The Blue Bird Part 18

THE LUXURY The Blue Bird?... Wait a bit.... Yes, I remember.... Some one was telling me about him the other day.... He is a bird, that is not good to eat, I believe.... At any rate, he has never figured on our table.... That means that we have a poor opinion of him. But don't trouble; we have much better things.... You shall share our life, you shall see all that we do....

TYLTYL What do you do?

THE LUXURY Why, we occupy ourselves incessantly in doing nothing.... We never have a moment's rest.... We have to drink, we have to eat, we have to sleep. It's most engrossing....

TYLTYL Is it amusing?

THE LUXURY Why, yes.... It needs must be; it's all there is on this Earth....

LIGHT Do you think so?...

THE LUXURY (_pointing to_ LIGHT, _aside, to_ TYLTYL) Who is that ill-bred young person?...

(_During the whole of the preceding conversation a crowd of_ LUXURIES _of the second order have been busying themselves with the_ DOG, SUGAR _and_ BREAD _and have dragged them to the orgie_. TYLTYL _suddenly sees them seated fraternally at the table with their hosts, eating, drinking and flinging themselves about wildly_.)

TYLTYL Why, look, Light!... They are sitting at the table!...

LIGHT Call them back, or this will have a bad end!...

TYLTYL Tylo!... Here, Tylo!... Come here at once, will you? Do you hear?... And you too, Sugar and Bread, who told you to leave me?... What are you doing there, without permission?

BREAD (_speaking with his mouth full_) Can't you keep a civil tongue in your mouth?...

TYLTYL What? Is Bread daring to be impertinent?... Why, what's come over you?...

And you, Tylo?... Is that the way you obey? Now then, come here, on your knees, on your knees!... And look sharp!...

THE DOG (_muttering, from the end of the table_) When I'm eating, I'm at home to n.o.body and I hear nothing....

SUGAR (_honey-mouthed_) Pardon us, we could not possibly leave such charming hosts so abruptly: they would be offended....

THE LUXURY You see!... They are setting you an example.... Come, we are waiting for you.... We won't hear of a refusal.... We shall have to resort to a gentle violence.... Come, you Luxuries, help me!... Let us push them to the table by force, so that they may be happy in spite of themselves!... (_All the_ LUXURIES, _uttering cries of joy and skipping about as nimbly as they are able, drag the_ CHILDREN, _who struggle, while_ FAT LAUGHTER _seizes_ LIGHT _vigorously round the waist_.)

LIGHT Turn the diamond, it is time!...

(TYLTYL _obeys_ LIGHT'S _order. Forthwith, the stage is lit up with an ineffably pure, divinely roseate, harmonious and ethereal brightness.

The heavy ornaments in the foreground, the thick red hangings become unfastened and disappear, revealing an immense and magnificent hall, a sort of cathedral of gladness and serenity, tall, innocent and almost transparent, whose endless fabric rests upon innumerous long and slender, limpid and blissful columns, suggesting the architecture of the Palladian churches or certain drawings by Carpaccio, notably the "Presentation of the Virgin" in the Uffizi Gallery. The table of the orgie melts away without leaving a trace; the velvets, the brocades, the garlands of the_ LUXURIES _rise before the luminous gust that invades the temple tear asunder and fall, together with the grinning masks, at the feet of the astounded revellers. These become visibly deflated, like burst bladders, exchange glances, blink their eyes in the unknown rays that hurt them; and, seeing themselves at last as they really are, that is to say, naked, hideous, flabby and lamentable, they begin to utter yells of shame and dismay, amid which those of_ FAT LAUGHTER _are clearly distinguishable above all the rest. The_ LUXURY OF UNDERSTANDING NOTHING _alone remains perfectly calm, while his friends rush about madly, trying to flee, to hide themselves in corners which they hope to find dark. But there is not a shadow left in the dazzling room. And so the majority, in their despair, decide to pa.s.s through the threatening curtain which, in an angle on the right, closes the vault of the Cave of Miseries. Each time that one of them, in his panic, raises a skirt of the curtain, a storm of oaths, imprecations and maledictions is heard to issue from the hollow depths of the cave. As for the_ DOG, BREAD _and_ SUGAR, _they hang their heads, join the group of the_ CHILDREN _and hide behind them very sheepishly_.)

TYLTYL (_watching the_ LUXURIES _flying_) Goodness, how ugly they are!... Where are they going?...

LIGHT I really believe that they have lost their heads.... They are going to take refuge with the Miseries, where I very much fear that they will be kept for good....

TYLTYL (_looking around him, wonder-struck_) Oh, what a beautiful hall, what a beautiful hall!... Where are we?...

LIGHT We have not moved: it is your eyes that see differently.... We now behold the truth of things; and we shall perceive the soul of the Joys that endure the brightness of the diamond.

TYLTYL How beautiful it is!... And what lovely weather!... It is just like midsummer.... Hullo! It looks as though people were coming to talk to us....

(_The halls begin to fill with angel forms that seem to be emerging from a long slumber and glide harmoniously between the columns. They are clad in s.h.i.+mmering dresses, of soft and subtle shades; rose-awakening, water's-smile, amber-dew, blue-of-dawn, etc_.)

LIGHT Here come some amiable and curious Joys who will direct us....

TYLTYL Do you know them?...

LIGHT Yes, I know them all; I often come to them, without their knowing who I am....

TYLTYL Oh, what a lot of them there are!... They are crowding from every side!

LIGHT There were many more of them once. The Luxuries have done them great harm.

TYLTYL No matter, there are a good few of them left....

LIGHT You will see plenty of others, as the influence of the diamond spreads through the halls.... There are many more Happinesses on Earth than people think; but the generality of men do not discover them....

TYLTYL Here are some little ones: let us run and meet them....

LIGHT It is unnecessary: those which interest us will pa.s.s this way. We have no time to make the acquaintance of all the rest....

(_A troop of little_ HAPPINESSES, _frisking and bursting with laughter, run up from the back of the halls and dance round the_ CHILDREN _in a ring_.)

TYLTYL How pretty, how very pretty they are!... Where do they come from, who are they?...

LIGHT They are the Children's Happinesses....

TYLTYL Can one speak to them?

LIGHT It would be no use. They sing, they dance, they laugh, but they do not talk yet....

TYLTYL (_skipping about_) How do you do? How do you do?... Oh, look at that fat one laughing!... What pretty cheeks they have, what pretty frocks they have!... Are they all rich here?...

LIGHT Why, no, here, as everywhere, there are many more poor than rich....

TYLTYL Where are the poor ones?...

LIGHT You can't distinguish them.... A Child's Happiness is always arrayed in all that is most beautiful in Heaven and upon Earth.

TYLTYL (_unable to restrain himself_) I should like to dance with them....

LIGHT It is absolutely impossible, we have no time.... I see that they have not the Blue Bird.... Besides, they are in a hurry: you see, they have already pa.s.sed.... They too have no time to waste, for childhood is very short....

(_Another troop of_ HAPPINESSES, _a little taller than the last, rush into the hall, singing at the top of their voice, "There they are!

There they are! They see us! They see us!" and, dance a merry fling around the_ CHILDREN, _at the end of which the one who appears to be the chief of the little band goes up to_ TYLTYL _with hand outstretched_.)

THE HAPPINESS How do you do, Tyltyl?...

TYLTYL Another one who knows me!... (_To_ LIGHT) I am getting known wherever I go!... (_To the_ HAPPINESS) Who are you?...

THE HAPPINESS Don't you recognise me?... I'll wager that you don't recognise any one here!

TYLTYL (_a little embarra.s.sed_) Why, no.... I don't know.... I don't remember seeing any of you.