The Pheasant-hen
[Crying in the midst of the music of the morning.] Let him live!
The Jay
[Again darting past.] Ha, ha!
A Cuckoo
[In the distance.] Cuckoo!
The Pheasant-hen
I abdicate!
Patou
[Lifting his eyes heavenward.] She abdicates!
The Pheasant-hen
Forgive, O Light, to whom I dared dispute him! Dazzle the eye taking aim, and be victory awarded, O Sunbeams—
The Jay and the Cuckoo [Far away.] Ha! Cuckoo!
The Pheasant-hen
—to your powder of gold—[A shot. She gives a sharp cry, ending in a dying voice.]—over man’s black powder! [Silence.]
Chantecler’s Voice
[Very far away.] Cock-a-doodle-doo!
All
[In a glad cry.] Saved!