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THE NEW MOTHER
A one-act play by Kathleen
McDonnell
Adapted from a
nineteenth-century story by Lucy Lane Clifford
Copyright 2008
THE NEW MOTHER received its world premiere at Youtheatre, Montreal,
Quebec, Canada in October 2005 directed by Michel Lefebvre, with Gemma
James-Smith as Blue-Eyes, Marc Bendavid as Turkey, and Peggy Coffey as Ragged
Girl/Mother
Characters
BLUE-EYES, a girl
TURKEY, her younger brother
RAGGED GIRL, who doubles as MOTHER
Notes: Narration is spoken by the RAGGED GIRL,
MOTHER, TURKEY and BLUE-EYES as indicated in the script. A peardrum is a
hurdy-gurdy.
Carnival music. A backdrop
announcing a travelling fair depicting various players – magicians, a trio of
dancing dogs, etc. The RAGGED GIRL enters, juggling. She picks up her peardrum
and sings a beckoning, vaguely unsettling melody, a signature song she reprises
at several points in the play:
The pleasures of goodness are fleeting and
simple
The
pleasures of badness are many and strong
All you
who wish to unlock the Great Secret
Follow the
peardrum and hearken my song.
RG Not so very long ago, there
stood a cottage near the edge of a forest, where the tall fir-trees loomed so
close that, when the moon shone, their big black arms made tangled shadows all
over the white-washed walls.
In the cottage there
lived two children, along with their mother and their baby sister.
BLUE-EYES and TURKEY enter.
RG The older one, a girl, had the
bluest of blue eyes, which reminded her mother of the ocean and of their
father, who was far away at sea. And so she became known as Blue-Eyes. The
younger one, a boy, had once become very attached to a wild turkey that lived
in the nearby forest.
When the creature
suddenly vanished one winter, he cried bitterly and to console him, his mother
took to calling him Turkey, and the name stuck.
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Despite their isolation,
the cottage was a cosy place. There was always a warm fire blazing in the
hearth, and the smell of freshly-baked biscuits. The pots and pans were lined
up neatly on the shelves. On one wall hung an oval-shaped looking-glass, and on
the opposite wall a clock of fine old burnished wood was ticking away.
The only thing that
marred their happiness was the absence of their beloved father. But in those
days it wasn’t unusual for men to be away at sea for long periods of time, and
their mother coped as best she could.
Today, as they did many
days, Blue-Eyes and Turkey begged to be allowed to walk the long road to the
village.
BE Mother, may we go see if
there’s a letter from father today?
MOTHER I don’t know, dear. There’s a bit of a
chill in the air.
BE Please! We’ll dress warmly.
TURKEY We’ll walk quickly.
BE Can we go? Please?
MOTHER Fine. But don’t take any short-cuts, and
don’t talk to any strangers you meet on the way.
TURKEY We won’t, mother.
BE Don’t worry. We’ll be
careful.
MOTHER She kissed them both and they started on
their way.
TURKEY Who knows? Maybe there will be a letter
waiting, saying father is already on his way home!
RG When they got to the village
they looked around with curiosity. The main square was dotted with the remains
of a festive-looking arcade. There were a dozen empty stalls with
half-torn-down decorations, and above them signs saying “Candy Floss” and “Ball
Toss - Prizes”. In the centre of the square was a much larger sign announcing
the scheduled performances: a magician, a trio of dancing dogs, and a number of
musicians.
TURKEY Look!
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BE There must have been a fair
in the village.
TURKEY You mean we missed it?
BE Oh, why didn’t we come
yesterday!
RG They went to the grocer’s, who
was also the post-mistress. She was busy weighing out half-pounds of coffee, and
when she finally noticed the children standing on the other side of the counter
she said “Sorry. No letter for you today” and went back to her work.
TURKEY Oh, I wish we’d been here yesterday. At
least then we could have seen the magician and the dancing dogs.
RG The day was turning out to be
one disappointment after another, and with heavy hearts they started back home.
As they neared the outskirts of the village, they thought they heard the
strains of a musical instrument.
BE Listen, Turkey. It sounds
like music from the fair
TURKEY Maybe we didn’t miss it after all!
RG As they reached the bridge
over the stream, they noticed a strange figure resting against a pile of stones
by the wayside. It looked like a girl a few years older than themselves, dressed
in ragged clothes. Her hair was coal black and hung down uncombed and
unfastened. On her feet were coarse grey stockings and thick shabby boots,
which she had neglected to lace up.
Upon her lap was a
pear-shaped wooden instrument with several strings and a handle on one side,
which she turned round and round to produce the strange-sounding music which
had drawn their attention.
