Синяя птица / The blue Bird. Уровень 1

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!

3. The Land of Memory

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], 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.

Tyltyl. Do you sleep all the time?

Grandfather. Yes, we sleep a lot. We are waiting for a thought of the Living. It wakes us. Ah, it is good to sleep when life is over. But it is pleasant also to wake up from time to time.

Tyltyl. So you are not really dead?

Grandfather. What do you say? What is he saying? Now he’s using words we don’t understand. Is it a new word?

Tyltyl. The word “dead”?

Grandfather. Yes, that was the word. What does it mean?

Tyltyl. Why, it means that one’s no longer alive.

Grandfather. How silly they are!

Tyltyl. Is it nice here?

Grandfather. Oh, yes; not bad, not bad.

Grandmother. Not bad, yes. But please come and see us oftener. Do you remember, Tyltyl? The last time I baked you a lovely apple-pie.

Tyltyl. I ate apples last year. There are no apples this year.

Grandmother. Don’t talk nonsense. Here, we have them always.

Tyltyl (looking first at his Grandmother and then at his Grandfather). You are the same. But you’re better-looking.

Grandfather. Well, we feel all right. We don’t grow older[21]. But you, how tall you’re growing! Look, over there, on the door, is the mark of the last time. That was on All-hallows. Now then, stand up straight.

(Tyltyl stands up against the door).

Four fingers taller!

(Mytyl also stands up against the door).

And Mytyl, four and a half!

Tyltyl (looking around). Nothing is changed, everything is in its old place! Only everything is prettier! There is the clock with the big hand which I broke. And here is the hole which I made in the door.

Grandfather. And here is the plum-tree in which you were climbing, when I wasn’t looking. It still has its fine red plums.

Mytyl. And here is the old blackbird! Does it still sing?

The blackbird wakes and begins to sing.

Grandmother. You see. As soon as one thinks of it.

Tyltyl. But it’s blue! That’s the Blue Bird which I must take back to the Fairy. And you never told us that you had it here! Oh, it’s blue, blue, blue! Granddad, granny, will you give it to me?

Grandfather. Yes, perhaps, perhaps. What do you think, granny?

Grandmother. Certainly, certainly. He does nothing but sleep.

Tyltyl. I will put him in my cage. But where is my cage? Oh, I left it behind the big tree. (He runs to the tree, fetches the cage and puts the blackbird into it). How pleased the Fairy will be! And Light too!

Grandfather. Hm, I’m afraid that the bird won’t like the restless life and will come back here. However, we will see. Leave it there, and come and look at the cow.

Tyltyl (noticing the hives). And how are the bees getting on?

Grandfather. Oh, pretty well. They are no longer alive, as you call it; but they work hard.

Tyltyl (going up to the hives). Oh, yes! I can smell the honey! All the flowers are so beautiful! And my little dead sisters, are they here too?

Mytyl. And where are my three little brothers who were dead as well?

At these words, seven little children, of different sizes, come out of the cottage, one by one.

Grandfather. Here they are, here they are! As soon as you think of them, as soon as you speak of them, they are there, the darlings!

Tyltyl and Mytyl run to meet the Children. They hustle and hug one another and dance and utter screams of joy.

Tyltyl. Hallo, Pierrot! And Robert! Jean! Madeleine and Pierette and Pauline! And here’s Riquette!

Mytyl. Oh, Riquette, Riquette! She is a baby!

Grandmother. Yes, she does not grow.

Tyltyl (noticing the little dog). There’s Kiki, whose tail I cut off with Pauline’s scissors. It’s still the same.

Grandfather. (sententiously). Nothing changes here.

Tyltyl. And Pauline still has a pimple on her nose.

Grandmother. Yes, it won’t go away.

Tyltyl. Oh, how well they look! What jolly cheeks they have!

Grandmother. They are here. There’s nothing more to fear. Nobody is ever ill, one has no anxiety.

The clock inside the cottage strikes eight.

Grandmother (amazed). What’s that?

Grandfather. I don’t know. It must be the clock.

Grandmother It can’t be. It never strikes.

Grandfather. Because we no longer think of the time. Was anyone thinking of the time?

Tyltyl. Yes, I was. What is the time?

Grandfather. I can’t tell. It struck eight times, so I suppose it’s eight o’clock.

Tyltyl. Light expects me at a quarter to nine. Fairy told me so. It’s extremely important.

Grandfather. Don’t leave us so fast. The supper will be ready soon! Quick, quick, let’s lay the table outside. I’ve got some cabbage-soup and a beautiful plum-tart.

Tyltyl. Well, I have the Blue Bird… And I like cabbage-soup.

Grandmother. There! Sit down, children.

The Grandparents and the Children sit down round the table. They are jostling and laughing and screaming with pleasure.

Tyltyl (eating). How good it is! Oh, how good it is! I want some more! More!

The clock strikes half-past eight.

Tyltyl. Half-past eight! (He flings down his spoon). Mytyl, we’re late!

Grandmother. Oh! Just a few minutes more! We see you so seldom.

Tyltyl. No, we can’t. Light is so kind. And I promised her. Come, Mytyl, come!

Grandfather. How tiresome the Living is with all its business!

Tyltyl (taking his cage and hurriedly kissing everybody). Good-bye, granddad. Good-bye, granny. Good-bye, brothers and sisters, Pierrot, Robert, Pauline, Madeleine, Riquette and you, too, Kiki. We mustn’t stay. Don’t cry, granny; we will come back often.

Grandmother. Come back every day!

Tyltyl. Yes, yes; we will come back as often as we can.

