The Betrothal: A Sequel to the Blue Bird; A Fairy Play in Five Acts and Eleven ScenesMaeterlinck, Maurice
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The Betrothal: A Sequel to the Blue Bird; A Fairy Play in Five Acts and Eleven Scenes
Maeterlinck, Maurice
Fairy plays; French drama -- Translations into English
ACT III
SCENE VI
_Before the Curtain representing Rocks_
(_Enter_ TYLTYL _and_ LIGHT.)
TYLTYL
(_Out of breath, dropping on to a boulder_.) They live a long way up,
the Ancestors!... Aren't you tired?
LIGHT
No, I was born in the mountains.
TYLTYL
(_Bending over a crevice_.) You're not like Destiny, who has almost
given out.... He's still at the bottom of the last precipice, with my
little friends.... He stumbles at every step and is limping badly....
They won't be here yet awhile; and I am very glad to have a moment alone
with you, before they come, for I have a lot of things to ask you....
LIGHT
Ask me anything you like, dear; I will do my best to answer.
TYLTYL
What do you think of these little friends of mine?... If you had to
choose, which would you take?...
LIGHT
I like them all, but it is not for me to choose; no one but yourself can
tell which one you love best.
TYLTYL
Ah, that's not so easy!... You see, I love them all!... For instance, I
love little Jalline, the beggar's daughter: she is so gentle and sweet,
such a darling!...
LIGHT
Yes, she is very attractive: a pretty little creature, with a pure and
simple mind....
TYLTYL
But I also love the Mayor's daughter, Rosarelle.... She is really very
beautiful, not a bit conceited and much better-educated than the
others.... And then think of what she has done: she has left everything
to go with me....
LIGHT
Yes, that is the proof of a real love....
TYLTYL
But I also love Roselle, the inn-keeper's daughter, who is a very pretty
girl, so healthy and strong and frank and brave and cheerful and
amusing: you can't think how kind and affectionate she is....
LIGHT
Yes, she has qualities; and I too find her very sympathetic....
TYLTYL
But I also love the wood-cutter's daughter, Milette.... She has such
beautiful eyes and hair!... At first she seems a little awkward, a
little shy; but it's quite different when you know her: she is really
very playful and full of fun.... And then, have you noticed her mouth
and her teeth?
LIGHT
Yes, I've noticed them....
TYLTYL
But I also love Belline, the butcher's daughter.... To begin with, she's
my cousin; and one always loves one's cousins. And then there's
something about her dark beautiful eyes that frightens me rather. I
adore that.... But she's not unkind, not at all.... Have you noticed her
smile? One can never tell exactly what it means....
LIGHT
Yes, she has a strange smile....
TYLTYL
But I also love the miller's daughter, Aimette.... To begin with, she's
also my cousin.... She keeps her eyes lowered under her long, curling
eyelashes; she blushes when you look at her and weeps when you speak to
her.... She looks a little silly; well, she's not that at all. She's
quite different when you know her a bit.... She's very bright and very
jolly and whispers such nice, sweet things to you that you at once want
to kiss her....
LIGHT
I can see that the choice will not be easy.
TYLTYL
Which do you think the best?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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