Their mother had warned
them not to talk to strangers. But Blue-Eyes and Turkey were so intrigued by
the Ragged Girl’s unusual appearance and by the haunting music she made, they
decided there could be no harm in approaching her.
BE Hello. Are you with the fair?
RG Fair?
BE We thought you might be one of
the musicians from the fair.
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RG The carnival in the square?
They’ve all packed up and gone. Didn’t you see them yesterday?
BE No, we don’t live in the
village. We weren’t here yesterday.
TURKEY We missed them.
RG That’s too bad. Maybe you can
find out where they were headed next and go there.
BE Oh, no. Our mother would never
let us go that far from home.
RG Ask your father then.
BE We can’t. Our father is away
at sea.
TURKEY We live with our mother and baby sister.
RG I see.
TURKEY What’s that?
RG This? A peardrum.
TURKEY What’s a peardrum?
RG I am surprised at your not
knowing. Most people in good society have one. Here, I’ll show you.
She plays the peardrum.
RG There. Isn’t it beautiful?
BE Yes. Where did you get it?
RG I bought it, of course.
TURKEY Did it cost a lot of money?
RG Oh yes, a great deal of money.
But that was no problem for me. I am very rich.
TURKEY You don’t look rich.
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RG Indeed?
TURKEY No, you look a bit shabby, actually.
BE Turkey! Don’t be rude. Please
excuse my brother, miss. He’s too young to know any better.
RG Oh, that’s all right. I’m not
the least bit offended. (She appears to
be speaking to someone unseen) “They think I look shabby, but they are
quite ignorant, aren’t they? They don’t realize a little shabbiness is the mark
of a truly refined person.”
TURKEY and BLUE-EYES look at
one another curiously.
BE Who are you speaking to?
RG To them.
BE But there’s no one else here.
RG Oh, but there is.
BE Who?
RG Why, the little man and woman,
of course.
BE What little man and woman?
Where?
RG In here.
She points to a small box
attached to the top of the peardrum.
TURKEY There’s something inside that box?
RG Oh yes. I have a little man
wearing a wide slouch hat with a feather in it, and a little woman dressed in a
red petticoat with a white kerchief on her head. They stand atop a wheel that
goes around when I turn the crank of the peardrum, and they dance most
beautifully to the music. The little man
takes off his hat and waves it in the air.
TURKEY Really?
RG The little woman holds up her
petticoat a little bit with one hand, and with the other she blows kisses. Oh,
yes, they are very pretty indeed.
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BE Oh, can we please see them?
RG You want to see the little man
and woman, do you?
BE Oh, yes we do.
TURKEY Please, please let us see them.
RG I don’t know if I should do
that.
RG tantalizingly lifts the
lid of the box a tiny bit.
BE Why?
RG First tell me: Are you good
children?
BE Oh, yes we are.
RG You do look like very good
children.
BE We’re very, very good!
TURKEY Our mother always tell us so.
RG (snapping the lid shut) Then it’s quite impossible.
BE Why can’t we see them?
RG Because you’re good children.
BE What do you mean?
RG I can only show the little man
and woman to children who are very naughty.
TURKEY Naughty?
RG Oh yes. The naughtier the
better. The more badly you behave, the more beautifully the little man and
woman will dance for you
TURKEY That’s strange.
RG That’s the way they like it.
Too bad. I would have loved to show them to you. But I must be going now.
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BE Wait!
TURKEY Please let us see them!
RG I already told you...
BE But.... What if we were
naughty?
RG You? (laughs heartily) I don’t think so. Good-bye.
BE Will you be back tomorrow?
RG I don’t know. Perhaps.
RAGGED GIRL withdraws.
TURKEY Why wouldn’t she let us see them?
BE You heard what she said.
TURKEY But it makes no sense. She should show
them to good children, like us.
BE I wonder if she’ll come back
tomorrow.
TURKEY I don’t care. I don’t like the Ragged
Girl. I think she’s mean.
BE Listen, Turkey. What if we
come back tomorrow and tell her that we were bad and our mother punished us? I
bet then she’ll let us see them.
TURKEY We can’t say we were naughty if we
weren’t.
BE Why not?
TURKEY That would be a lie.
BE So?
TURKEY Then we really would be bad.
BE Fine, suit yourself. I’ll come
back by myself and tell her.
TURKEY No, Blue-Eyes. Don’t go without me! I
want to see the little man and woman just as much as you do.
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MOTHER They walked back home, quarrelling and
crying all the way. When their mother saw them nearing the cottage, she was
distressed to see them so out of sorts. Fearing something terrible had
happened, she ran to meet them.
MOTHER What’s the matter?
BE Nothing, mother.
MOTHER But why is Turkey crying?
BE There was a carnival in the
village yesterday with a magician and dancing dogs.
TURKEY We missed it.
