The Blue Bird: A Fairy Play in Six Acts
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Maurice Maeterlinck >> The Blue Bird: A Fairy Play in Six Acts
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TYLTYL (_eating like a glutton_)
How good it is!... Oh, how good it is!...I want some more! More!...
(_He brandishes his wooden spoon and noisily hits his plate with it_.)
GAFFER TYL
Come, come, a little more quiet.... You're just as ill-behaved as ever; and
you'll break your plate....
TYLTYL (_half-raising himself on his stool_)
I want more, more!... (_He seizes the tureen, drags it toward him and
upsets it and the soup, which trickles over the table and down over their
knees and scalds them. Yells and screams of pain_.)
GRANNY TYL
There!... I told you so!...
GAFFER TYL (_giving TYLTYL a loud box on the ear_)
That's one for you!...
TYLTYL (_staggered for a moment, next puts his hand to his cheek with an
expression of rapture_)
Oh, that's just like the slaps you used to give me when you were alive?...
Grandad, how nice it was and how good it makes one feel!... I must give you
a kiss!...
GAFFER TYL
Very well; there's more where that came from, if you like them....
(_The clock strikes half-past eight_)
TYLTYL (_starting up_)
Half-past eight!... (_He flings down his spoon_.) Mytyl, we've only
just got time!...
GRANNY TYL
Oh, I say!... Just a few minutes more!... Your house isn't on fire!... We
see you so seldom....
TYLTYL
No, we can't possibly.... Light is so kind.... And I promised her.... Come,
Mytyl, come!...
GAFFER TYL
Goodness gracious, how tiresome the Living are with all their business and
excitement!...
TYLTYL (_taking his cage and hurriedly kissing everybody all round_)
Good-bye, grandad.... Good-bye, granny.... Good-bye, brothers and sisters,
Pierrot, Robert, Pauline, Madeleine, Riquette and you, too, Kiki.... I feel
we mustn't stay.... Don't cry, granny; we will come back often....
GRANNY TYL
Come back every day!...
TYLTYL
Yes, yes; we will come back as often as we can....
GRANNY TYL
It's our only pleasure and it's such a treat for us when your thoughts
visit us!...
GAFFER TYL
We have no other amusements....
TYLTYL
Quick, quick!... My cage!... My bird!...
GAFFER TYL (_handing him the cage_)
Here they are!... You know, I don't warrant him; and if he's not the right
colour...
TYLTYL
Good-bye! Good-bye!...
THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS TYL
Good-bye, Tyltyl! Good-bye, Mytyl!... Remember the barley-sugar!...
Good-bye!... Come again!... Come again!...
(_They all wave their handkerchiefs while_ TYLTYL _and_ MYTYL
_slowly move away. But already, during the last sentences, the fog of the
beginning of the scene has been gradually re-forming, so that, at the end,
all has disappeared in the mist and, at the fall of the curtain_, TYLTYL
_and_ MYTYL _are again alone visible under the big oak_.)
TYLTYL
It's this way, Mytyl....
MYTYL
Where is Light?...
TYLTYL
I don't know.... (_Looking at the bird in the cage_.) But the bird is
no longer blue!... He has turned black!...
MYTYL
Give me your hand, little brother.... I feel so frightened and so cold....
CURTAIN
ACT III.
SCENE 1.--_The Palace of_ NIGHT.
_A large and wonderful hall of an austere, rigid, metallic and sepulchral
magnificence, giving the impression of a Greek temple with columns,
architraves, flagstones and ornaments of black marble, gold and ebony. The
hall is trapezium-shaped. Basalt steps, occupying almost the entire width,
divide it into three successive stages, which rise gradually toward the
back. On the right and left, between the columns, are doors of sombre
bronze. At the back, a monumental door of brass. The palace is lit only
by a vague light that seems to emanate mainly from the brilliancy of the
marble and the ebony. At the rise of the curtain_, NIGHT, _in the form
of a very old woman, clad in long, black garments, is seated on the steps
of the second stage between two children, of whom one, almost naked,
like Cupid, is smiling in a deep sleep, while the other is standing up,
motionless and veiled from head to foot_.
