The Blue Bird: a Fairy Play in Six Acts

Excerpt

ACT I

_The Wood-cutter's Cottage

The stage represents the interior of a wood-cutter's cottage, simple and rustic in appearance, but in no way poverty-stricken. A recessed fireplace containing the dying embers of a wood-fire. Kitchen utensils, a cupboard, a bread-pan, a grandfather's clock, a spinning-wheel, a water-tap, etc. On a table, a lighted lamp. At the foot of the cupboard, on either side, a_ DOG and a CAT lie sleeping, rolled up, each with his nose in his tail. Between them stands a large blue-and-white sugar-loaf. On the wall hangs a round cage containing a turtle-dove. At the back, two windows, with closed inside shutters. Under one of the windows, a stool. On the left is the front door, with a big latch to it. On the right, another door. A ladder leads up to a loft. On the right also are two little children's cots, at the head of which are two chains, with clothes carefully folded on them. When the curtain rises, TYLTYL and MYTYL are sound asleep in their cots, MUMMY TYL tucks them in, leans over them, watches them for a moment as they sleep and beckons to DADDY TYL, who thrusts his head through the half-open door. MUMMY TYL lays a finger on her lips, to impose silence upon him, and then goes out to the right, on tiptoe, after first putting out the lamp. The scene remains in darkness for a moment. Then a light, gradually increasing in intensity, filters in through the shutters. The lamp on the table lights again of itself, but its light is of a different colour than when MUMMY TYL extinguished it. The two CHILDREN appear to wake and sit up in bed.

TYLTYL
Mytyl?

MYTYL
Tyltyl?

TYLTYL
Are you asleep?

MYTYL
Are you?…

TYLTYL
No; how can I be asleep when I'm talking to you?

MYTYL
Say, is this Christmas Day?…

TYLTYL Not yet; not till to-morrow. But Father Christmas won't bring us anything this year….

MYTYL
Why not?

TYLTYL I heard mummy say that she couldn't go to town to tell him … But he will come next year….

MYTYL
Is next year far off?…

TYLTYL
A good long while…. But he will come to the rich children to-night….

MYTYL
Really?…

TYLTYL
Hullo!… Mummy's forgotten to put out the lamp!… I've an idea!…

MYTYL
What?…

TYLTYL
Let's get up….

MYTYL
But we mustn't….

TYLTYL
Why, there's no one about…. Do you see the shutters?…

MYTYL
Oh, how bright they are!…

TYLTYL
It's the lights of the party.

MYTYL
What party?…

TYLTYL The rich children opposite. It's the Christmas-tree. Let's open the shutters….

MYTYL
Can we?…

TYLTYL Of course; there's no one to stop us…. Do you hear the music?… Let us get up….

(The two CHILDREN get up, run to one of the windows, climb on to the stool and throw back the shutters. A bright light fills the room. The CHILDREN look out greedily.)

TYLTYL
We can see everything!…

MYTYL (who can hardly find room on the stool)
I can't….

TYLTYL
It's snowing!… There's two carriages, with six horses each!…

MYTYL
There are twelve little boys getting out!…

TYLTYL
How silly you are!… They're little girls…....