MOTHER Oh, that’s too bad. But don’t cry, dear.
I’m sure the carnival will be back some other time soon, then we can all go.
You must be tired and hungry. You’ll feel better after you have some hot tea
and cake.
MOTHER The mother stoked up the fire and put the
kettle on to boil. She laid out the tea-things and a jug of milk. She took a
freshly-baked loaf of sweet bread from the cupboard where it had been cooling,
and set it on the table.
MOTHER Come, my sweets, and have your tea. We’ll
put the baby in her high chair and make funny faces at her while we eat.
MOTHER When Blue-Eyes and Turkey saw the loaf
baked crisp and brown, the teacups all in a row, and the jug of milk all
waiting for them, they completely forgot their disappointment and began to eat
hungrily. The mother made happy faces at the baby, who responded with peals of
laughter.
TURKEY Mother?
MOTHER Yes, dear?
TURKEY What would you do if we were naughty?
MOTHER You never do anything naughty. You’re both
very good children. .
TURKEY But what if we did?
MOTHER I suppose I’d be very hurt.
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TURKEY Hurt? Why?
MOTHER If you were naughty, that would mean that
you didn’t love me.
BE But we do love you, mother.
TURKEY We love you more than anything in the
world.
MOTHER Then there’s no way you could be naughty.
BE But what if we were naughty
anyway? What would you do?
MOTHER I would try to make you better.
BE And if you couldn’t? What if
we were very, very naughty and we
wouldn’t be good no matter what you did?
MOTHER Then I’m afraid I would have to take the
baby and go away.
TURKEY Go away? Where?
MOTHER Far away.
BE For how long?
MOTHER I don’t know.
BE You’d come back, wouldn’t you?
MOTHER I don’t know. That would depend on how
naughty you were, and whether you were sorry.
TURKEY But you couldn’t leave us alone, mother.
We’re too little.
MOTHER Oh, you wouldn’t be alone.
TURKEY We wouldn’t?
MOTHER No. The New Mother would come here to take
my place.
TURKEY The New Mother?
BE What New Mother?
MOTHER The New Mother with glass eyes and a giant
wooden tail.
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TURKEY We don’t want a New Mother.
BE We’d hate her.
MOTHER Oh, no. You’d love her.
BE Love her? How could we love a
mother like that?
MOTHER You would have to love her. Don’t all
children love their mothers?
BE Yes, but she’s wouldn’t be our
real mother! You are.
TURKEY We don’t want the New Mother to come.
BE We wouldn’t let her in.
MOTHER Oh, but you couldn’t keep her out. The New
Mother is very strong. She’d beat down the door with her tail. But why worry
about such things, my darlings? As long as you’re good, the New Mother will not
come.
BE Oh we’ll be good, we promise.
TURKEY We won’t be naughty. Not ever.
MOTHER Now come to bed.
She tucks them in. They lie quietly
for a few moments.
TURKEY Blue-Eyes?
BE What?
TURKEY I still want to go with you to see the
little man and woman. But I don’t want to be bad. I don’t want the New Mother
to come.
BE I told you. All we have to do
is tell the Ragged Girl we were bad. Now go to sleep.
RG In their dreams they heard the
music of the peardrum, and imagined they could see the little man and woman
dancing, the little man waving his hat, the little woman blowing kisses.
The next day they couldn’t wait to go to the village.
When they arrived at the grocer’s they didn’t even stop to see if there was a
letter from their father. Instead they raced all the way to the bridge on the
outskirts of the village. They were overjoyed when they spied the Ragged Girl
sitting by the pile of stones, with her peardrum in her lap. She looked up as
they approached but seemed to take no notice of them. Instead, she was
whispering something into the box.
TURKEY Hello!
RG “What’s that you say? Oh, you don’t have to worry
about that. Your secret is safe with me.”
BE What was that?
RG The little man is very funny. He’s has quite a bit
of money in his pocket and it makes quite a racket when he dances.
BE No, what was that you just said a minute ago?
RG Oh, that. I was just assuring the little man and
woman that I wouldn’t give away the secret.
TURKEY What secret?
RG Oh, didn’t I mention that yesterday? The little man
and woman have a secret, which they tell to those who watch them dance.
BE We want to know the secret!
RG As I explained yesterday, they will only dance for
children who are naughty.
BE But we were naughty last night!
RG Oh? What did you do that was so naughty?
BE We.... refused to clear the table after supper.
RG No!
TURKEY And we didn’t say please and thank-you once all evening.
RG And this is your idea of being bad children? (still
laughing) You’re not even telling the truth. I can see right through you!
You didn’t do any of those things, did you?
TURKEY Our mother said if we were bad she’d take our baby sister and
go away and a New Mother would come in her place, with glass eyes and a
gigantic wooden tail.
