Come drag these bodies out of here! We can't
Sit down and eat with two dead bodies lying
Under the table!... The audience wouldn't stand for it!
Coth. [off stage]. What makes you think so?—Pull down the tablecloth
On the other play, and hide them from the house,
And play the farce. The audience will forget.
Pier. That's so. Give me a hand there, Columbine.
[Pierrot and Columbine pull down the table cover in such a way that the two bodies are hidden from the house, then merrily set their bowls back on the table, draw up their chairs, and begin the play exactly as before, speaking even more rapidly and artificially.]
Colu. Pierrot, a macaroon,—I cannot live
Without a macaroon!
Pier. My only love,
You are so intense!... Is it Tuesday, Columbine?—
I'll kiss you if it's Tuesday.
[Curtains begin to close slowly.]
Colu. It is Wednesday,
If you must know.... Is this my artichoke,
Or yours?
Pier. Ah, Columbine, as if it mattered!
Wednesday.... Will it be Tuesday, then to-morrow,
By any chance?
[Curtain.]