my little master!... How well you look and how pretty, this evening!.... I went before you to announce your arrival.... All Is going well. We shall have the Blue Bird to-night, I am sure.... I have just sent the Rabbit to beat the troop in order to convoke the principal animals of the country.... You can hear them already among the foliage.... Listen!... They are a little shy and dare not come near.... (The sounds are heard of different animals, such as cows, pigs, horses, donkeys, etc. The CAT, aside, to TYLTYL, taking him apart) But why have you brought the Dog?... I have told you he is on the worst terms with everybody, even the trees.... I fear that his odious presence will spoil everything....
TYLTYL I could not get rid of him.... (To the DOG, threatening him) Go away, you ugly thing!...
THE DOG Who?... I?... Why?... What have I done?...
TYLTYL I tell you, go away!... We don't want you here and there's an end of it.... You're a nuisance, there!...
THE DOG I sha'n't say a word.... I shall follow you at a distance.... They sha'n't see me.... Shall I beg?...
THE CAT (aside, to TYLTYL) Do you allow this disobedience?... Hit him on the nose with your stick; he is really unbearable!...
TYLTYL (beating the DOG) There, that will teach you to be more obedient!...
THE DOG (yelling) Ow! Ow! Ow!...
TYLTYL What do you say?...
THE DOG I must kiss you now you've beaten me!... (He covers TYLTYL with violent kisses and embraces.)
TYLTYL Come.... That will do.... That's enough.... Go away!...
MYTYL No, no; I want him to stay.... I am afraid of everything when he is not there....
THE DOG (leaping up and almost upsetting MYTYL, whom he overwhelms with hurried and enthusiastic kisses) Oh, the dear little girl!... How beautiful she is!... How good she is!... How beautiful she is, how sweet she is!...I must kiss her!... Once more, once more, once more!...
THE CAT What an idiot!... Well, we shall see!... Let us lose no time.... Turn the diamond....
TYLTYL Where shall I stand?...
THE CAT In this moonbeam; you will see better.... There, turn it gently!...
(TYLTYL turns the Diamond. A long-drawn-out rustling shakes the leaves and branches. The oldest and most stately trunks open to make way for the soul which each of them contains. The appearance of these souls differs according to the appearance and the character of the trees which they represent. The soul of the ELM, for instance, is a sort of pursy, pot-bellied, crabbed gnome; the LIME-TREE is placid, familiar and jovial; the BEECH, elegant and agile; the BIRCH, white, reserved and restless; the WILLOW, stunted, dishevelled and plaintive; the FIR-TREE, tall, lean and taciturn; the CYPRESS, tragic; the CHESTNUT-TREE, pretentious and rather dandified; the POPLAR, sprightly, cumbersome, talkative. Some emerge slowly from their trunks, torpidly stretching themselves, as though they had been imprisoned or asleep for ages; others leap out actively, eagerly; and all come and stand in a circle round the two CHILDREN, while keeping as near as they can to the tree in which they were born.)
THE POPLAR (running up first and screaming at the top of his voice) Men?... Little men!... We shall be able to talk to them!... We've done with silence!... Done with it!... Where do they come from?... Who are they?... What are they?... (To the LIME-TREE, who comes forward quietly smoking his pipe) Do you know them, Daddy Lime-Tree?...
THE LIME-TREE I do not remember ever having seen them....
THE POPLAR Oh, yes, you must have!... You know all the men; you're always hanging about their houses....
THE LIME-TREE (examining the CHILDREN) No, I assure you.... I don't know them.... They are too young still.... I only know the lovers who come to see me by moonlight and the topers who drink their beer under my branches....
THE CHESTNUT-TREE (affectedly adjusting his eyeglass) Who are these?... Are they poor people from the country?...
THE POPLAR Oh, as for you, Mr. Chestnut-Tree, ever since you have refused to show yourself except in the streets of the big towns...
THE WILLOW (hobbling along in a pair of wooden shoes) Oh dear, oh dear!... They have come to cut off my head and arms again for fagots!...
THE POPLAR Silence!... Here is the Oak leaving his palace!... He looks far from well this evening.... Don't you think he is growing very old?... What can his age be?... The Fir-tree says he is four thousand; but I am sure that he exaggerates.... Listen; he will tell us all about it....
(The OAK comes slowly forward. He is fabulously old, crowned with mistletoe and clad in a long green gown edged with moss and lichen. He is blind; his white beard streams in the wind. He leans with one hand on a knotty stick and with the other on a young OAKLING, who serves as his guide. The Blue Bird is perched on his shoulder. At his approach, the other trees draw themselves up in a row and bow respectfully.)
TYLTYL He has the Blue Bird!... Quick! Quick!... Here!... Give it to me!...
THE TREES Silence!...
THE CAT (to TYLTYL) Take of your hat. It's the Oak!...
THE OAK (to TYLTYL) Who are you?....
TYLTYL I am Tyltyl, sir.... When can I have the Blue Bird?...
THE OAK Tyltyl, the wood-cutter's son?...
TYLTYL Yes, sir....
THE OAK Your father has done us much harm.... In my family alone, he has put to death six hundred of my sons, four hundred and seventy-five uncles and aunts, twelve hundred cousins of both sexes, three hundred and eighty daughters-in-law, and twelve thousand great-grandsons!...
TYLTYL I know nothing about it, sir.... He did not do it on purpose....
THE OAK What have you come here for; and why have you made our souls leave their abodes?...
TYLTYL I beg your pardon, sir, for disturbing you.... The Cat said that you would tell us where the Blue Bird was....
THE OAK Yes, I know that you are looking for the Blue Bird, that is to say, the great secret of things and of happiness, so that Man may make our servitude still harder....
TYLTYL Oh, no, sir; it is for the Fairy Bérylune's little girl, who is very ill....
THE OAK (laying silence upon him with a gesture) Enough!... I do not hear the Animals.... Where are they?... All this concerns them as much as us.... We, the Trees, must not assume the responsibility alone for the grave measures that have become necessary.... On the day when MAN hears that we have done what we are about to do, there will be terrible reprisals..... It is right, therefore, that our agreement should be unanimous, so that our silence may be the same....
