ROSEI.
Nay, the snow falls.
CHORUS (speaking for ROSEI).
“I watched the seasons pass:
Spring, summer, autumn, winter; a thousand trees,
A thousand flowers were strange and lovely in their pride.
So the time sped, and now
Fifty years of glory have passed by me,
And because they were a dream,
(At this point an ATTENDANT brings back the pillow, and places it in the “palace” which becomes a bed again.)
All, all has vanished and I wake
On the pillow where I laid my head,
The Pillow of Kantan.”
(The BOY DANCER and the two COURTIERS slip out by the side-door “kirido”; ROSEI has mounted the bed and is asleep.)
HOSTESS (tapping twice with her fan).
Listen, traveller! Your millet is ready. Come quickly and eat your dinner.