RG Oh, the old story about the New Mother, eh?
BE What do you mean?
RG There is no New Mother with glass eyes and a wooden
tail. It’s just something she made up.
TURKEY But she said....
RG Parents are always threatening that kind of thing.
How else are they going to scare children into being good? You’re so little, I
can see why you believe it. But you.... (to BLUE-EYES) I’m surprised you
fell for it.
BE I... thought it might be just a story. I only
pretended to believe, for my little brother’s sake. So now will you let us see the little man and
woman?
RG Of course not.
BE But we’ll be naughty tonight.
RG I don’t think you have it in you to be truly naughty.
BE We do! You’ll see! And if we’re very bad you have
to let us watch the little man and woman dance and let us hear their secret.
You have to promise.
RG I don’t have to do anything. And you know the old
saying. Promises are made to be broken. I have to go now.
BE Will you be back tomorrow?
RG I don’t know. Perhaps. (she starts to leave,
then pauses) But I’ll sing you a little song before I go.
The RAGGED GIRL reprises
the song from the opening of the play:
The pleasures of
goodness are fleeting and simple
The pleasures of badness
are many and strong
All you who wish to
unlock the Great Secret
Follow the peardrum and
hearken my song.
RG Good-bye.
RAGGED GIRL withdraws.
BE (calling after her) We’ll be back tomorrow!
We’ll be naughty! You’ll see.
TURKEY Blue-Eyes, let’s just go home and forget the Ragged Girl.
BE Don’t you want to know the secret?
TURKEY Yes...
BE Then we have to be naughty tonight.
TURKEY I’ve never been naughty. I don’t know how!
BE Well, I do. Leave it to me.
TURKEY I’m afraid, Blue-Eyes. What about the New Mother?
BE You heard what she said. It’s just a story mother
made up to scare us.
TURKEY Mother wouldn’t lie to us....
BE It’s not a lie, Turkey. It’s just the kind of thing
mothers say. Now if you’re going to be a fraidy-cat I’ll just have to do it by
myself.
TURKEY No, I want to do it with you!
BE All the way home Blue-Eyes planned the bad things
they would do when they got there.
TURKEY Turkey was reluctant, but gradually got over his fears.
BE When they arrived home, instead of greeting their
mother with smiling faces, they acted sullen and said little.
TURKEY At dinnertime they played a game instead of helping her set
the table. They played with their food, throwing it at one another and
laughing.
MOTHER When their mother told them to stop it and pick up the food..
BE&T They laughed and kept on throwing
it!
MOTHER What’s gotten into you children tonight? I just told you to
stop playing with your food.
TURKEY We don’t want to.
BE We’re having fun.
MOTHER Do you remember what I told you would happen if you were very
very naughty?
BE Yes, you said a New Mother would come with glass
eyes and a gigantic wooden tail. But there is no New Mother. You just made it
up!
MOTHER I am very angry at both of you! Go upstairs to your room until
you’re ready to say you’re sorry.
BE We’re not sorry!
TURKEY We don’t want to be good!
BE We hate being good!
BE All night they sang at the top of their lungs,
keeping their mother and the baby awake.
BLUE-EYES and TURKEY sing
a fractured, half-remembered version of
the RAGGED GIRL’s song.
MOTHER When they got up the next morning Blue-Eyes and Turkey were
appalled at what they had done. They were afraid to get out of bed and face
their mother. They were sure she would still be furious at them for all the
terrible things they had done. But when they went downstairs their mother
didn’t scold them. She only looked at them with large sad eyes.
MOTHER I am very disappointed in you, my darlings.
BE We’re sorry, mother.
MOTHER I will forgive you if you are very good today and do not do any
more naughty things. Because if you are not very good children from now on, I
shall have to take the baby and go away. And the New Mother I told you about
will come.
MOTHER They all sat and ate their breakfast quietly. When offered some
tea Turkey was careful to say “thank-you”.
TURKEY Thank-you, mother.
MOTHER And when Blue-Eyes asked for another biscuit she remembered to
say “please”.
BE Please, Mother, may I have another biscuit?
MOTHER When breakfast was done, they both quickly hopped to their feet
and cleared the table.
BLUE-EYES and TURKEY clear
the table.
MOTHER That’s better. I forgive you both.
Both children run to
embrace her.
TURKEY Thank you, mother.
We’ll be good from now on! We promise!
BE We love you so much, mother.
MOTHER And I love you, my darlings.
BE Mother? May we go to the village today?
MOTHER You’ve been to the village every day this week. I think it
would be best if you both stayed home today.
BE But yesterday the grocer said there was a letter
from father. She couldn’t give it to us
just then because her hands were all dirty from cutting meat. She said we
should come back and get it today.