THE FIR-TREE (looking over the top of the other trees) The Animals are coming.... They are following the Rabbit.... Here are the souls of the Horse, the Bull, the Ox, the Cow, the Wolf, the Sheep, the Pig, the Cock, the Goat, the Ass, and the Bear....
(Enter the souls of the ANIMALS, who, as the FIR-TREE utters their names, come forward and sit down among the trees, with the exception of the soul of the GOAT, who roams to and fro, and of the PIG, who snuffles among the roots.)
THE OAK Are all here present?...
THE RABBIT The Hen could not leave her eggs, the Hare is out on a run, the Stag has a pain in his horns, the Fox is ill—here is the doctor's certificate—the Goose did not understand and the Turkey flew into a passion....
THE OAK These abstentions are most regrettable.... However, we have a quorum.... You know, my brothers, the nature of our business. The child you see before you, thanks to a talisman stolen from the powers of Earth, is able to take possession of the Blue Bird and thus to snatch from us the secret which we have kept since the origin of life.... Now we know enough of Man to entertain no doubt as to the fate which he reserves for us once he is in possession of this secret. That is why it seems to me that any hesitation would be both foolish and criminal.... It is a serious moment; the child must be done away with before it is too late....
TYLTYL What is he saying?...
THE DOG (prowling round the OAK and showing his fangs) Do you see my teeth, you old cripple?...
THE BEECH (indignantly) He is insulting the Oak!...
THE OAK Is that the Dog?... Drive him out! We must suffer no traitors among us!...
THE CAT (aside, to TYLTYL) Send the Dog away.... It's a misunderstanding.... Leave it to me; I will arrange things.... But send him away as quick as you can....
TYLTYL (to the DOG) Will you be off!...
THE DOG Do let me worry the gouty old beggar's moss slippers!.... It will be such a joke!...
TYLTYL Hold your tongue!... And be off with you!... Be off, you ugly brute!...
THE DOG All right, all right, I'm going.... I'll come back when you want me....
THE CAT (aside, to TYLTYL) It would be a good thing to chain him up, or he will commit some folly; the Trees will be angry and all will end badly....
TYLTYL What can I do?... I have lost his leash....
THE CAT Here's the Ivy just coming along with strong bonds....
THE DOG (growling) I'll come back, I'll come back!... Ugh! Goutytoes! Timbertoes!... Pack of old stunted growths, pack of old roots!... It's the Cat who's at the bottom of all this!... I'll be even with him!... What have you been whispering about, you sneak, you tiger, you Judas!... Wow, wow, wow!....
THE CAT You see, he insults everybody....
TYLTYL Yes, he is unbearable and one can't hear one's self speak.... Mr. Ivy, will you chain him up, please?...
THE IVY (timorously going up to the DOG) Won't he bite?...
THE DOG (growling) On the contrary, on the contrary!... He's going to kiss you!... Just wait and see!... Come along, come along, you old ball of twine, you!...
TYLTYL (threatening him with his stick) Tylô!...
THE DOG (cringing at TYLTYL'S feet and wagging his tail) What am I to do, my little god?
TYLTYL Lie down flat!... Obey the Ivy.... Let him bind you, or....
THE DOG (growling between his teeth, while the IVY binds him) Ball of twine I... Hunk of yarn!... Hangman's rope I... Calves' leash!... Look, my little god I ... He's cutting my paws!... He's choking me!...
TYLTYL I don't care!... It's your own fault.... Hold your tongue; be quiet; you're unbearable!...
THE DOG You're wrong, for all that.... They mean mischief.... Take care, my little god!... He's closing my mouth!... I can't speak!...
THE IVY (who has tied up the DOG like a parcel) Where shall we put him?... I've muzzled him finely.... He can't utter a word....
THE OAK Fasten him tight down there behind my trunk; to my big root.... We will decide later what had best be done with him....
(The IVY and the POPLAR carry the DOG behind the OAK'S trunk.)
THE OAK Is that done?... Well, now that we are rid of this inconvenient witness, of this renegade, let us deliberate in accordance with justice and truth.... I will not conceal from you the deep and painful nature of my emotion.... This is the first time that it is given to us to judge Man and make him feel our power.... I do not think that, after the harm which he has done us, after the monstrous injustice which we have suffered, there can remain the least doubt as to the sentence that awaits him....
ALL THE TREES and ALL THE ANIMALS No! No! No!... No doubt at all!... Hanging!... Death!... The injustice has been too great!... The abuse too wicked!... It has lasted too long!... Crush him!... Eat him!... At once!... Here and now!...
TYLTYL (to the CAT) What is the matter with them?... Are they displeased?...
THE CAT Don't be alarmed.... They are a little annoyed because Spring is late.... Leave it to me; I will settle it all....
THE OAK This unanimity was inevitable.... We must now decide, in order to avoid reprisals, which form of execution will be the most practical, the easiest, the quickest and the safest, which will leave the fewest accusing traces when Man finds the little bodies in the forest....
TYLTYL What is all this about?... What is he driving at?... I am getting tired of this.... He has got the Blue Bird; let him hand it over....
THE BULL (coming forward) The most practical and the surest way is a good butt with the horns in the pit of the stomach.... Shall I go at him?...
THE OAK Who speaks?...
THE CAT It's the Bull.
THE COW It would be better to keep quiet.... I won't meddle with it.... I have all the grass to browse in the field which you can see down there in the blue light of the moon.... I have quite enough to do....
THE OX I also.... However, I agree to everything beforehand....
THE BEECH I can offer my highest branch to hang them on....
THE IVY And I the slip-knot....
THE FIR-TREE And I the four planks for their little coffin....
THE CYPRESS And I a perpetual grant of a tomb....
THE WILLOW The simplest way would be to drown them in one of my rivers.... I will take charge of that....
THE LIME-TREE (in a conciliatory tone) Come, come.... Is it really necessary to go to such extremities?... They are very young.... We could quite simply prevent them from doing any harm by keeping them prisoners in an enclosure which I will undertake to form by planting myself all around....
