Part 6 (1/2)
FIRE Nothing, nothing....
WATER I thought you might be speaking of a great red I saw the other day....
THE CAT Come, don't let as quarrel; we have more important things to do.... We are only waiting for Bread; where is he?
THE DOG He was making an endless fuss about choosing his dress....
FIRE Worth while, isn't it, for a fellow who looks a fool and carries an enormous stomach?...
THE DOG At last, he decided in favour of a Turkish robe, adorned with gems, a scimitar and a turban....
THE CAT There he is!... He has put on Bluebeard's finest dress...
_Enter_ BREAD, _in the costume described above. The silk robe is crossed tightly over his huge stomach. In one hand he holds the hilt of a scimitar pa.s.sed through his sash and in the other the cage intended for the Blue Bird_.
BREAD (_waddling conceitedly_) Well?... What do you think of this?
THE DOG (_frisking round the_ LOAF) How nice he looks! What a fool he looks! How nice he looks! How nice he looks!...
THE CAT (_to the_ LOAF) Are the children dressed?...
BREAD Yes, Master Tyltyl has put on Hop-o'-my-Thumb's blue jacket and red breeches; and Miss Mytyl has Gretel's frock and Cinderella's slippers....
But the great thing was the dressing of Light!...
THE CAT Why?...
BREAD The Fairy thought her so lovely that she did not want to dress her at all!... Thereupon I protested in the name of our dignity as essential and eminently respectable elements; and I ended by declaring that, under those conditions, I should refuse to be seen with her....
FIRE They ought to have bought her a lampshade!...
THE CAT And what answer did the Fairy make?...
THE LOAF She hit me with her stick on my head and stomach....
THE CAT And then?...
BREAD I allowed myself to be convinced; but, at the last moment, Light decided on the moonbeam dress at the bottom of the chest with Catskin's treasures....
THE CAT Come, stop chattering, time presses.... Our future is at stake.... You have heard--the Fairy has just said so--that the end of this journey will, at the same time, mark the end of our lives.... It is our business, therefore, to prolong it as much as possible and by every possible means.... But there is another thing: we must think of the fate of our race and the destiny of our children....
BREAD Hear, hear!... The Cat is right!...
THE CAT Listen to me!... All of us here present, Animals, Things and Elements, possess a soul which man does not yet know. That is why we retain a remnant of independence; but, if he finds the Blue Bird, he will know all, he will see all and we shall be completely at his mercy.... This is what I have just learned from my old friend, Night, who is also the guardian of the mysteries of Life.... It is to our interest, therefore, at all costs to prevent the finding of that bird, even if we have to go so far as to endanger the lives of the children themselves....
THE DOG (_indignantly_) What's the fellow saying?... Just say that again, will you, to see if I heard right?...
BREAD Order! Order!... It's not your turn to speak!... I'm in the chair at this meeting....
FIRE Who made you chairman?...
WATER (_to_ FIRE) Hold your tongue!... What are you interfering with?...