The Elder Woman draws down the bedclothes from the Queen's body, loosens them from the bed, and throws them on the floor.
The Elder Woman.
Pull her feet straight: is your mind wandering?
She commences to fold the bedclothes, singing as she moves about.
A louse crept out of my lady's shift—
Ahumm, Ahumm, Ahee—
Crying "Oi! Oi! We are turned adrift;
The lady's bosom is cold and stiffed,
And her arm-pit's cold for me."
While the Elder Woman sings, the Younger Woman straightens the Queen's feet and ties them together, draws the pillow from under her head, gathers her hair in one hand and knots it roughly; then she loosens her nightgown, revealing a jewel hung on a cord round the Queen's neck.
The Elder Woman, running to the vacant side of the bed.
What have you there? Give it to me.
The Younger Woman. It is mine:
I found it.
The Elder Woman, seizing the jewel.
Leave it.
The Younger Woman. Let go.
The Elder Woman. Leave it, I say.
Will you not? Will you not? An eye for a jewel, then!
She attacks the face of the Younger Woman with her disengaged hand.
The Younger Woman, starting back.
Oh!