_Enter from the right, in the foreground, the_ CAT
NIGHT
Who goes there?
THE CAT (_sinking heavily upon the marble steps_)
It is I, Mother Night.... I am worn out....
NIGHT
What's the matter, child?... You look pale and thin and you are splashed
with mud to your very whiskers.... Have you been fighting on the tiles
again, in the snow and rain?...
THE CAT
It has nothing to do with the tiles!... It's our secret that's at stake!...
It's the beginning of the end!... I have managed to escape for a moment to
warn you; but I greatly fear that there is nothing to be done....
NIGHT
Why?... What has happened?...
THE CAT
I have told you of little Tyltyl, the woodcutter's son, and of the magic
diamond.... Well, he is coming here to demand the Blue Bird of you....
NIGHT
He hasn't got it yet.....
THE CAT
He will have it soon, unless we perform some miracle.... This is how the
matter stands: Light, who is guiding him and betraying us all, for she has
placed herself entirely on Man's side, Light has learned that the Blue
Bird, the real one, the only one that can live in the light of day, is
hidden here, among the blue birds of the dreams that live on the rays of
the moon and die as soon as they set eyes on the sun.... She knows that she
is forbidden to cross the threshold of your palace, but she is sending the
children; and, as you cannot prevent Man from opening the doors of
your secrets, I do not know how all this will end.... In any case, if,
unfortunately, they should lay their hands on the real Blue Bird, there
would be nothing for us but to disappear....
NIGHT
Oh dear, oh dear!.... What times we live in!... I never have a moment's
peace.... I cannot understand Man, these last few years.... What is he
aiming at?... Must he absolutely know everything?... Already he has
captured a third of my Mysteries, all my Terrors are afraid and dare not
leave the house, my Ghosts have taken flight, the greater part of my
Sicknesses are ill....
THE CAT
I know, Mother Night, I know, the times are hard and we are almost alone in
our struggle against Man.... But I hear them coming.... I see only one way:
as they are children, we must give them such a fright that they will not
dare to persist or to open the great door at the back, behind which they
would find the Birds of the Moon.... The secrets of the other caverns will
be enough to distract their attention and terrify them....
NIGHT (_listening to a sound outside_)
What do I hear?... Are there many of them?...
THE CAT
It is nothing; it is our friends, Bread and Sugar; Water is not very well
and Fire could not come, because he is related to Light.... The Dog is
the only one who is not on our side; but it is never possible to keep him
away....
(_Enter timidly, on the right, in the foreground, TYLTYL, MYTYL, BREAD,
SUGAR and the DOG_.)
THE CAT (_rushing up to TYLTYL_)
This way, little master, this way.... I have told Night, who is delighted
to see you.... You must forgive her, she is a little indisposed; that is
why she was not able to come to meet you....
TYLTYL
Good-day, Mrs. Night....
NIGHT (_in an offended voice_)
Good-day?... I am not used to that.... You might say, Good-night, or, at
least. Good-evening....
TYLTYL (_mortified_)
I beg your pardon, ma'am....I did not know....(_Pointing to the two_
CHILDREN.) Are those your two little boys?... They are very nice....
NIGHT
This is Sleep....
TYLTYL
Why is he so fat?...
NIGHT
That is because he sleeps well....
TYLTYL
And the other, hiding himself?... Why does he veil his face?...Is he
ill?... What is his name?...
NIGHT
That is Sleep's sister.... It is better not to mention her name....
TYLTYL
Why?...
NIGHT
Because her name is not pleasant to hear.... But let us talk of something
else.... The Cat tells me that you have come here to look for the Blue
Bird....
TYLTYL
Yes, ma'am, if you will allow me.... Will you tell me where he is?...
NIGHT
I don't know, dear.... All I can say is that he is not here.... I have
never seen him....
TYLTYL
Yes, yes.... Light told me that he was here; and Light knows what she is
saying.... Will you hand me your keys?...
NIGHT
But you must understand, dear, that I cannot give my keys like that to
the first comer.... I have the keeping of all Nature's secrets and I am
absolutely forbidden to deliver them to anybody, especially to a child....
TYLTYL
You have no right to refuse them to Man when he asks you for them....I know
that....
NIGHT
Who told you?...
