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, Tylo!... 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 Tylo?... 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.)

CURTAIN



ACT IV

SCENE 1.—Before the Curtain.

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 you! 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)



SCENE 2.—The Palace of Happiness.

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 Tylo!... Here, Tylo!... 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, Tylo?... 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....

CURTAIN



ACT V

SCENE I.—Before the Curtain.

Enter TYLTYL, MYTYL, LIGHT, the DOG, the CAT, BREAD, FIRE, SUGAR, WATER and MILK.

LIGHT I have received a note from the Fairy Berylune 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 Tylo 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 Tylo 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 the CHILDREN.) Those who love me and whom I love always find me again.... (To the THINGS and the ANIMALS) This way, all of you....

(She goes out with the THINGS and the ANIMALS. The CHILDREN remain alone in the middle of the stage. The curtain, opens and discloses the next scene.)



SCENE 2.—The Graveyard.

It is night. The moon is shining on a country graveyard.. Numerous tombstones, grassy mounds, wooden crosses, stone slabs, etc. TYLTYL and MYTYL are 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 to TYLTYL'S clothes) 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....

(TYLTYL turns 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 against TYLTYL) 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, TYLTYL and MYTYL, 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....

CURTAIN



SCENE 3.—The Kingdom of the Future.

_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, which_ TIME _will 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 of_ CHILDREN _robed 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 the_ CHILDREN _and would seem to be angels.

Enter on the left, as though by stealth, gliding between the columns in the foreground, TYLTYL, MYTYL and LIGHT. Their arrival causes a certain movement among the BLUE 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 the BLUE CHILD and holding out his hand) How do you do?... (Touching the CHILD'S blue dress with his finger.) What's that?...

THE CHILD (gravely touching TYLTYL'S hat) 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 to TYLTYL and 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 (pulling TYLTYL'S arm) 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 round TYLTYL and MYTYL and 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, the LIVE CHILDREN are 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, while CHILDREN unfold 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....

(Two BLUE CHILDREN arrive, 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 to TYLTYL) 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 of CHILDREN sleeping 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 kisses TYLTYL and MYTYL effusively.) 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 of BLUE 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 (joining TYLTYL) 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 the CHILDREN defiling 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 a CHILD.) 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 CHILD nods 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 little CHILD whom 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 some CHILDREN who 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 a CHILD who, 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 a CHILD who 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 the CHILDREN standing 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 two CHILDREN who are called the Lovers, fondly entwined, their faces livid with despair, go up to TIME and 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 the CHILDREN.) Come!...

THE FIRST CHILD (struggling) No, no, no!... She, too!...

THE SECOND CHILD (clinging to the clothes of the FIRST) Leave him with me!... Leave him!...

TIME Come, come, he is not going to die, but to live!... (Dragging away the FIRST CHILD.) Come along!...

THE SECOND CHILD (stretching her arms out frantically to the CHILD that 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 the CHILDREN departing 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 the CHILDREN in 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 (to LIGHT) 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, TIME closes the opalescent doors. He turns to take a last look at the hall and suddenly perceives TYLTYL, MYTYL and LIGHT.)

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 (to TYLTYL) 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.)

CURTAIN



ACT VI

SCENE I.—The Leave-taking.

The stage represents a wall with a small door. It is the break of day.

(Enter TYLTYL, MYTYL, LIGHT, BREAD, WATER, SUGAR, FIRE and MILK) 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 he 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 the CHILDREN.) 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 the CHILDREN) 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 Tylo gone to?... What are they doing?...

(The CAT is heard to utter shrill cries.)

MYTYL (alarmed) It's Tylette crying!... He is being hurt!...

(Enter the CAT, 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 the DOG, who overwhelms him with bites, blows and kicks.)

THE DOG (beating the CAT) There!... Have you had enough?... Do you want any more?... There! There! There!...

LIGHT, TYLTYL and MYTYL (rushing forward to part them) Tylo!... Are you mad?... Well, I never!... Down!... Stop that, will you?... How dare you?... Wait, wait!...

(They part the DOG and the CAT by 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 the CAT in her arms) My poor Tylette, where has he hurt you?... Tell me.... I shall cry too....

LIGHT (to the DOG, 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 the CHILDREN, 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 the CAT) 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 to LIGHT'S dress) 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 the CHILDREN through the door, which has half-opened and which closes again behind them. BREAD wipes away a furtive tear, SUGAR and WATER, etc., all in tears, flee precipitously and disappear in the wings to the right and left. The DOG howls 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.)



