Морис Метерлинк - Синяя птица / The blue Bird. Уровень 1

Sugar (sweetly). Excuse me. Let us not embitter the discussion. From a certain point of view, you are both right.

Bread. I quite agree with Sugar!

The Cat. Are we not, all of us, Water, Fire you yourselves, Bread and the Dog, the victims of a nameless tyranny? Do you remember the time when, before the despot, we wandered at liberty upon the earth? Fire and Water were the sole masters of the world. And we, puny descendants of the great wild animals… Look out! I see the Fairy and Light. Light is with Man; she is our worst enemy. Here they are.

The Fairy is in the shape of an old woman. She is coming with Light, Tyltyl and Mytyl.

The Fairy. Well? What is it? What are you doing in that corner? You look like conspirators. It is time to start. Listen to me. Light will be your leader. You will obey her. I am giving her my wand. The Children will visit their late grandparents [19] late grandparents – умершие бабушка и дедушка this evening. They will spend the evening with their dead family. Meanwhile, you will prepare all that is wanted for tomorrow’s journey. It will be long.

The Cat (hypocritically). That is just what I was saying to them, madam. I was encouraging them to do their duty bravely and conscientiously. Unfortunately, the Dog interrupted me.

The Dog . What’s that? Just wait a bit I…

He wants to leap upon the Cat, but Tyltyl stops him.

Tyltyl. Tylo! If I catch you again…

The Dog . My little god, you don’t know, it was the Cat who…

Tyltyl. Be quiet!

The Fairy. Come. Bread, for this evening, hand the cage to Tyltyl. It is possible that the Blue Bird may be in the Past, at the grandparents’. In any case, it is a chance which we must not neglect. Well, Bread, the cage?

Bread (solemnly). One moment, if you please, Mrs. Fairy.

The Fairy . We will go out this way and the Children that.

Tyltyl (anxiously). Are we to go all alone?

Mytyl. I feel hungry!

Tyltyl. I, too!

The Fairy (to Bread). Open your Turkish robe and give them a slice of your good stomach.

Bread opens his robe, draws his scimitar and cuts two slices out of his stomach and hands them to the children.

Sugar . Allow me to offer you a few sugar-sticks.

He breaks off the five fingers of his left hand, one by one, and presents them to the children.

Mytyl. What is he doing? He is breaking all his fingers!

Sugar. Please, taste them… They’re real sugar.

Mytyl (tasting one of the fingers). Oh, how good they are! Have you many of them?

Sugar (modestly). Yes; as many as I want.

Mytyl. Does that hurt you much, when you break them off?

Sugar. Not at all. They grow again at once and so I always have new, clean fingers.

The Fairy . Come, children, don’t eat too much sugar. Don’t forget that you will have supper presently with your grandpapa and grandmamma.

Tyltyl. Are they here?

The Fairy . You will see them at once.

Tyltyl. How can we see them, when they are dead?

The Fairy. How can they be dead, when they live in your memory? Men do not know this secret, because they know so little. Thanks to the diamond, you will see that if you remember the dead, they live happily.

Tyltyl. Is Light coming with us?

The Fairy. No, it is a family visit. I will wait near here. They did not invite me.

Tyltyl. Which way will we go?

The Fairy. Over there. You are on the threshold of the Land of Memory. Turn the diamond, and you will see a big tree with a board on it. It will show you that you are there. But don’t forget to come back, by a quarter to nine. It is extremely important. Be punctual, don’t be late. Good-bye!

A thick fog. The trunk of a large oak, with a board. A vague, milky, impenetrable light.

Tyltyl. Here is the tree!

Mytyl. There’s the board!

Tyltyl. I can’t read it. Wait, I will climb up on this root. It says, “Land of Memory”.

Mytyl. Is this where it begins?

Tyltyl. Yes, there’s an arrow.

Mytyl. Well, where are granddad and granny?

Tyltyl. Behind the fog. We will see.

Mytyl. I can see nothing at all! I can’t see my feet or my hands. (Whimpering) I’m cold! I don’t want to travel any more. I want to go home.

Tyltyl. Come, don’t cry, just like Water. Shame on you! Look, the fog is lifting already. We will see what’s behind it.

The mist begins to move. It disperses, evaporates. Soon, in a more and more transparent light, appears a cheerful little cottage. The door and windows are open. There are bee-hives under a shed, flower-pots on the window-sills, a cage with a sleeping blackbird. Beside the door is a bench, on which Tyltyl’s grandfather and grandmother, are seated. They are sleeping.

Tyltyl. It’s granddad and granny!

Mytyl. (clapping her hands) Yes! Yes! So it is! So it is!

Tyltyl. Take care! We don’t know yet if they can move. Let’s keep behind the tree.

Grandmother opens her eyes, raises her head, stretches herself, and looks at Grandfather, who also wakes slowly from his sleep.

Grandmother. I think that our grandchildren who are still alive are coming to see us today.

Grandfather. They are certainly thinking of us, for I feel something.

Grandmother. I think they must be quite near. I see tears of joy before my eyes.

Grandfather. No, no, they are far away. I still feel weak.

Grandmother. I tell you they are here; I am quite strong.

Tyltyl and Mytyl. Here we are! Here we are! Granddad! Granny! It’s we! It’s we!

Grandfather. There! Do you see? What did I tell you?

Grandmother. Tyltyl! Mytyl! It’s you! It’s she! I can’t run! I’ve still got the rheumatics!

Grandfather. No more can I.

Grandmother. How tall and strong you are, Tyltyl!

Grandfather. And Mytyl! Just look at her. What pretty hair, what pretty eyes!

Grandmother. Come and kiss me again! Come on to my lap. How are Daddy and Mummy Tyl?

Tyltyl. Quite well, granny. They were asleep when we went out.

Grandmother. Lord, how pretty they are and how nice and clean! Is it mummy who washes you? And there are no holes in your stockings! I darned them, you know. Why don’t you come to see us oftener? It makes us so happy! We see nobody here.

Tyltyl. We couldn’t, granny; and today it’s only because of the Fairy.

Grandmother. We are always here. We are waiting for a visit from those who are alive. They come so seldom! The last time you were here, let me see, when was it? It was on All-hallows [20] on All-hallows – в День Всех Святых , when the church-bells were ringing.

Tyltyl. All-hallows? We didn’t go out that day, for we were ill.

Grandmother. No; but you thought of us.

Tyltyl. Yes.

Grandmother. Well, every time you think of us, we wake up and see you again.

Tyltyl. Really?

Grandmother. You know that.

Tyltyl. No, I don’t know.

Grandmother (to Grandfather). It’s astonishing. They don’t know anything.

Grandfather. The Living are so stupid when they speak of the Others.