Синяя птица / The blue Bird. Уровень 1

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.