THE OAK Who speaks?... I seem to recognise the honeyed accents of the Lime-tree....
THE FIR-TREE Yes, it's he....
THE OAK So there is a renegade among us, as among the Animals?... Hitherto we have only had to deplore the disloyalty of the Fruit-trees; but they are not real trees....
THE PIG (rolling his small eyes gluttonously) I think we should first eat the little girl.... She ought to be very tender....
TYLTYL What's he saying?... Just wait a bit, you...
THE CAT I don't know what is the matter with them; but things are beginning to look badly....
THE OAK Silence!... What we have to decide is which of us shall have the honour of striking the first blow, who shall ward off from, our tops the greatest danger that has threatened us since the birth of Man....
THE FIR-TREE That honour falls to you, our king and our patriarch....
THE OAK Is that the Fir-tree speaking?... Alas, I am too old!... I am blind and infirm and my numbed arms no longer obey me.... No, to you, brother, ever green, ever upright, to you, who have witnessed the birth of most of these trees, to you be the glory, in default of myself, of the noble act of our deliverance....
THE FIR-TREE I thank you, venerable father.... But as I shall, in any case, have the honour of burying the two victims, I should be afraid of arousing the just jealousy of my colleagues; and I think that, next to ourselves, the oldest and the worthiest and the one that owns the best club is the Beech....
THE BEECH You know I am worm-eaten and my club is no longer to be relied upon.... But the Elm and the Cypress have powerful weapons....
THE ELM I should be only too pleased; but I can hardly stand upright.... A mole twisted my great toe last night....
THE CYPRESS As for me, I am ready.... But, like my brother, the Fir-tree, I shall have, if not the privilege of burying them, at least the advantage of weeping over their tomb.... It would be an unlawful plurality of offices.... Ask the Poplar....
THE POPLAR Me?... Are you serious?... Why, my wood is more tender than the flesh of a child!... And, besides, I don't know what's the matter with me.... I am shivering with fever.... Just look at my leaves.... I must have caught cold at sunrise this morning....
THE OAK (bursting out with indignation) You are afraid of Man!... Even those unprotected and unarmed little children inspire you with the mysterious terror which has always made us the slaves that we are!... Enough of this! Things being as they are and the opportunity unequalled, I shall go forth alone, old, crippled, trembling, blind as I am, against the hereditary enemy!... Where is he?...
(Groping with his stick, he moves towards TYLTYL.)
TYLTYL (taking his knife from his pocket) Is it me he's after, that old one, with his big stick?...
ALL THE TREES (uttering a cry of alarm at the sight of the knife, they step in between and hold back the OAK) The knife!... Take care!... The knife!...
THE OAK (struggling) Let me be!... What does it matter?... The knife or the axe!... Who's holding me back?... What! Are you all here?... What! You all want to.... (Flinging down his stick) Well, so be it!... Shame upon us!... Let the Animals deliver us!...
THE BULL That's right!... I'll see to It!... And with one blow of the horns!...
THE OX and THE COW (holding him back by the tail) What are you doing?... Don't be a fool!... It's a bad business!... It will end badly.... It is we who will pay for it.... Do let be.... It's the wild animals' business....
THE BULL No, no!... It's my business!... Wait and see!... Look here, hold me back or there will be an accident!...
TYLTYL (to MYTYL, who is uttering piercing screams) Don't be afraid!... Stand behind me.... I have my knife....
THE COCK He has plenty of pluck, the little chap!...
TYLTYL So you've made up your minds, it's me you're going for?...
THE ASS Why, of course, my little man; you've taken long enough to see it!...
THE PIG You can say your prayers; your last hour has come.... But don't hide the little girl.... I want to feast my eyes on her.... I'm going to eat her first....
TYLTYL What have I done to you?...
THE SHEEP Nothing at all, my little man.... Eaten my little brother, my two sisters, my three uncles, my aunt, my grandpapa and my grandmamma.... Wait, wait, when you're down, you shall see that I have teeth also....
THE ASS And I hoofs!...
THE HORSE (haughtily pawing the ground) You shall see what you shall see!... Would you rather that I tore you with my teeth or knocked you down with a kick?... (He moves ostentatiously towards TYLTYL, who faces him and raises his knife. Suddenly the HORSE, seized with panic, turns and rushes away.) Ah, no!... That's not fair!... That's against the rules!.... He's defending himself!...
THE COCK (unable to hide his admiration) I don't care, the little chap's full of grit!...
THE PIG (to the BEAR and the WOLF) Let us all rush on them together.... I will support you from the rear.... We will throw them down and share the little girl when she is on the ground....
THE WOLF Divert their attention in front.... I am going to make a turning movement....
(He goes round TYLTYL, whom he attacks from behind and half overthrows.)
TYLTYL You brute!... (He raises himself on one knee brandishing his knife and doing his best to cover his little sister, who utters yells of distress. Seeing him half overturned, all the ANIMALS and TREES come up and try to hit him. TYLTYL calls distractedly for assistance.) Help! Help!... Tylô! Tylô!... Where is the Cat?... Tylô!... Tylette! Tylette!... Come! Come!...
THE CAT (hypocritically, holding aloof) I can't come.... I have sprained my paw....
TYLTYL (warding of the blows and defending himself as best he can) Help!... Tylô! Tylô!... I can't hold out!... There are too many of them!... The Bear! The Pig! The Donkey! The Ass! The Fir-tree! The Beech!... Tylô! Tylô! Tylô!...
(Dragging his broken bonds after him, the DOG leaps from behind the trunk of the OAK and, elbowing his way through TREES and ANIMALS, flings himself before TYLTYL, whom he defends furiously.)
THE DOG (distributing great bites) Here! Here, my little god!... Don't be afraid! Have at them!... I know how to use my teeth!... Here, there's one for you, Bear, in your fat hams!... Now then, who wants some more?... Here, that's for the Pig and that's for the Horse and that's for the Bull's tail!... There, I've torn the Beech's trousers and the Oak's petticoat!... The Fir-tree's making tracks!... Whew, it's warm work!...
