The Blue Bird: A Fairy Play in Six ActsMaeterlinck, Maurice
General
The Blue Bird: A Fairy Play in Six Acts
Maeterlinck, Maurice
Fairy plays; French drama -- Translations into English
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?...
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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