CALAF.

CALAF.
What is this fellow warning me against?
Who is to visit me? Well, I can fight,
Yea, fight the very devil, if he come.
My thoughts are all for her. Short time remains
Of fearing and of torment: Dawn is nigh!
And can it be her heart is still so hard
And pitiless? Well, let us try to sleep.

SCENE XI

ZELIMA, CALAF.

Enter ZELIMA.

ZELIMA.
My Prince, I am a slave of Turandot,
And hither come by ways which even to her
Are closed. Good news I bring you.
CALAF.
Slave, you lie.
The heart of Turandot is pitiless.
ZELIMA.
You speak the truth. And yet: you are the first
That ever touched it. You believe me not,
And yet it is quite true. She says she hates you,
And she already loves you. May the earth
Swallow me if it is not true she loves you.
CALAF.
The news is good. I will believe. What next?
ZELIMA.
She bids me tell you, only her ambition
Drives her to desperation. Now she sees
That what she undertook she cannot do,
But thinking of to-morrow and its shame
She is consumed.... May the earth swallow me,
If here I lie!
CALAF.
Enough, my pretty slave.
I will believe. Go! Tell her: it is easy
To give the contest up. And she would win
Fairer renown by softening her heart,
And giving of her own free will the hand
He longs for to the man who loves her true.
Is this the message, haply, that you bring?
ZELIMA.
No, Prince. My message runs not so. We ask
Consideration for our weaknesses.
The Princess begs you for a favour. Spare
Her vanity. Help her to say those names
In the Divan to-morrow. Then she herself
Will from her throne descend, and reach to you
Her right hand. You it costs so little. Say
The names, and in this manner win her heart.
CALAF (with a smile).
H'm! Pretty slave, where is the speech's end?
ZELIMA.
What speech's end, your Highness?
CALAF.
"Let the earth
Swallow me if I lie in this."
ZELIMA.
You doubt it?
CALAF.
I do a little doubt it—just so much
That I refuse to do what you desire.
Go, tell your mistress, if I hide the names
It is because a lover must be cautious—
I do not hide them with intent to pain her.
ZELIMA (violently).
Fool, fool! you little know what this will cost you!
CALAF.
And if it cost my life!
ZELIMA.
You soon will see.
Good-night.
(Aside.)
The fool! He has made a fool of me.
(Exit in a rage.)
CALAF.
Be steadfast, heart! Only a few hours more
The skies will clear, and fear will have an end.
That I could sleep.... My tortured spirit yearns
For rest. Sink down upon me, gentle sleep!
(Goes to sleep.)

SCENE XII

CALAF, TRUFFALDINO.

TRUFFALDINO.
(Comes creeping in cautiously from right,
creeps under the divan.)
Well, thank God! he's gone to sleep at last.
'Sh! 'Sh! (In the front of the stage before
the footlights.) As my poor old mother used to
say, "A good name is worth a fortune." What
a good name this idiot of a Prince must have,
considering how my gracious Princess is throwing
all her money away on him! Skirina's got some,
Zelima's got some, Brigella's got some. I've got
some, and I'm going to get two purses extra if
I get this young hopeful's name. And I shall
get it! You watch me. I'm going to! (With
much ceremony he pulls a big turnip, wrapped
in a strip of paper, out of his dress.) Here I
have the famous magic root mandragora. The
Universal Doctor and Great Herbalist Pimpernel,
Market Square, second door to the right, let me
have it for a tanner. Warranted, of course.
Warranted to go two years. Printed instructions
for use attached. (Unwraps the turnip, reads:)
"The root mandragora opens all doors, bursts all
locks, raises hidden treasure, confers riches and
wisdom...." (Looks up.) Aha! just what
I want. (Reads on:) "It has influence over
the constellations and the planets, makes the blind
to see and the deaf to hear, is a protection
against the evil eye, heals all maladies of the
mind, depression in men and melancholy in
women...." (Looks up.) Aha! Depression,
quite so. Melancholy, quite so. (Reads on:) "It
confers the gift of second sight, reveals hidden
secrets...." (Looks up.) Ah! now we have
it. Hidden secrets.... "Let it be placed under
the pillow of the person, whether male or female,
whose secret it is desired to know, when the
said person is asleep. Then the person aforesaid..."
Hurrah! (jumps for joy) "will,
by dreaming aloud, communicate what it is desired
to know." Did you hear that? Isn't that the
very thing? (Creeps up to CALAF'S bed, and,
with excessive caution, places the turnip under
his pillow.) 'Sh! 'Sh!
(Draws back a little, and waits, in the
greatest excitement, for what is going
to happen. CALAF does not utter a
sound. With a disappointed face
TRUFFALDINO creeps nearer the bed
again. CALAF remains dumb.)
Do say something, my dear boy! Do say something,
please! (Waits a little.) Out with the
name, my sweet little lambkin.
(With transfigured face CALAF whispers
terms of endearment.)
What's he saying now? Tu... Tu...
Turandot. Oh, bother! I know that name
already, the name of my adored Princess. It's
your name I want to know, my darling boy.
(CALAF goes on whispering excitedly. He
smiles in his happy dream, and raises
himself on his elbow during the following
without opening his eyes.)
Tu... nothing but Turandot! Well, then, here
I am, duckie. Here I am, lovey, here I am—my
own very self, your own little lovey duckie
Turandot. (Purses up his lips. CALAF smiles
as though in rapture.) What wouldst thou
have of me, my sweetest heart? Eh? Well,
what? Something like this? (Smacks his lips.)
Well, then, you shall have it, and more besides.
But first of all, darling, you must tell me your
name, your own delightful, sweet little name, my
honey!...
(CALAF sinks back and lies dumb again,
sulkily.)
Oh, you won't, won't you? You really won't?
How nasty of you, my love! Just look at me.
See how pretty I am! (Trips coquettishly up
and down in front of the bed.) Look at my
lovely white arms and my lovely plump legs,
and my glorious hair hanging all down my back!
...Just look at it, my sweet little chick!
(CALAF begins to whisper excitedly, raising
himself the while.)
That's right, that's right, quite so: talk, talk,
my bonny babe! (Bends down again, till his
mouth almost touches the sleeper's.) Once again,
my sweet one! Say it once again, my little white
lambkin! It shall have its kiss, it shall, right
away.

(CALAF turns suddenly and violently round on the other side, and deals him a ringing box on the ear. (Squeaking noisily, TRUFFALDINO runs away. CALAF sits up for a moment in astonishment, opens his eyes, shuts them again immediately, and sinks back on his couch.)