TYLTYL (overcome) I'm done for!... The Cypress has caught me a great blow on the head....
THE DOG Ow!... That's the Willow!... He's broken my paw!...
TYLTYL They're coming back, they're charging down upon us, all together!... This time, it's the Wolf!...
THE DOG Wait till I give him one for himself!...
THE WOLF Fool!... Our brother!... His father drowned your seven puppies!...
THE DOG Quite right!... And a good thing too!... It was because they looked like you!...
ALL THE TREES AND ANIMALS Renegade!... Idiot!... Traitor!... Felon!... Simpleton!... Judas!... Leave him!... He's a dead man!... Come over to us!...
THE DOG (drunk with ardour and devotion) Never! Never!... I alone against all of you!... Never! Never!... True to the gods, to the best, to the greatest!... (To TYLTYL) Take care, here's the Bear!... Beware of the Bull!... I'll jump at his throat.... Ow!... That's a kick.... The Ass has broken two of my teeth....
TYLTYL I'm done for, Tylô!... Ah!... That was a blow from the Elm.... Look, my hand's bleeding.... That's the Wolf or the Pig....
THE DOG Wait, my little god.... Let me kiss you.... There, a good lick.... That will do you good.... Keep behind me.... They dare not come again.... Yes, though.... Here they are coming back!... This time, it's serious!.... We must stand firm!...
TYLTYL (dropping to the ground) No, I can hold out no longer!...
THE DOG (listening) They are coming!... I hear them, I scent them!...
TYLTYL Where?... Who?...
THE DOG There! There!... It's Light!... She has found us!... Saved, my little king!... Kiss me!... We are saved!... Look!... They're alarmed!... They're retreating!... They're afraid!...
TYLTYL Light!... Light!... Come quick!... Hurry!... They have rebelled!... They are all against us!...
Enter LIGHT. As she comes forward, the dawn rises over the forest, which becomes light.
LIGHT What is it?... What has happened?... But, my poor boy, didn't you know?... Turn the diamond!... They will return into silence and obscurity; and you will no longer perceive their hidden feelings....
(TYLTYL turns the diamond. Immediately, the souls of all the TREES rush back into the trunks, which close again. The souls of the ANIMALS also disappear; and a peaceful COW and SHEEP, etc., are seen browsing in the distance. The Forest becomes harmless once more, TYLTYL looks around him in amazement.)
TYLTYL Where are they?... What was the matter with them?... Were they mad?...
LIGHT No, they are always like that; but we do not know it because we do not see it.... I told you so before; it is dangerous to wake them when I am not there....
TYLTYL (wiping his knife) Well, but for the Dog and if I had not had my knife!... I would never have believed that they were so wicked!...
LIGHT You see that Man is all alone against all in this world....
THE DOG Are you very badly hurt, my little god?...
TYLTYL Nothing serious.... As for Mytyl, they have not touched her.... But you, my dear Tylô?... Your mouth is all over blood and your paw is broken!...
THE DOG It is not worth speaking of.... It won't show to-morrow.... But it was a tough fight!...
THE CAT (appearing from behind a thicket, limping) I should think so!... The Ox caught me a blow with his horns in the stomach.... You can't see the marks, but it's very painful.... And the Oak broke my paw....
THE DOG I should like to know which one....
MYTYL (stroking the CAT) My poor Tylette, did he really?.... Where were you?... I did not see you....
THE CAT (hypocritically) Mummy dear, I was wounded at the first, while attacking that horrid Pig, who wanted to eat you.... And then the Oak gave me a great blow which struck me senseless....
THE DOG (to the CAT, between his teeth) As for you, I want a word with you presently.... It will keep!...
THE CAT (plaintively, to MYTYL) Mummy dear, he's insulting me.... He wants to hurt me....
MYTYL (to the DOG) Leave him alone, will you, you ugly beast?...
(They all go out.)
The curtain represents beautiful clouds
(Enter TYLTYL, MYTYL, LIGHT, the DOG, the CAT, BREAD, FIRE, SUGAR, WATER and MILK.)
LIGHT I believe we have the Blue Bird this time. I ought to have thought of it before. But the idea came to me, like a ray from the sky, this morning only, when I recovered my strengthen the dawn.... We are at the entrance to the enchanted palaces where all men's Joys, all men's Happinesses are gathered together in the charge of Fate.
TYLTYL Are there many of them? Shall we have any? Are they little?
LIGHT Some are little and some are great; some are coarse and some are delicate; some are very beautiful and others not so pleasant to look upon.... But the ugliest were expelled from the garden some time ago and took refuge with the Miseries. For we must not forget that the Miseries inhabit an adjoining cave, which communicates with the Garden of Happiness and is separated from it only by a sort of vapour or fine veil, lifted at every moment by the winds that blow from the heights of Justice or from the depths of Eternity.... What we have now to do is to organise ourselves and take certain precautions. Generally, the Joys are very good; but, still, there are some of them that are more dangerous and treacherous than the greatest Miseries.
BREAD I have an idea! If they are dangerous and treacherous, would it not be better for us all to wait at the door, so that we may lend a hand to the children should they be obliged to fly?....
THE DOG Not at all! Not at all! I mean to go everywhere with my little gods! Let those who are afraid remain at the door! We have no need (looking at BREAD) of cowards (looking at the CAT) or traitors!...
FIRE I'm going!... I hear it's great fun!... They dance all the time....
BREAD Do they have any eating as well?
WATER (moaning) I have never known the smallest Happiness!... I should like to see some at last!....
LIGHT Hold your tongues! Who asked your opinions?... This is what I have decided: the Dog, Bread and Sugar shall go with the children. Water shall stay outside, because she is too cold, and Fire, because he is too turbulent. I strongly urge Milk to remain at the door, because he is so impressionable. As for the Cat, he can do as he likes.....
THE CAT I shall take the opportunity of calling on the chief Miseries of my acquaintance, who live next door to the Joys....