SCENE 2.—The Awakening.

The same setting as in ACT I, but the objects, the walls and the atmosphere all appear incomparably and magically fresher, happier, more smiling. The daylight penetrates gaily through the chinks of the closed shutters. To the right, at the back, TYLTYL and MYTYL lie sound asleep in their little beds. The DOG, the CAT and the THINGS are in the places which they occupied in ACT I, before the arrival of the FAIRY.

Enter MUMMY TYL

MUMMY TYL (in a cheerfully scolding voice) Up, come, get up, you little lazybones!... Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?... It has struck eight and the sun is high above the trees!... Lord, how they sleep, how they sleep!... (She leans over and kisses the CHILDREN.) They are quite rosy.... Tyltyl smells of lavender and Mytyl of lilies-of-the-valley.... (Kissing them again) What sweet things children are!... Still, they can't go on sleeping till midday.... I mustn't let them grow up idle.... And, besides, I have heard that it's not very healthy.... (Gently shaking TYLTYL) Wake up, wake up, Tyltyl....

TYLTYL (waking up) What?... Light?... Where is she?... No, no, don't go away....

MUMMY TYL Light?... Why, of course it's light... Has been for ever so long.... It's as bright as noonday, though the shutters are closed.... Wait a bit till I open them.... (She pushes back the shutters and the dazzling daylight invades the room.) There! See!... What's the matter with you?... You look quite blinded....

TYLTYL (rubbing his eyes) Mummy, mummy!... It's you!...

MUMMY TYL Why, of course, it's I.... Who did you think it was?...

TYLTYL It's you.... Yes, yes, it's you!....

MUMMY TYL Yes, yes, it's I.... I haven't changed my face since last night.... Why do you stare at me in that wonderstruck way?... Is my nose turned upside down, by any chance?...

TYLTYL Oh, how nice it is to see you again!... It's so long, so long ago!... I must kiss you at once.... Again! Again! Again!... And how comfortable my bed is!... I am back at home!...

MUMMY TYL What's the matter?... Why don't you wake up?... Don't tell me you're ill.... Let me see, show me your tongue.... Come, get up and dress....

TYLTYL Hullo, I've got my shirt on!...

MUMMY TYL Of course you have.... Put on your breeches and your little jacket.... There they are, on the chair....

TYLTYL Is that what I did on the journey?...

MUMMY TYL What journey?...

TYLTYL Why, last year....

MUMMY TYL Last year?...

TYLTYL Why, yes!...At Christmas, when I went away....

MUMMY TYL When you went away?... You haven't left the room.... I put you to bed last night, and here you are this morning.... Have you dreamed all that?...

TYLTYL But you don't understand!... It was last year, when I went away with Mytyl, the Fairy, Light—how nice Light is!—Bread, Sugar, Water, Fire: they did nothing but quarrel!... You're not angry with me?... Did you feel very sad?... And what did daddy say?... I could not refuse... I left a note to explain....

MUMMY TYL What are you talking about?... For sure, either you're ill or else you're still asleep.... (She gives him a friendly shake.) There, wake up.... There, is that better?...

TYLTYL But, mummy, I assure you.... It's you that's still asleep....

MUMMY TYL What! Still asleep, am I?... Why? I've been up since six o'clock.... I've finished all the cleaning and lit the fire....

TYLTYL But ask Mytyl if it's not true.... Oh, we have had such adventures!...

MUMMY TYL Why Mytyl?... What do you mean?...

TYLTYL She was with me.... We saw grandad and granny....

MUMMY TYL (more and more bewildered) Grandad and granny?...

TYLTYL Yes, in the Land of Memory.... It was on our way.... They are dead, but they are quite well.... Granny made us a lovely plum-tart.... And then the little brothers—Robert, Jean and his top—and Madeleine and Pierrette and Pauline and Riquette, too....

MYTYL Riquette still goes about on all fours!...

TYLTYL And Pauline still has a pimple on her nose....

MUMMY TYL Have you found the key of the cupboard where daddy hides his brandy bottle?...

TYLTYL Does daddy hide a brandy bottle?...

MUMMY TYL Certainly. One has to hide everything when one has little meddlesome good-for-nothings like you.... But come, out with it, confess that you took it.... I would rather it was that.... I sha'n't tell daddy.... I sha'n't beat you....