TYLTYL
Light....
NIGHT
Light again! Always Light!... How dare she interfere, how dare she?...
THE DOG
Shall I take them from her by force, my little god?...
TYLTYL
Hold your tongue, keep quiet and try to behave.... (_To_NIGHT) Come,
madam, give me your keys, please....
NIGHT
Have you the sign, at least?... Where is it?...
TYLTYL (_touching his hat_)
Behold the Diamond!...
NIGHT (_resigning herself to the inevitable_)
Well, then... Here is the key that opens all the doors of the hall.... Look
to yourself if you meet with a misfortune.... I will not be responsible....
BREAD (_very anxiously_)
Is it dangerous?...
NIGHT
Dangerous?... I will go so far as to say that I myself do not know what I
shall do when certain of those bronze doors open upon the abyss.... All
around the hall, in each of those basalt caves, are all the evils, all the
plagues, all the sicknesses, all the terrors, all the catastrophes, all the
mysteries that have afflicted life since the beginning of the world.... I
have had trouble enough to Imprison them there with the aid of Destiny; and
it is not without difficulty, I assure you, that I keep some little order
among those undisciplined characters.... You have seen what happens when
one of them escapes and shows itself on earth....
BREAD
My great age, my experience and my devotion make me the natural protector
of these two children; therefore, Mrs. Night, permit me to ask you a
question....
NIGHT
Certainly....
BREAD
In case of danger, which is the way of escape?...
NIGHT
There is no way of escape.
TYLTYL (_taking the key and climbing the first steps_)
Let us begin here.... What is behind this bronze door?...
NIGHT
I think it is the Ghosts.... It is long since I opened the door and since
they came out....
TYLTYL (_placing the key in the lock_)
I will see.... (_To_ BREAD) Have you the cage for the Blue Bird?...
BREAD (_with chattering teeth_)
I'm not frightened, but don't you think it would be better not to open the
door, but to peep through the keyhole?...
TYLTYL
I don't want your advice....
MYTYL (_suddenly beginning to cry_)
I am frightened!... Where is Sugar?... I want to go home!...
SUGAR (_eagerly, obsequiously_)
Here I am, miss, here I am.... Don't cry, I will break off one of my
fingers so that you may have a sugar-stick....
TYLTYL
Enough of this!...
(_He turns the key and cautiously opens the door. Forthwith, five or
six_ GHOSTS _of strange and different forms escape and disperse on
every side_. MYTYL _gives a scream of fright_, BREAD, _terrified,
throws away the cage and goes and hides at the back of the hall, while_
NIGHT, _running after the_ GHOSTS, _cries out to_ TYLTYL.)
NIGHT
Quick! Quick!... Shut the door!... They will all escape and we should never
be able to catch them again!... They have felt bored in there, ever since
Man ceased to take them seriously....
(_She runs after the_ GHOSTS _and endeavours, with the aid of a whip
formed of snakes, to drive them back to the door of their prison_.)
Help me!... Here!... Here!...
TYLTYL (_to the_ DOG)
Help her, Tylo, at them!...
THE DOG (_leaping up and barking_)
Yes, yes, yes!...
TYLTYL
And Bread, where's Bread?...
BREAD (_at the back of the hall_)
Here.... I am near the door to prevent them from going out....
(_One of the_ GHOSTS _moves in that direction and he rushes away at
full speed, uttering yells of terror_.)
NIGHT (_to three_ GHOSTS _whom she has seized by the neck_)
This way, you!... (_To_ TYLTYL) Open the door a little.... (_She
pushes the_ GHOSTS _into the cave_.) There, that's it....
(_The_ DOG _brings up two more_.) And these two.... Come, quick,
in with you!... You know you're only allowed out on All-hallows....
(_She closes the door._)
TYLTYL (_going to another door_)
What's behind this one?....
NIGHT
What is the good?...I have already told you the Blue Bird has never been
here.... However, as you please.... Open the doors if you like.... It's the
Sicknesses....
TYLTYL (_with the key in the lock_.)
Must I be careful in opening?...
NIGHT
No, it is not worth while.... They are very quiet, the poor little
things.... They are not happy.... Man, for some time, has been waging
such a determined war upon them!... Especially since the discovery of the
microbes.... Open, you will see....