TYLTYL And you, Light? Aren't you coming?
LIGHT I cannot go into the Joys like this: most of them cannot endure me. But I have here the thick veil with which I cover myself when I visit happy people.... (She unfolds a long veil and wraps herself in it carefully.) Not a ray of my soul must startle them, for there are many Happinesses that are afraid and are not happy.... There... like this, even the ugliest and coarsest of them will have nothing to fear....
(The curtain opens and discloses the next Scene)
When the curtain of clouds opens, the stage represents, in the forefront of the palace, a sort of hall formed of tall marble columns, between which hang heavy purple draperies, supported by golden ropes and concealing all the background. The architecture suggests the most sensual and sumptuous moments of the Venetian or Flemish Renascence, as seen in the pictures of Veronese or Rubens, with garlands, horns of plenty, fringes, vases, statues, gildings, lavishly distributed on every side. In the middle stands a massive and marvellous table of jasper and silver-gilt, laden with candlesticks, glass, gold and silver plate and fabulous viands. Around the table, the biggest luxuries of the Earth sit eating, drinking, shouting, singing, tossing and lolling about or sleeping among the haunches of venison, the miraculous fruits, the overturned jars and ewers. They are enormously, incredibly fat and red in the face, covered with velvet and brocade, crowned with gold and pearls and precious stones. Beautiful female slaves incessantly bring decorated dishes and foaming beverages. Vulgar, blatantly hilarious music, in which the brasses predominate. The stage is bathed in a red and heavy light.
(TYLTYL, MYTYL, the DOG, BREAD and SUGAR are a little awestruck at first end crowd round LIGHT in the foreground, to the right. The CAT, without a word, walks to the background, also to the right, lifts a dark curtain and disappears.)
TYLTYL Who are those fat gentlemen enjoying themselves and eating such a lot of good things?
LIGHT They are the biggest Luxuries of the Earth, the ones that can be seen with the naked eye. It is possible, though not very likely, that the Blue Bird may have strayed among them for a moment. That is why you must not turn the diamond yet. For form's sake, we will begin by searching this part of the hall.
TYLTYL Can we go up to them?
LIGHT Certainly. They are not ill-natured, although they are vulgar and usually rather ill-bred.
MYTYL What beautiful cakes they have!....
THE DOG And such game! And sausages! And legs of lamb and calves' liver!... There is nothing nicer or lovelier in the world than liver!...
BREAD Except quartern-loaves made of fine white flour! They have splendid ones!... How lovely they are! How lovely they are!...
SUGAR I beg your pardon, I beg your pardon, I beg a thousand pardons.... Allow me, allow me.... I would not like to hurt anybody's feelings; but are you not forgetting the sweetmeats, which form the glory of that table and which, if I may say so, surpass in grandeur and magnificence all that exists in this hall, or perhaps anywhere else?...
TYLTYL How pleased and happy they look!... And they are shouting! And laughing! And singing!... I believe they have seen us....
(A dozen of the biggest LUXURIES have risen from table and now, holding their stomachs in their hands, advance laboriously towards the CHILDREN.)
LIGHT Have no fear, they are very affable.... They will probably invite you to dinner.... Do not accept, do not accept anything, lest you should forget your mission....
TYLTYL What? Not even a tiny cake? They look so good, so fresh, so well iced with sugar, covered with candied fruits and brimming over with cream!...
LIGHT They are dangerous and would break your will. A man should know how to sacrifice something to the duty he is performing. Refuse politely, but firmly.
THE BIGGEST OF THE LUXURIES (holding out his hand to TYLTYL) How do you do, Tyltyl?...
TYLTYL (surprised) Why, do you know me?... Who are you?...
THE LUXURY I am the biggest of the Luxuries, the Luxury of Being Rich; and I come, in the name of my brothers, to beg you and your family to honour our endless repast with your presence. You will find yourself surrounded by all that is best among the real, big Luxuries of this Earth. Allow me to introduce to you the chief of them. Here is my son-in-law, the Luxury of Being a Landowner, who has a stomach shaped like a pear. This is the Luxury of Satisfied Vanity, who has such a nice, puffy face, (The LUXURY OF SATISFIED VANITY gives a patronising nod.) These are the Luxury of Drinking when you are not Thirsty and the Luxury of Eating when you are not Hungry: they are twins and their legs are made of macaroni. (They bow, staggering.) Here are the Luxury of Knowing Nothing, who is as deaf as a post, and the Luxury of Understanding Nothing, who is as blind as a bat. Here are the Luxury of Doing Nothing and the Luxury of Sleeping more than Necessary: their hands are made of bread-crumb and their eyes of peach-jelly. Lastly, here is Fat Laughter: his mouth is split from ear to ear and he is irresistible....
(FAT LAUGHTER bows, writhing and holding his sides.)
TYLTYL (pointing to a LUXURY who is standing a little on one side) And who is that one, who dares not come up to us and who is turning his back?...
THE LUXURY OF BEING RICH Do not ask about him: he is a little awkward and is not fit to be introduced to children.... (Seizing TYLTYL'S hands) But come along! They are beginning the banquet all over again.... It is the twelfth time since this morning. We are only waiting for you.... Do you hear all the revellers calling and shouting for you?... I cannot introduce you to all of them, there are so many of them.... (Offering his arm to the two children) Allow me to lead you to the two seats of honour....
TYLTYL No, thank you very much, Mr. Luxury.... I am so sorry.... I can't come for the moment.... We are in a great hurry, we are looking for the Blue Bird. You don't happen to know, I suppose, where he is hiding?
THE LUXURY The Blue Bird?... Wait a bit.... Yes, I remember.... Some one was telling me about him the other day.... He is a bird, that is not good to eat, I believe.... At any rate, he has never figured on our table.... That means that we have a poor opinion of him. But don't trouble; we have much better things.... You shall share our life, you shall see all that we do....
TYLTYL What do you do?
THE LUXURY Why, we occupy ourselves incessantly in doing nothing.... We never have a moment's rest.... We have to drink, we have to eat, we have to sleep. It's most engrossing....