TYLTYL But, mummy, I don't know where it is....

MUMMY TYL Just walk in front of me, so that I may see if you can walk straight.... (TYLTYL does so) No, it's not that.... Dear heaven, what is the matter with them?... I shall lose them too, as I lost the others!... (Suddenly mad with alarm, she calls out) Daddy Tyl!... Come, quick! The children are ill!...

(Enter DADDY TYL, very calmly, with an axe in his hand.)

DADDY TYL What is it?...

TYLTYL and MYTYL (running up gaily to kiss their father) Hullo, daddy!... It's daddy!... Good-morning, daddy!... Have you had plenty of work this year?...

DADDY TYL Well, what's the matter?... They don't look ill; they look very well....

MUMMY TYL (weeping) You can't trust their looks.... It will be as with the others.... They looked quite well also to the end; and then God took them.... I don't know what's the matter with them.... I put them to bed quite quietly last night; and this morning, when they woke up, everything was wrong.... They don't know what they're saying; they talk about a journey.... They have seen Light and grandad and granny, who are dead, but who are quite well....

TYLTYL But grandad still has his wooden leg....

MYTYL And granny her rheumatics....

MUMMY TYL Do you hear?... Run and fetch the doctor!...

DADDY TYL Why, no, no.... They are not dead yet.... Come, let us look into this.... (A knock at the front door.) Come in!...

(Enter NEIGHBOUR BERLINGOT, a little old woman resembling the FAIRY in ACT I and leaning on a stick.)

THE NEIGHBOUR Good-morning and a Merry Christmas to you all!...

TYLTYL It's the Fairy Berylune!...

THE NEIGHBOUR I have come to ask for a bit of fire for my Christmas stew.... It's very chilly this morning.... Good-morning, children, how are you?...

TYLTYL Fairy Berylune, I could not find the Blue Bird....

THE NEIGHBOUR What is he saying?...

MUMMY TYL Don't ask me, Madame Berlingot.... They don't know what they are saying.... They have been like that since they woke up.... They must have eaten something that wasn't good....

THE NEIGHBOUR Why, Tyltyl, don't you remember Goody Berlingot, your Neighbour Berlingot?...

TYLTYL Why, yes, ma'am.... You are the Fairy Berylune.... You're not angry with us?...

THE NEIGHBOUR Bery... what? Goodness gracious me!...

TYLTYL Berylune.

THE NEIGHBOUR Berlingot, you mean Berlingot....

TYLTYL Berylune or Berlingot, as you please, ma'am.... But Mytyl knows....

MUMMY TYL That's the worst of it, that Mytyl also....

DADDY TYL Pooh, pooh!... That will soon go; I will give them a smack or two....

THE NEIGHBOUR Don't; It's not worth while.... I know all about it; it's only a little fit of dreaming.... They must have slept in the moonbeams.... My little girl, who is very ill, is often like that....

MUMMY TYL By the way, how is your little girl?...

THE NEIGHBOUR Only so-so.... She can't get up.... The doctor says that it's her nerves.... I know what would cure her, for all that. She was asking me for it only this morning, for her Christmas box; it's a notion she has...

MUMMY TYL Yes, I know; it's Tyltyl's bird.... Well, Tyltyl, aren't you going to give it at last to that poor little thing?...

TYLTYL What, mummy?...

MUMMY TYL Your bird.... It's no use to you.... You don't even look at it now.... And she has been dying to have it for ever so long!...

TYLTYL Hullo, that's true, my bird!... Where is he?... Oh, there's the cage!... Mytyl, do you see the cage?... It's the one which Bread carried.... Yes, yes, it's the same one, but there's only one bird in it.... Has he eaten the other, I wonder?... Hullo, why, he's blue!... But it's my turtle-dove!... But he's much bluer than when I went away!... Why, that's the blue bird we were looking for!... We went so far and he was here all the time!... Oh, but it's wonderful!... Mytyl, do you see the bird? What would Light say?... I will take down the cage.... (He climbs on a chair and takes down the cage and carries it to the NEIGHBOUR.) There, Madame Berlingot, there you are.... He's not quite blue yet, but that will come, you shall see!... Take him off quick to your little girl....

THE NEIGHBOUR Really?... Do you mean it?... Do you give it me like that, straight away and for nothing?... Lord, how happy she will be!... (Kissing TYLTYL) I must give you a kiss!... I fly!... I fly!...

TYLTYL Yes, yes; be quick.... Some of them change their colour....