MOTHER Oh. Well, in that case you may go. But come right back.
BE We will!
They set off for the
village.
TURKEY Did the grocer really say there was a letter for us,
Blue-Eyes?
BE You know she didn’t.
TURKEY Then you told a lie.
BE It was just a little white lie. She wouldn’t have
let us go otherwise.
TURKEY Let’s be good from now on, Blue-Eyes. I don’t want to be bad
anymore.
BE What about the little man and the little woman?
TURKEY I don’t care about them. When we’re bad it makes mother so
sad. I hate seeing her like that.
BE Turkey, listen. Do you know what “temporary” means?
TURKEY shakes his head.
BE It means something that only lasts for a little
while. We’re only going to be bad for a little while. Once we’ve seen the
little man and woman dance, and found out their secret, then we’ll be good
again, and mother won’t feel bad anymore. All right?
TURKEY All right....
RG They found the Ragged Girl sitting by the bridge
next to the heap of stones. They noticed the little box on top of the peardrum
was open, and the Ragged Girl appeared to be speaking into it (she whispers
into the peardrum). As soon as she saw them, they heard the click of the
spring on the lid as she snapped it shut. (quickly closes it)
BLUE-EYES and TURKEY race
over to RAGGED GIRL.
BE Let us see!
RG Not so fast.
BE But we were very bad last night. Now open the box
and show us the little man and woman.
RG And just what did you do that was so bad?
TURKEY We refused to set the table.
RG Oh, dear.
BE We threw food on the floor.
RG Really?
TURKEY We were so naughty our mother sent us to bed without supper.
RG That bad?? (she laughs heartily) You really
are something. Don’t you see? A really
bad child would have refused to obey her.
TURKEY But after we went to bed we sang at the top of our lungs.
BE We kept the baby awake all night!
RG Yes, well, you can make a little noise and stir up
a bit of foolishness but that doesn’t make it real naughtiness. Did you
throw cold water on the fire?
TURKEY No.
RG Did you pull all the tins down from the shelves and
stomp on them?
BE No.
RG Did you smash the clock?
TURKEY No.
RG Did you throw the looking-glass out the window?
BE No.
RG Did you hold the baby upside-down and drop it on
its head?
BE&T NO!!
RG Then go away and stop wasting my time!
RAGGED GIRL goes back to
playing the peardrum.
TURKEY Please give us another chance. We really do want to be
naughty!
RG I don’t think you have the skill to be truly
naughty.
BE We do. We’ll show you. We’ll do it for real this
time! What if we swear we will do all those things you just said.
RG Everything? You’ll throw cold water on the fire?
BE Yes.
RG Pull all the tins down? Smash the clock?
BE Yes, yes...
RG Throw the looking-glass....
BE Yes...
RG Drop the baby on its head?
BE Yes! We’ll do it all. But then we get to see the
little man and woman. You have to swear!
RG I’ll tell you what. I’ll come by your house at five
o’clock to see for myself Once I’m satisfied you’ve done all the things you
said you would do, you’ll learn the secret of the little man and woman.
BE Raise your hand and swear!
RG I swear. Now you better run right home and get
started. I’ll be right on time. I’m always punctual about my engagements.
BLUE-EYES starts to run,
TURKEY follows her frantically.
TURKEY (grabbing her jacket) Wait, Blue-Eyes.
BE You heard her! We have to hurry.
TURKEY But we can’t do all those things!
BE (shaking him off angrily) Fine! I’ll find
out the secret for myself and I won’t tell you!
TURKEY (almost hysterical) No, Blue-Eyes! Wait for me! Please!
BE Blue-Eyes and Turkey raced back home.
TURKEY When they arrived the baby was sitting in her high-chair. They
could hear their mother rummaging down below in the pantry, getting things
ready for that night’s dinner.
BE As soon as they walked in the door, they let out a
great roar and began to tear the house apart.
TURKEY They threw water on the fire.
BE They pulled down the baking-dish and the saucepans
and the cake-tin off the shelves.
TURKEY They threw them on the floor and stomped on them, making a
terrible racket which made the baby scream.
BE They took the clock down from the wall and smashed
it on the floor.
TURKEY Turkey picked up the looking-glass and hoisted it through the
window, where it fell with a tremendous crash!
BE Blue-Eyes lifted the baby out of her high chair and
held her upside-down.
TURKEY No! Don’t do it!
BE I have to.
TURKEY Please don’t!
BE But I want to know the secret!
MOTHER enters, looking
appalled. Startled, BLUE-EYES lets go of the baby.
MOTHER races over and
catches the baby just before her head hits the floor.