TYLTYL Is it amusing?
THE LUXURY Why, yes.... It needs must be; it's all there is on this Earth....
LIGHT Do you think so?...
THE LUXURY (pointing to LIGHT, aside, to TYLTYL) Who is that ill-bred young person?...
(During the whole of the preceding conversation a crowd of LUXURIES of the second order have been busying themselves with the DOG, SUGAR and BREAD and have dragged them to the orgie. TYLTYL suddenly sees them seated fraternally at the table with their hosts, eating, drinking and flinging themselves about wildly.)
TYLTYL Why, look, Light!... They are sitting at the table!...
LIGHT Call them back, or this will have a bad end!...
TYLTYL Tylô!... Here, Tylô!... Come here at once, will you? Do you hear?... And you too, Sugar and Bread, who told you to leave me?... What are you doing there, without permission?
BREAD (speaking with his mouth full) Can't you keep a civil tongue in your mouth?...
TYLTYL What? Is Bread daring to be impertinent?... Why, what's come over you?... And you, Tylô?... Is that the way you obey? Now then, come here, on your knees, on your knees!... And look sharp!...
THE DOG (muttering, from the end of the table) When I'm eating, I'm at home to nobody and I hear nothing....
SUGAR (honey-mouthed) Pardon us, we could not possibly leave such charming hosts so abruptly: they would be offended....
THE LUXURY You see!... They are setting you an example.... Come, we are waiting for you.... We won't hear of a refusal.... We shall have to resort to a gentle violence.... Come, you Luxuries, help me!... Let us push them to the table by force, so that they may be happy in spite of themselves!... (All the LUXURIES, uttering cries of joy and skipping about as nimbly as they are able, drag the CHILDREN, who struggle, while FAT LAUGHTER seizes LIGHT vigorously round the waist.)
LIGHT Turn the diamond, it is time!...
(TYLTYL obeys LIGHT'S order. Forthwith, the stage is lit up with an ineffably pure, divinely roseate, harmonious and ethereal brightness. The heavy ornaments in the foreground, the thick red hangings become unfastened and disappear, revealing an immense and magnificent hall, a sort of cathedral of gladness and serenity, tall, innocent and almost transparent, whose endless fabric rests upon innumerous long and slender, limpid and blissful columns, suggesting the architecture of the Palladian churches or certain drawings by Carpaccio, notably the "Presentation of the Virgin" in the Uffizi Gallery. The table of the orgie melts away without leaving a trace; the velvets, the brocades, the garlands of the LUXURIES rise before the luminous gust that invades the temple tear asunder and fall, together with the grinning masks, at the feet of the astounded revellers. These become visibly deflated, like burst bladders, exchange glances, blink their eyes in the unknown rays that hurt them; and, seeing themselves at last as they really are, that is to say, naked, hideous, flabby and lamentable, they begin to utter yells of shame and dismay, amid which those of FAT LAUGHTER are clearly distinguishable above all the rest. The LUXURY OF UNDERSTANDING NOTHING alone remains perfectly calm, while his friends rush about madly, trying to flee, to hide themselves in corners which they hope to find dark. But there is not a shadow left in the dazzling room. And so the majority, in their despair, decide to pass through the threatening curtain which, in an angle on the right, closes the vault of the Cave of Miseries. Each time that one of them, in his panic, raises a skirt of the curtain, a storm of oaths, imprecations and maledictions is heard to issue from the hollow depths of the cave. As for the DOG, BREAD and SUGAR, they hang their heads, join the group of the CHILDREN and hide behind them very sheepishly.)
TYLTYL (watching the LUXURIES flying) Goodness, how ugly they are!... Where are they going?...
LIGHT I really believe that they have lost their heads.... They are going to take refuge with the Miseries, where I very much fear that they will be kept for good....
TYLTYL (looking around him, wonder-struck) Oh, what a beautiful hall, what a beautiful hall!... Where are we?...
LIGHT We have not moved: it is your eyes that see differently.... We now behold the truth of things; and we shall perceive the soul of the Joys that endure the brightness of the diamond.
TYLTYL How beautiful it is!... And what lovely weather!... It is just like midsummer.... Hullo! It looks as though people were coming to talk to us....
(The halls begin to fill with angel forms that seem to be emerging from a long slumber and glide harmoniously between the columns. They are clad in shimmering dresses, of soft and subtle shades; rose-awakening, water's-smile, amber-dew, blue-of-dawn, etc.)
LIGHT Here come some amiable and curious Joys who will direct us....
TYLTYL Do you know them?...
LIGHT Yes, I know them all; I often come to them, without their knowing who I am....
TYLTYL Oh, what a lot of them there are!... They are crowding from every side!
LIGHT There were many more of them once. The Luxuries have done them great harm.
TYLTYL No matter, there are a good few of them left....
LIGHT You will see plenty of others, as the influence of the diamond spreads through the halls.... There are many more Happinesses on Earth than people think; but the generality of men do not discover them....
TYLTYL Here are some little ones: let us run and meet them....
LIGHT It is unnecessary: those which interest us will pass this way. We have no time to make the acquaintance of all the rest....
(A troop of little HAPPINESSES, frisking and bursting with laughter, run up from the back of the halls and dance round the CHILDREN in a ring.)
TYLTYL How pretty, how very pretty they are!... Where do they come from, who are they?...
LIGHT They are the Children's Happinesses....
TYLTYL Can one speak to them?
LIGHT It would be no use. They sing, they dance, they laugh, but they do not talk yet....
TYLTYL (skipping about) How do you do? How do you do?... Oh, look at that fat one laughing!... What pretty cheeks they have, what pretty frocks they have!... Are they all rich here?...
LIGHT Why, no, here, as everywhere, there are many more poor than rich....
TYLTYL Where are the poor ones?...
LIGHT You can't distinguish them.... A Child's Happiness is always arrayed in all that is most beautiful in Heaven and upon Earth.
TYLTYL (unable to restrain himself) I should like to dance with them....