THE NEIGHBOUR I will come back to tell you what she says....

(She goes out.)

TYLTYL (after taking a long look around him) Daddy, mummy, what have you done to the house?... It's just as it was, but it's much prettier....

DADDY TYL How do you mean, it's prettier?...

TYLTYL Why, yes, everything has been painted and made to look new, everything is clean and polished.... It was not like that last year....

DADDY TYL Last year?...

TYLTYL (going to the window) And look at the forest!... How big and fine it is!... One would think it was new!... How happy I feel here!... (Going to the bread-pan and opening it) Where's Bread?.... I say, the loaves are very quiet.... And then here's Tylo!... Hullo, Tylo, Tylo!... Ah, you had a fine fight!... Do you remember, in the forest?...

MYTYL And Tylette.... He knows me, but he has stopped talking....

TYLTYL Mr. Bread.... (Feeling his forehead) Hullo, the diamond's gone!... Who's taken my little green hat?... Never mind; I don't want it any more.... Ah, Fire!... He's a good one!... He crackles and laughs to make Water angry.... (Running to the tap) And Water?... Good-morning, Water!... What does she say?... She still talks, but I don't understand her as well as I did....

MYTYL I don't see Sugar....

TYLTYL Lord, how happy I am, happy, happy, happy!...

MYTYL So am I, so am I!...

MUMMY TYL What are you spinning round for like that?....

DADDY TYL Don't mind them and don't distress yourself.... They are playing at being happy....

TYLTYL I liked Light best of all.... Where's her lamp?... Can we light it?... (Looking round him again.) Goodness me, how lovely it all is and how glad I feel!...

MUMMY TYL Why?...

TYLTYL I don't know, mummy....

(A knock at the front-door.)

DADDY TYL Come in, come in!...

(Enter the NEIGHBOUR, holding by the hand a little girl of a fair and wonderful beauty, who carries TYLTYL'S dove pressed in her arms.)

THE NEIGHBOUR Do you see the miracle?...

MUMMY TYL Impossible!... Can she walk?...

THE NEIGHBOUR Can she walk?... She can run, she can dance, she can fly!... When she saw the bird, she jumped, just like that, with one bound, to the window, to see by the light if it was really Tyltyl's dove.... And then, whoosh!... Out into the street, like an angel!... It was as much as I could do to keep pace with her....

TYLTYL (going up to her, wonderstruck) Oh, how like Light she is!...

MYTYL She is much smaller....

TYLTYL Yes, indeed!... But she will grow bigger....

THE NEIGHBOUR What are they saying?... Haven't they got over it yet?...

MUMMY TYL They are better, they are mending.... It will be all right when they have had their breakfasts....

THE NEIGHBOUR (pushing the LITTLE GIRL into TYLTYL'S arms). Come along, child, come and thank Tyltyl....

(TYLTYL, suddenly frightened, takes a step back.)

MUMMY TYL Well, Tyltyl, what's the matter?.... Are you afraid of the little girl?... Come, give her a kiss, a good big kiss.... No, a better one than that.... You're not so shy as a rule!... Another one!... But what's the matter with you?... You look as if you were going to cry....

(TYLTYL, after kissing the LITTLE GIRL rather awkwardly, stands before her for a moment and the two children look at each other without speaking; then TYLTYL strokes the dove's head.)

TYLTYL Is he blue enough?...

THE LITTLE GIRL Yes, I am so pleased with him....

TYLTYL I have seen bluer ones.... But those which are quite blue, you know, do what you will, you can't catch them....

THE LITTLE GIRL That doesn't matter; he's lovely....

TYLTYL Has he had anything to eat?...

THE LITTLE GIRL Not yet.... What does he eat?...

TYLTYL Anything: corn, bread, Indian corn, grasshoppers....

THE LITTLE GIRL How does he eat, say?...

TYLTYL With his beak. You'll see, I will show you....

(He moves in order to take the bird from the LITTLE GIRL'S hands. She resists instinctively; and, taking advantage of the hesitation of their movements, the DOVE escapes and flies away.)

THE LITTLE GIRL (with a cry of despair) Mother!... He is gone!... (She bursts into sobs.)

TYLTYL Never mind.... Don't cry.... I will catch him again.... (Stepping to the front of the stage and addressing the audience.) If any of you should find him, would you be so very kind as to give him back to us?... We need him for our happiness, later on....

CURTAIN

THE END