(TYLTYL _opens the door quite wide. Nothing appears_.)
TYLTYL
Don't they come out?
NIGHT
I told you they are almost all poorly and very much discouraged....
The doctors are so unkind to them.... Go in for a moment and see for
yourself....
(TYLTYL _enters the cavern and comes out again immediately_.)
TYLTYL
The Blue Bird is not there.... They look very ill, those Sicknesses of
yours.... They did not even lift their heads.... (_One little Sickness in
slippers, a dressing-gown and a cotton nightcap escapes from the cavern
and begins to frisk about the hall_.) Look!... There's a little one
escaping.... Which one is it?...
NIGHT
It's nothing, one of the smallest; it's Cold-in-the-Head.... It is one
of those which are least persecuted and which enjoy the best health....
(_Calling to_ COLD-IN-THE-HEAD) Come here, dear....It's too soon yet;
you must wait for the winter.... (COLD-IN-THE-HEAD, _sneezing, coughing
and blowing its nose, returns to the cavern and_ TYLTYL _shuts the
door_.)
TYLTYL (_going to the next door_)
Let us look at this one..... What is in here?...
NIGHT
Take care!... It is the Wars.... They are more terrible and powerful
than ever.... Heaven knows what would happen if one of them escaped!...
Fortunately, they are rather heavy and slow-moving.... But we must stand
ready to push back the door, all of us together, while you take a rapid
glance into the cavern....
(TYLTYL, _with a thousand precautions, opens the door ajar so that there
is only a little gap to which he can put his eye. He at once doubles his
back against the door, shouting_.)
TYLTYL
Quick! Quick!... Push with all your might!... They have seen me!... They
are all coming!... They are breaking down the door!...
NIGHT
Come, all together!... Push hard!... Bread, what are you doing?... Push,
all of you!... How strong they are!... Ah, that's it!... They are giving
way!... It was high time!... Did you see them?...
TYLTYL
Yes, yes!... They are huge and awful!... I don't think that they have the
Blue Bird....
NIGHT
You may be sure they haven't.... If they had, they would eat him at
once.... Well, have you had enough of it?... You see there is nothing to be
done....
TYLTYL
I must see everything.... Light said so....
NIGHT
Light said so!... It's an easy thing to say when one's afraid and stays at
home....
TYLTYL
Let us go to the next.... What is in here?...
NIGHT
This is where I lock up the Shades and the Terrors....
TYLTYL
Can I open the door?...
NIGHT
Certainly.... They are pretty quiet; they are like the Sicknesses....
TYLTYL (_half-opening the door, with a certain mistrustfulness, and
taking a look into the cavern_)
Are they not there?...
NIGHT (_looking into the cavern in her turn_)
Well, Shades, what are you doing?... Come out for a moment and stretch your
legs; it will do you good.... And the Terrors also.... There is nothing to
be afraid of.... (_A few_ SHADES _and a few_ TERRORS, _in the
shape of women, shrouded, the former in black veils and the latter in
greenish veils, piteously venture to take a few steps outside the cavern;
and then, upon a movement of_ TYLTYL'S, _hastily run back again_.)
Come, don't be afraid.... It's only a child; he won't hurt you....
(_To_ TYLTYL) They have become extremely timid, except the great ones,
those whom you see at the back....
TYLTYL (_looking into the depths of the cave_)
Oh, how terrifying they are!...
NIGHT
They are chained up.... They are the only ones that are not afraid of
Man.... But shut the door, lest they should grow angry....
TYLTYL (_going to the next door_)
I say!... This is a darker one.... What is here?
NIGHT
There are several Mysteries behind this one.... If you are absolutely bent
upon it, you may open it too.... But don't go in.... Be very cautious and
let us get ready to push back the door, as we did with the Wars....
TYLTYL (_half-opening the door; with unparalleled precautions and passing
his head fearsomely through the aperture_)
Oh!... How cold!... My eyes are smarting!... Shut it quickly!... Push, oh,
push! They are pushing against us!... (NIGHT, _the_ DOG, _the_ CAT _and_
SUGAR _push back the door_.) Oh, I saw!...