LIGHT It is absolutely impossible, we have no time.... I see that they have not the Blue Bird.... Besides, they are in a hurry: you see, they have already passed.... They too have no time to waste, for childhood is very short....
(Another troop of HAPPINESSES, a little taller than the last, rush into the hall, singing at the top of their voice, "There they are! There they are! They see us! They see us!" and, dance a merry fling around the CHILDREN, at the end of which the one who appears to be the chief of the little band goes up to TYLTYL with hand outstretched.)
THE HAPPINESS How do you do, Tyltyl?...
TYLTYL Another one who knows me!... (To LIGHT) I am getting known wherever I go!... (To the HAPPINESS) Who are you?...
THE HAPPINESS Don't you recognise me?... I'll wager that you don't recognise any one here!
TYLTYL (a little embarrassed) Why, no.... I don't know.... I don't remember seeing any of you.
THE HAPPINESS There, do you hear?... I was sure of it!... He has never seen us!...
(All the other HAPPINESSES burst out laughing) Why, my dear Tyltyl, we are the only things you do know!... We are always around you!... We eat, drink, wake up, breathe and live with you!...
TYLTYL Oh, yes, just so, I know, I remember.... But I should like to know what your names are....
THE HAPPINESS I can see that you know nothing.... I am the chief of the Happinesses of your home; and all these are the other Happinesses that live there....
TYLTYL Then there are Happinesses in my home?
(All the HAPPINESSES burst out laughing.)
THE HAPPINESS You heard him!... Are there Happinesses in his home!... Why, you little wretch, it is crammed with Happinesses in every nook and cranny!... We laugh, we sing, we create enough joy to knock down the walls and lift the roof; but, do what we may, you see nothing and you hear nothing.... I hope that, in future, you will be a little more sensible.... Meantime, you shall shake hands with the more noteworthy of us.... Then, when you reach home again, you will recognise them more easily and, at the end of a fine day, you will know how to encourage them with a smile, to thank them with a pleasant word, for they really do all they can to make your life easy and delightful.... Let me introduce myself first: the Happiness of Being Well, at your service.... I am not the prettiest, but I am the most important. Will you know me again?... This is the Happiness of Pure Air, who is almost transparent.... Here is the Happiness of Loving one's Parents, who is clad in grey and always a little sad, because no one ever looks at him.... Here are the Happiness of the Blue Sky, who, of course, is dressed in blue, and the Happiness of the Forest, who, also of course, is clad in green: you will see him every time you go to the window.... Here, again, is the good Happiness of Sunny Hours, who is diamond-coloured, and this is the Happiness of Spring, who is bright emerald....
TYLTYL And are you as fine as that every day?
THE HAPPINESS OF BEING WELL Why, yes, it is Sunday every day, in every house, when people open their eyes.... And then, when evening comes, here is the Happiness of the Sunsets, who is grander than all the kings in the world and who is followed by the Happiness of Seeing the Stars Rise, who is gilded like a god of old.... Then, when the weather breaks, here are the Happiness of the Rain, who is covered with pearls, and the Happiness of the Winter Fire, who opens his beautiful purple mantle to frozen hands.... And I have not mentioned the best among us, because he is nearly a brother of the great limpid Joys whom you will see presently: his name is the Happiness of Innocent Thoughts, and he is the brightest of as all.... And then here are.... But really there are too many of them!... We should never have done; and I must first send word to the Great Joys, who are right at the back, near the gates of Heaven, and who have not yet heard of your arrival.... I will send the Happiness of Running Barefoot in the Dew, who is the nimblest of us.... (To the HAPPINESS OF RUNNING BAREFOOT IN THE DEW, who comes forward capering) Off you go!...
LIGHT (to TYLTYL) In the meantime, you might enquire about the Blue Bird. It is just possible that the chief Happiness of your home knows where he is....
TYLTYL Where Is he?...
THE HAPPINESS He doesn't know where the Blue Bird is!... (All the HAPPINESSES OF THE HOME burst out laughing.)
TYLTYL (vexed) No, I do not know.... There's nothing to laugh at.... (Fresh bursts of laughter.)
THE HAPPINESS Come, don't be angry... and let us be serious.... He doesn't know: well, what do you expect? He is no more absurd than the majority of men.... But little Happiness of Running Barefoot in the Dew has told the Great Joys and they are coming towards us....
(Tall and beautiful angelic figures, clad in shimmering dresses, come slowly forward.)
TYLTYL How beautiful they are!... Why are they not laughing?... Are they not happy?...
LIGHT It is not when one laughs that one is really happy....
TYLTYL Who are they?...
THE HAPPINESS They are the Great Joys....
TYLTYL Do you know their names?...
THE HAPPINESS Of course; we often play with them.... Here, first of all, before the others, is the Great Joy of Being Just, who smiles each time an injustice is repaired. I am too young: I have never seen her smile yet. Behind her is the Joy of Being Good, who is the happiest, but the saddest; and it is very difficult to keep her from going to the Miseries, whom she would like to console; for, if she left us, we should be almost as miserable as the Miseries themselves. On the right is the Joy of Fame, next to the Joy of Thinking. After her comes the Joy of Understanding, who is always looking for her brother, the Luxury of Understanding Nothing....
TYLTYL But I have seen her brother!... He went to the Miseries with the Big Luxuries....
THE HAPPINESS I was certain of it.... He has turned out badly; keeping evil company has corrupted him entirely.... But do not speak of it to his sister. She would want to go and look for him and we should lose one of our most beautiful Joys.... Here, among the greatest Joys, is the Joy of Seeing what is Beautiful, who daily adds a few rays to the light that reigns amongst us....
TYLTYL And there, far away, far away, in the golden clouds, the one whom I can hardly see when I stand as high as I can on tip-toe?...
THE HAPPINESS That is the Great Joy of Loving.... But, do what you will, you are ever so much too small to see her altogether....
TYLTYL And over there, right at the back, those who are veiled and who do not come near?...
THE HAPPINESS Those are the Joys whom men do not yet know....
TYLTYL What do the others want with us?... Why are they standing aside?...