A moment of terrible
silence. Then, without a word, MOTHER puts on the baby’s
coat and sun-bonnet. She prepares a small
bundle, ties it up and puts on her own coat.
Then she turns to
Blue-Eyes and Turkey, bends down and kisses each one of them
on the cheek.
MOTHER Good-bye, my Blue-Eyes. Farwell, my little Turkey. I must go
now.
MOTHER goes to the door.
MOTHER The New Mother will be arriving presently.
TURKEY Don’t go, mother.
BE Please don’t.
TURKEY We’re sorry.
BE We’ll be good after five o’clock. We promise we
will.
TURKEY Please come back after five o’clock, mother. We’ll be good
then. You’ll see.
MOTHER goes out the door and starts down the road. After a few steps, she pauses, and starts to turn back toward the cottage....
TURKEY Come back, mother! Please! We’ll be good now. We’ll be good
forever.
TURKEY But still the mother kept on walking. At the fork in the road
she stopped once again, turned and waved her handkerchief. Then she lifted the
baby’s little hand and waved it at them.
BE Please don’t go, mother!
BE She blew them a kiss. Then she turned away, and in
an instant the mother and baby completely vanished from sight.
TURKEY She’ll come back. Won’t she?
BE She’s just trying to scare us. To punish us.
TURKEY We deserve to be punished.
BE She’ll be back before dark.
TURKEY Of course she will.
distant music breaks
through the silence.
BE It’s the peardrum!
TURKEY She’s coming!
They race to the door.
The RAGGED GIRL approaches
the cottage, playing the peardrum.
BE Hello! Come see all the terrible things we’ve done!
RG Did you throw water on the fire?
TURKEY Yes!
RG Did you pull the tins down off the shelves and
stomp on them?
BE Yes!
RG Did you throw the looking-glass out the window?
TURKEY Yes. See? There’s a pile of broken shards under the
window-sill.
RG Did you smash the clock?
BE Yes, come see for yourself. It’s all here, just as
you told us.
RG Did you drop the baby on its head?
TURKEY and BLUE-EYES look
at one another.
BE Yes...
RG You’re lying.
BE No....
RG I can tell. You didn’t drop the baby on its head,
did you?
BE I did! Mother came in and caught her before she
fell!
RG That’s no excuse.
BE It wasn’t my fault. We did everything else you told
us to.
TURKEY Show us the little man and little woman!
BE Let us hear the secret!
The Ragged Girl keeps on
walking and playing her peardrum.
The children run out after
her.
TURKEY Show us!
BE We did everything.
TURKEY It’s not fair!
RG Fine. I’ll show you.
The RAGGED GIRL opens the
box on top of the peardrum.
TURKEY It’s empty.
The RAGGED GIRL begins to
laugh hysterically.
BE There never was a little man and little woman, was
there?
RG How do you know? Maybe I’ve taken them out and put
them away for safekeeping.
BE If that’s true then tell us the secret!
RG Oh, I can’t do that. Only the little man and the
little woman can tell their secret.
BE Now you’re the one who’s lying. There is no little man
and woman!
RG Can you really be so sure?
BE Prove it! Bring them by tomorrow!
RG Tomorrow? Oh, I’m afraid that won’t be possible.
Tomorrow I will be far away. I am going back to my own land, the place where I
was born.
TURKEY You mean we’ll never get to see them?
RG I don’t know. Perhaps if I come back this way
again.
BE There is no little man and woman. There never was.
RG But you’ll never know for sure, will you?
BE We should never have listened to you.
TURKEY When our mother comes back we’ll promise never to be bad
again.
RG Are you sure she’s coming back? I saw a woman
carrying a baby as I crossed the bridge. She was riding in a boat down the
river. Perhaps she’s going to the sea, to meet your father. Perhaps they will
sail off together, with the baby, to countries far away. In any case, you don’t
need her anymore. The New Mother is coming. She will be here soon.
TURKEY You said the New Mother was just a story, that she wasn’t
real!
RG I must have been mistaken. She is on her way right
now. But she walks slowly, because she cannot see well with her glass eyes, and
her wooden tail is very heavy and cumbersome.
The children watched from
the door as she becomes a dark misty object on the horizon,
till she finally vanishes
completely from their sight.
TURKEY What do we do now?
BE We must clean up before mother gets back.
BLUE-EYES frantically starts
to clean up.
TURKEY What if she doesn’t come back?
BE She will.
TURKEY How do you know? What if the Ragged Girl is right? What if the
New Mother is already on her way?
BE She’s just saying that to scare us.
TURKEY I should never have listened to you! I never wanted to do all
those bad things.
BE I didn’t force you, Turkey! You wanted to find out
the secret just as much as I did!
TURKEY I didn’t lie to Mother! I didn’t hang the baby upside down!