NIGHT
What?...
TYLTYL (_upset_)
I don't know, it was awful!... They were all seated like monsters without
eyes.... Who was the giant who tried to seize me?...
NIGHT
It was probably Silence; he has charge of this door.... It appears to have
been alarming?... You are quite pale still and trembling all over....
TYLTYL
Yes, I would never have believed.... I had never seen.... And my hands are
frozen....
NIGHT
It will be worse presently if you go on....
TYLTYL (_going to the next door_)
And this one?... Is this terrible also?...
NIGHT
No; there is a little of everything here.... It is where I keep the
unemployed Stars, my personal Perfumes, a few Glimmers that belong to me,
such as Will-o'-the-Wisps, Glow-worms and Fireflies, also the Dew, the Song
of the Nightingales and so on....
TYLTYL
Just so, the Stars, the Song of the Nightingales.... This must be the
door....
NIGHT
Open it, if you like; there Is nothing very bad inside....
(TYLTYL _throws the door wide open. The_ STARS, _in the shape of
beautiful young girls veiled in many-coloured radiancy, escape from their
prison, disperse over the hall and form graceful groups on the steps and
around the columns, bathed in a sort of luminous penumbra. The_ PERFUMES
OF THE NIGHT, _who are almost invisible, the_ WILL-O'-THE-WISPS,
_the_ FIREFLIES _and the transparent_ DEW _join them, while
the_ SONG OF THE NIGHTINGALES _streams from the cavern and floods the
Palace of_ NIGHT.)
MYTYL (_clapping her hands with delight_)
Oh, what pretty ladies!...
TYLTYL
And how well they dance!...
MYTYL
And how sweet they smell!...
TYLTYL
And how beautifully they sing!...
MYTYL
What are those, whom one can hardly see?...
NIGHT
Those are the Perfumes of my Shadow.
TYLTYL
And those others, over there, in spun glass?...
NIGHT
They are the Dew of the plains and forests.... But enough!... They would
never have done.... It is the devil's own business to get them back, once
they begin to dance.... (_Clapping her hands together_.) Now then,
Stars, quick!... This is not the time for dancing.... The sky is overcast
and heavily clouded.... Come, quick, in with you, or I will go and fetch a
ray of sunlight!... (_The_ STARS, PERFUMES, _etc., take to flight in
dismay and rush back into the cavern; and the door is closed upon them. At
the same time, the song of the_ NIGHTINGALE _ceases_.)
TYLTYL (_going to the door at the back_)
Here is the great middle door....
NIGHT (_gravely_)
Do not open that one...
TYLTYL
Why not?....
NIGHT
Because it's not allowed....
TYLTYL
Then it's here that the Blue Bird is hidden; Light told me so....
NIGHT (_maternally_)
Listen to me, child ... I have been kind and indulgent ... I have done for
you what I have never done for any one before ... I have given up all my
secrets to you.... I like you, I feel pity for your youth and innocence and
I am speaking to you as a mother.... Listen to me, my child, and believe
me; relinquish your quest, go no further, do not tempt fate, do not open
that door....
TYLTYL (_a little shaken_)
But why?...
NIGHT
Because I do not wish you to be lost.... Because not one of those, do you
hear, not one of those who have opened it, were it but by a hair's breadth,
has ever returned alive to the light of day.... Because every awful thing
imaginable, because all the terrors, all the horrors of which men speak on
earth are as nothing compared with the most harmless of those which assail
a man from the moment when his eye lights upon the first threats of the
abyss to which no one dares give a name.... So much so that I myself, if
you are bent, in spite of everything, upon touching that door, will ask you
to wait until I have sought safety in my windowless tower... Now it is for
you to know, for you to reflect....
(MYTYL, _all in tears, utters cries of inarticulate terror and tries to
drag_ TYLTYL _away_.)
BREAD (_with chattering teeth_)
Don't do it, master dear!... (_Flinging himself on his knees_) Take
pity on us!... I implore you on my knees.... You see that Night is
right....
THE CAT
You are sacrificing the lives of all of us....
TYLTYL
I must open the door....
MYTYL (_stamping her feet, amid her sobs_)
I won't!... I sha'n't!...