THE HAPPINESS It is before a new Joy who is arriving, perhaps the purest that we have here....
TYLTYL Who is it?
THE HAPPINESS Don't you recognise her yet?... But take a better look at her, open your two eyes down to the very heart of your soul!... She has seen you, she has seen you!... She runs up to you, holding out her arms!... It is your mother's Joy, it is the peerless Joy of Maternal Love!...
(The other JOYS, who have run up from every side, acclaim the JOY OF MATERNAL LOVE with their cheers and then fall back before her in silence.)
THE JOY OF MATERNAL LOVE Tyltyl! And Mytyl!... What, do I find you here?... I never expected it!... I was very lonely at home; and here are you two climbing to that Heaven where the souls of all mothers beam with joy!... But first kisses, heaps and heaps of kisses!... Into my arms, the two of you; there is nothing on earth that gives greater happiness!... Tyltyl, aren't you laughing?... Nor you either, Mytyl?... Don't you know your mother's love when you see it?... Why, look at me: are these not my eyes, my lips, my arms?...
TYLTYL Yes, yes, I recognise them, but I did not know.... You are like Mummy, but you are much prettier....
MATERNAL LOVE Why, of course, I have stopped growing old.... And every day brings me fresh strength and youth and happiness.... Each of your smiles makes me younger by a year.... At home, that does not show; but here everything is seen and it is the truth....
TYLTYL (wonder-struck, gazing at her and kissing her by turns) And that beautiful dress of yours: what is it made of?... Is it silk, silver or pearls?...
MATERNAL LOVE No, it is made of kisses and caresses and loving looks.... Each kiss you give me adds a ray of moon-light or sunshine to it....
TYLTYL How funny, I should never have thought that you were so rich!... Where used you to hide it?... Was it in the cupboard of which Daddy has the key?...
MATERNAL LOVE No, no, I always wear it, but people do not see it, because people see nothing when their eyes are closed.... All mothers are rich when they love their children.... There are no poor mothers, no ugly ones, no old ones. Their love is always the most beautiful of the Joys.... And, when they seem most sad, it needs but a kiss which they receive or give to turn all their tears into stars in the depths of their eyes....
TYLTYL (looking at her with astonishment) Why, yes, it's true, your eyes are filled with stars.... And they are really your eyes, only they are much more beautiful.... And this is your hand too, with the little ring on it.... It even has the burn which you gave it one evening when lighting the lamp.... But it is much whiter; and how delicate the skin is!... There seems to be light flowing through it.... Doesn't it do any work like the one at home?...
MATERNAL LOVE Why yes, it is the very same: did you never see that it becomes quite white and fills with light the moment it fondles you?...
TYLTYL It's wonderful, Mummy: you have the same voice also; but you speak much better than you do at home....
MATERNAL LOVE At home, one has too much to do and there is no time.... But what one does not say one hears all the same.... Now that you have seen me, will you know me again, in my torn dress, when you go back to the cottage tomorrow?...
TYLTYL I don't want to go back.... As you are here, I want to stay also, as long as you remain....
MATERNAL LOVE But it's just the same thing: I am down below, we are all down below.... You have come up here only to realise and to learn, once and for all, how to see me when you see me down below.... Do you understand, Tyltyl dear?... You believe yourself in Heaven; but Heaven is wherever you and I kiss each other.... There are not two mothers; and you have no other.... Every child has only one; and it is always the same one and always the most beautiful; but you have to know her and to know how to look.... But how did you manage to come up here and to find a road for which men have been seeking ever since they began to dwell upon the Earth?...
TYLTYL (pointing to LIGHT, who, discreetly, has drawn a little to one side) She brought me....
MATERNAL LOVE Who is she?...
TYLTYL Light....
MATERNAL LOVE I have never seen her.... I was told that she was very fond of you both and very kind.... But why does she hide herself?... Does she never show her face?...
TYLTYL Oh, yes, but she is afraid that the Joys might be frightened if they saw too clearly....
MATERNAL LOVE But doesn't she know that we are waiting only for her! (Calling the other GREAT JOYS) Come, come, sisters! Come quickly, all of you! Light has come to visit us at last!...
(A stir among the GREAT JOYS, who draw nearer, with cries of "Light is here!... Light! Light!...")
THE JOY OF UNDERSTANDING (thrusting all the others aside, to come and embrace LIGHT) You are Light and we did not know it!... And we have been waiting for you for years and years and years!... Do you recognise me?... I am the Joy of Understanding, who have been seeking you for so long!... We are very happy, but we cannot see beyond ourselves....
THE JOY OF BEING JUST (embracing LIGHT in her turn) Do you recognise me?... I am the Joy of Being Just, who have besought you so long.... We are very happy, but we cannot see beyond our shadows.
THE JOY OF SEEING WHAT IS BEAUTIFUL (also embracing LIGHT) Do you recognise me?... I am the Joy of Seeing what is Beautiful, who have loved you so dearly.... We are very happy, but we cannot see beyond our dreams....
THE JOY OF UNDERSTANDING Come, sister, come, do not keep us waiting any longer.... We are strong enough, we are pure enough.... Put aside those veils which still conceal from us the last truths and the last happinesses.... See, all my sisters are kneeling at your feet.... You are our queen and our reward.
LIGHT (drawing her veils closer) Sisters, my beautiful sisters, I am obeying my Master.... The hour is not yet come; it will strike, perhaps, and I shall return without fear and without shadow.... Farewell, rise and let us kiss once more, like sisters lost and found, while waiting for the day that will soon appear....
MATERNAL LOVE (embracing LIGHT) You have been very good to my poor little ones....
LIGHT I shall always be good to those who love one another....
THE JOY OF UNDERSTANDING (going up to LIGHT) Let the last kiss be laid upon my forehead....
(They exchange a long kiss; and, when they separate and raise their heads, tears are seen to stand in their eyes.)
TYLTYL (surprised) Why are you crying?... (Looking at the other JOYS) I say! You're crying too!... But why have all of you tears in your eyes?...
LIGHT Hush, dear....