Now they’re gone and it’s all your fault!
BE Stop being a cry-baby and help me clean up. We have
to get everything back to normal before she…..
the forest. It grows
louder and louder, like the sound of a heavy object being dragged
across the forest floor.
TURKEY It’s the New Mother!
BE We won’t let her in!
TURKEY Go away! You don’t belong here.
BE You are not our mother! Go away!
They lock the door. The
sound becomes a relentless pounding almost like thunderclaps.
An eerie light begins to
stream in through the windows, like glass reflecting off the moon.
BE It’s the New Mother’s glass eyes.
They pile tables, chairs,
whatever they can find in front of the door. The strange light
grows intensely
bright. The pounding on the door grows
more and more fierce, shaking
the entire house. The
objects they had used to bar the door pitch forward as the
door begins to open, first
a crack, then wider and wider with each push on the door.
The objects fly back into
the room as the door begins to give way.
TURKEY She’s too strong! We can’t fight her!
BE Let’s get out of here! We have to get as far as
away from that thing as we can! Run, Turkey!
TURKEY Wait for me, Blue-Eyes!
BE They
ran and ran till they couldn’t run any more. Finally they stopped to catch
their breath beside a little pond, where they could hide in the thick ferns.
TURKEY Is the New Mother coming after us, Blue-Eyes?
BE I don’t know, Turkey.
TURKEY Can you see her flashing eyes?
BE No.
TURKEY Do you hear the swishing of her wooden tail?
BE I don’t think so.
BE They waited in the ferns till the sun dropped low
in the sky and the darkness wrapped around them like a shroud. As the night
wore on the air grew chilly. They picked rushes from the pond to make pillows
for their heads, and Blue-Eyes made a mound of soft dead leaves for them to
climb into and keep warm.
BE Here, Turkey. Curl up next to me.
TURKEY My stomach is growling.
BE So’s mine. But it’s dark now. We’ll look for
something to eat in the morning.
TURKEY Blue-Eyes? What if the New Mother comes while we’re asleep?
BE Don’t worry, Turkey. She can’t
find us here.
TURKEY She can’t?
BE No.
TURKEY Are you sure? How do you know?
BE Her glass eyes can’t see well
in the dark. Now go to sleep.
But Blue-Eyes didn’t know whether the New Mother could find them or not. She told Turkey a little white lie to calm his fears.
(sings)
Sleep, Turkey, sleep
For the night is a blanket of stars
And the earth is a bed
Now rest your head
And I will watch over you.
They both fall asleep. Morning comes, and TURKEY
awakens. He gets up to explore
BLUE-EYES wakes up shortly after, looks around.
BE Turkey?
TURKEY Blue-Eyes! You won’t believe what I found.
BE Turkey, where are you?
TURKEY Over here. In the bushes.
BE What are you doing there?
TURKEY goes and holds out a handful of berries to
BLUE-EYES.
TURKEY Look, Blue-Eyes.
BE Are those blackberries?
TURKEY (nods) Come see!
She looks at the bushes.
BE Blackberries. Row upon row as far as the eye can
see! Good work, Turkey!
TURKEY I knew you’d be glad, Blue-Eyes.
BE They scooped up great handfuls of the ripe berries
and stuffed them into their mouths, leaving deep purple stains all over their
cheeks. When they’d had their fill they fell to the ground, laughing and
rolling in the grass…
Turkey suddenly sits up, looks around.
BE What is it, Turkey?
TURKEY Do you hear something?
BE What?
TURKEY I thought I heard something. wooden tail Blue-Eyes, do you
think she can hear us?
BE The New Mother? I don’t know.
TURKEY Maybe she’s coming after us!
BE We better get out of here, Turkey
They start walking..
BE They set off from the place by the little pond and
went deeper into the forest. determined to get far enough away that the New
Mother couldn’t find them. Soon the sky
turned cloudy, and the wind began to blow. They saw that the berries were
beginning to shrivel up and fall off the branches.
TURKEY Where are we going, Blue-Eyes?
BE I don’t know.
TURKEY I’m getting hungry again.
BE So am I.
TURKEY What will we eat now?
BE We’ll find something.
Snow begins to fall. The wind picks up. A blizzard
begins to swirl around them.
BE I know. We have to keep moving. Come on.
They trudge on through the blizzard. BLUE-EYES picks
up pine boughs as they go.
TURKEY What are those?
TURKEY Don’t yell at me!
BE Don’t cry, my little Turkey. I’m sorry I yelled at you.
TURKEY I wish we’d never met the Ragged Girl. I
wish we could go back before we ever saw her and make all this go away.
BE I know, Turkey. But we can’t.
Once something is done it can’t be undone. All you can do is try to make it
better again.