Grandmother. It’s our only pleasure when your thoughts visit us!

Grandfather. We have no other amusements.

Tyltyl. Quick, quick! My cage! My bird!

Grandfather (handing him the cage). Here they are!

Tyltyl. Good-bye! Good-bye!

The Brothers and Sisters Tyl. Good-bye, Tyltyl! Good-bye, Mytyl! Good-bye! Come again! Come again!

They all wave their handkerchiefs while Tyltyl and Mytyl slowly move away. But everything is already in the mist.

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 not blue! It’s black!

Mytyl. Give me your hand, little brother. I feel so frightened and so cold.

4. The Palace of Night

A large and wonderful hall. Austere, rigid, metallic and sepulchral magnificence. Impression of a Greek temple with columns, flagstones and ornaments of black marble, gold and ebony. The hall is trapezium-shaped. Basalt steps divide it into three successive stages. On the right and left, between the columns, are doors of somber bronze. At the back, a monumental door of brass.

Night is a very old woman in long, black garments. She is between two children. One, almost naked, is smiling in a deep sleep, while the other is standing up. He is motionless and veiled from head to foot. The Cat enters.

Night. Who goes there?

The Cat. It is I, Mother Night. I am very tired.

Night. What’s the matter, child? You look pale and thin. Were you fighting on the tiles, in the snow and rain?

The Cat. No! It’s the beginning of the end! I escaped for a moment to warn you; but I greatly fear that we can do nothing.

Night. Why? What happened?

The Cat. I 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. Light is guiding him and betraying us all. Light knows that the real Blue Bird can live in the light of day, and is here, among the blue birds of the dreams that live on the rays of the moon and die as soon as they see the sun. She can’t cross the threshold of your palace, but she is sending the children. I do not know what to do. If, unfortunately, they get the real Blue Bird, we will disappear.

Night. Oh dear, oh dear! What times we live in! No peace at all. I cannot understand Man, these last few years. What does he want? Must he absolutely know everything? He knows a third of my Mysteries, all my Terrors are afraid and dare not leave the house. My Ghosts flew away, 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. I see only one way: as they are children, we must frighten them. And they will not open the great door at the back, behind which they can find the Birds of the Moon. The secrets of the other caverns will distract their attention and terrify them.

Night (listening). 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 that Light’s relative. The Dog is the only one who is not on our side.

Tyltyl, Mytyl, Bread, Sugar and the Dog arrive.

The Cat (to Tyltyl). This way, little master, this way. Night is delighted to see you. You must forgive her, she is sick a little.

Tyltyl. Good-day, Mrs. Night.

Night. Good-day? Nonsense. You must say, Good-night, or, at least, Good-evening.

Tyltyl. 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 boy? 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 are looking for the Blue Bird.

Tyltyl. Yes, ma’am. Will you tell me where it is?

Night. I don’t know, dear. All I can say is that it is not here.

Tyltyl. Yes, yes. Light told me that the Bird 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 to a stranger. I keep all Nature’s secrets and I can’t deliver them to anybody, especially to a child.

Tyltyl. You have no right to say “no” to Man. I know that.

Night. Who told you?

Tyltyl. Light.

Night. Light again! Always Light! How dare she interfere, how dare she?

The Dog. I can take the keys from her by force[22], 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. Well, then… Here is the key that opens all the doors of the hall. But I will not be responsible.

Bread (very anxiously). Is it dangerous?

Night. Dangerous? I myself do not know what I will do when certain of those bronze doors open upon the abyss. 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 of the world. I imprisoned them there with the aid of Destiny. If someone escapes and shows itself on earth…

Bread. Mrs. Night, I am the protector of these two children; therefore, 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). Let us begin here. What is behind this bronze door?

Night. I think it is the Ghosts.

Tylty. I will see. (To Bread) Have you the cage for the Blue Bird?

Bread (with chattering teeth). I’m not frightened, but it’s better not to open the door. It’s better to peep through the keyhole!

Tyltyl. I don’t want your advice.

Mytyl (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. You will 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 screams. Bread, terrified, throws away the cage and goes and hides at the back of the hall. Night, running after the ghosts, cries out to Tyltyl.

Night. Quick! Quick! Shut the door! They will all escape and we will never catch them again! They feel bored in there. Man ceased to take them seriously. (She runs after the ghosts with a whip formed of snakes. She tries to drive them back to the door of their prison). Help me! Here! Here!

Tyltyl (to the Dog). Help her, Tylo!

The Dog (leaping up and barking). Bow-wow-wow!

Tyltyl. And Bread, where’s Bread?

Bread (at the back of the hall). Here. I am near the door.

One of the ghosts moves in that direction and he rushes away. He utters yells of terror.

Night

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Примечания

1

bread-pan – квашня

2

sugar-loaf – сахарная голова

3

turtle-dove – горлица

4

clapping her hands – хлопая в ладоши

5

look for it – поискать её

6

Not a bit! – Ничуть!

7

Get dressed at once! – Сейчас же одевайтесь!

8

That doesn’t matter. – Это не беда.

9

makes people see – возвращает людям зрение

10

quartern-loaves – каравай

11

spinning-wheel – веретено

12

sugar-stick – леденец

13

packing-paper – обёртка

14

Puss-in-boots – Кот в сапогах

15

Hop-o’-my-Thumb – Мальчик-с-Пальчик

16

Stop chattering. – Хватит болтать.

17

Hold your tongue! – Попридержи язык!

18

None of your business. – Не твоё дело.

19

late grandparents – умершие бабушка и дедушка

20

on All-hallows – в День Всех Святых

21

grow older – стареть

22

by force – силой