CHARACTERS
(arranged in the order of their entrance on the stage)
TYLTYL
THE FAIRY BÉRYLUNE
MILETTE (the Wood-cutter's Daughter)
BELLINE (the Butcher's Daughter)
ROSELLE (the Inn-keeper's Daughter)
AIMETTE (the Miller's Daughter)
JALLINE (the Beggar's Daughter)
ROSARELLE (the Mayor's Daughter)
JOY (the Veiled Girl, or the White Phantom)
DESTINY
THE MISER
LIGHT
SOME USUAL THOUGHTS
GRANNY TYL
GAFFER TYL
THE GREAT MENDICANT
THE GREAT PEASANT
THE RICH ANCESTOR
THE SICK ANCESTOR
THE DRUNKEN ANCESTOR
THE MURDERER ANCESTOR
THE GREAT ANCESTOR
OTHER ANCESTORS
SOME OF TYLTYL'S "ME'S"
VARIOUS CHILDREN IN THE ABODE OF THE CHILDREN
THE FIVE LITTLE ONES
THE SMALLEST OF THEM ALL
MUMMY TYL
MYTYL
DADDY TYL
THE NEIGHBOUR
ACT I
Scene [1] The Wood-cutter's Cottage.
ACT II
[2] Outside the Door.
[3] The Miser's Cave.
[4] A Closet in the Fairy's Palace.
[5] A Ballroom in the Fairy's Palace.
ACT III
[6] Before the Curtain representing Rocks.
[7] The Abode of the Ancestors.
ACT IV
[8] Before the Curtain representing the Milky Way.
[9] The Abode of the Children.
ACT V
[10] Before the Curtain representing the Edge of a Forest.
[11] The Awakening.
THE BETROTHAL; OR THE BLUE BIRD CHOOSES
ACT I
SCENE I
The Wood-cutter's Cottage
The cottage-scene in The Blue Bird: the interior of a wood-cutter's cabin, simple and rustic in appearance, but in no way poverty-stricken. A recessed fireplace containing the dying embers of a wood-fire. Kitchen-utensils, a cupboard, a bread-pan, a grandfather's clock, a spinning-wheel, a water-tap, etc. A dog and a cat asleep. A large blue-and-white sugar-loaf. On the wall hangs a round cage containing a blue bird. At the back, two windows with closed shutters. On the left is the front-door, with a big latch to it. A ladder leads up to a loft. But there is only one bed, TYLTYL'S; he is now sixteen years of age. It is dark; the scene is lit only by a few moonbeams which filter through the shutters. TYLTYL is sound asleep.
(A knock at the door.)