TYLTYL
Sugar and Bread, take Mytyl by the hand and run away with her.... I am
going to open the door....
NIGHT
Run for your lives!... Come quickly!... It is time!... (_She flees._)
BREAD (_fleeing wildly_)
At least wait till we are at the end of the hall!...
THE CAT (_also fleeing_)
Wait! Wait!...
(_They hide behind the columns at the other end of the hall_. TYLTYL
_remains alone with the DOG by the monumental door_.)
THE DOG (_panting and hiccoughing with suppressed fright_)
I shall stay, I shall stay!... I'm not afraid!... I shall stay!... I shall
stay with my little god!... I shall stay!... I shall stay!...
TYLTYL (_patting the_ DOG)
That's right, Tylo, that's right!... Kiss me.... You and I are two.... And
now, steady!...
(_He places the key in the lock. A cry of alarm comes from the other
end of the hall, where the runaways have taken refuge. The key has hardly
touched the door before its tall and wide leaves open in the middle, glide
apart and disappear on either side in the thickness of the walls, suddenly
revealing the most unexpected of gardens, unreal, infinite and ineffable,
a dream-garden bathed in nocturnal light, where, among stars and planets,
illumining all that they touch, flying ceaselessly from jewel to jewel and
from moonbeam to moonbeam, fairy-like blue birds hover perpetually and
harmoniously down to the confines of the horizon, birds innumerable to
the point of appearing to be the breath, the azured atmosphere, the very
substance of the wonderful garden_.)
TYLTYL (_dazzled, bewildered, standing in the light of the garden_)
Oh!... Heaven!... (_Turning to those who have fled_) Come quickly!...
They are here!... It's they, it's they, it's they!... We have them
at last!... Thousands of blue birds!... Millions!.... Thousands of
millions!... There will be too many!... Come, Mytyl!... Come, Tylo!...
Come, all!... Help me!... (_Darting in among the birds_.) You can
catch them by handfuls!... They are not shy!... They are not afraid of
us!.... Here! Here!.... (MYTYL _and the others run up. They all enter the
dazzling garden, except_ NIGHT _and the_ CAT.) You see!... There
are too many of them!... They fly into my hands!... Look, they are eating
the moonbeams!... Mytyl, where are you?.... There are so many blue wings,
so many feathers falling that one cannot see anything for them!.... Don't
bite them, Tylo!.... Don't hurt them!.... Take them very gently!....
MYTYL (_covered with blue birds_)
I have caught seven already!.... Oh, how they flap their wings!.... I can't
hold them!....
TYLTYL
Nor can I!.... I have too many of them!... They're escaping!.... They're
coming back!.... Tylo has some, too!.... They will drag us with them!....
They will take us up to the sky!.... Quick, let us go out this way!....
Light is waiting for us!.... How pleased she will be!.... This way, this
way!....
(_They escape from the garden, with their hands full of struggling birds,
and, crossing the whole hall amid the mad whirl of the azure wings, go out
on the right, where they first entered, followed by_ BREAD _and_
SUGAR, _who have caught no birds_. NIGHT _and the_ CAT, _left
alone, return to the back of the stage and look anxiously into the
garden_.)
NIGHT
Haven't they got him?...
THE CAT
No.... I see him there, on that moonbeam.... They could not reach him, he
kept too high....
(_The_ CURTAIN _falls. Immediately after, before the dropped
curtain_, ENTER, _at the same time, on the left_, LIGHT _and on
the right_, TYLTYL, MYTYL _and the_ DOG, _who run up all covered
by the birds which they have captured. But already the birds appear
lifeless and, with hanging heads and drooping wings, are nothing more in
their hands than inert remains._)
LIGHT
Well, have you caught him?...
TYLTYL
Yes, yes!...As many as we wanted!... There are thousands of them!... Here
they are!... Do you see them?... (_Looking at the birds, which he holds
out to_ LIGHT, _and perceiving that they are dead_) Why, they
are dead!... What have they done to them?... Yours too, Mytyl?... Tylo's
also?... (_Angrily flinging down the dead bodies of the birds_) Oh,
this is too bad?... Who killed them?... I am too unhappy!...
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