TURKEY And say you’re sorry?
BE Yes, and say you’re sorry. Oh,
Turkey, I miss our mother and
baby sister so much.
TURKEY So
do I, Blue-Eyes. I would give anything to see them again!
BE You
will, Turkey.
BE They walked back through the
tall fir trees, past the blackberry bushes and the pond where the ferns grew
thick. Until in the distance, they spied the little cottage.
TURKEY There it is.
They watch from a
distance.
TURKEY Can you hear anything?
BE No.
BE Blue-Eyes tiptoed up to the
window and looked inside.
TURKEY What do you see?
BE It’s empty.
BLUE-EYES heads toward the door.
BE I’m going in.
TURKEY No, Blue-Eyes. What about…? (he stops himself, follows her inside)
Inside, they look around.
BE The clock is still lying face-down on the floor.
TURKEY The baking-pans are still strewn all over.
BE The ashes in the fireplace are cold.
TURKEY There are pieces of glass everywhere.
They look at one another a moment.
BE Quietly, carefully, they began to clean up the
mess. Blue-Eyes gathered up the scattered baking tins.
TURKEY Turkey put the clock back up on the wall and tried to wind it
up. But it didn’t seem to work anymore.
BE They fetched pieces of wood from the pile at the
door, and Blue-Eyes got a fire going in the hearth.
TURKEY Of course there was nothing to be done about the shattered
looking-glass.
BE So Blue-Eyes got the broom…
TURKEY Turkey got the dust-pan…
BE And together they swept up the shards of glass and
got them out of harm’s way.
They finish cleaning up.
BE There. That’s better.
TURKEY I’m tired.
BE Let’s get some sleep, Turkey. Tomorrow we’ll fix up
the house and make it warm and cozy as ever. You’ll see.
TURKEY Turkey could tell Blue-Eyes didn’t really
believe what she was saying. She told herself a little white lie to keep her
spirits up.
(sings)
Sleep, Blue-Eyes, sleep
For the night is a pillow of dreams
And a friendly star
Shining from afar
Watches over you and me
They fall into an
exhausted sleep.
In their dream, they hear
the music of the peardrum again, this time a tender lullaby.
The Little Man and Little
Woman enter.
The Little Man bends down
to Blue-Eyes and whispers something in
her ear.
The Little Woman bends
down to Turkey and whispers something in his ear.
They both withdraw.
TURKEY and BLUE-EYES wake
up.
BE Turkey, I had the most amazing dream.
TURKEY So did I, Blue-Eyes!
BE The little man and woman were here.
TURKEY In mine too!
BE They were playing the prettiest melody, and the
little woman blew kisses and the little man waved his hat. And then he bent
down and whispered in my ear…
TURKEY Wait, Blue-Eyes. Do you smell something?
BE It smells like something baking in the oven. And
listen…
TURKEY It’s the clock! It’s ticking again!
TURKEY They got up and looked around to see a
remarkable sight – their baby sister, sitting happily in her high chair, their
dear mother bending over to take something out of the stove. For a few moments
they held their breath, afraid that if they moved too much, everything might
disappear in an instant.
BE How can this be, Turkey?
TURKEY Everything is just as it was.
BE Well,
not quite everything. The crack in the
clock was still there.
TURKEY The looking-glass was nowhere to be seen.
BE And they couldn’t be sure, but
they thought their baby sister looked a bit… older than before.
TURKEY Mother?
MOTHER Good-morning, my darlings.
BE Is it really you?
MOTHER Why, of course it’s me! Who else would it
be?
They
race to embrace her. MOTHER seems quite taken aback by the intensity of their
welcome.
MOTHER What’s this? Are you crying, my little
Turkey? What’s the matter?
TURKEY Nothing, mother. It’s just that we’re so
glad to see you.
BE We love you, mother.
MOTHER And I love you both very, very much. Now
come, my sweets. Sit down and have some nice hot tea and cake. We can make
funny faces at the baby while we eat. You know how much she loves it when you
make her laugh.
BE Turkey and Blue-Eyes could not tell if their mother
had come back..
TURKEY …Or had never really gone away.
BE But none of it mattered now.
TURKEY Because they were back in their cosy little house by the edge
of the forest…
BE With their dear mother and baby sister.
TURKEY Perhaps tomorrow or the next day they will ask permission to
go to the village…
BE To see if there is a letter waiting from their
beloved father, who is far away at sea.
TURKEY Everything is just as it was before.
BE Not quite everything.
TURKEY Turkey and Blue-Eyes have changed.
BE Now they know the secret of the little man…
BLUE-EYES leans over and
whispers in TURKEY’ s ear. TURKEY listens intently.
TURKEY And the little woman.
THE END