SCENE VI

_Before the Curtain representing Rocks_

(_Enter_ TYLTYL _and_ LIGHT.)

TYLTYL

(_Out of breath, dropping on to a boulder_.) They live a long way up, the Ancestors!... Aren't you tired?

LIGHT

No, I was born in the mountains.

TYLTYL

(_Bending over a crevice_.) You're not like Destiny, who has almost given out.... He's still at the bottom of the last precipice, with my little friends.... He stumbles at every step and is limping badly.... They won't be here yet awhile; and I am very glad to have a moment alone with you, before they come, for I have a lot of things to ask you....

LIGHT

Ask me anything you like, dear; I will do my best to answer.

TYLTYL

What do you think of these little friends of mine?... If you had to choose, which would you take?...

LIGHT

I like them all, but it is not for me to choose; no one but yourself can tell which one you love best.

TYLTYL

Ah, that's not so easy!... You see, I love them all!... For instance, I love little Jalline, the beggar's daughter: she is so gentle and sweet, such a darling!...

LIGHT

Yes, she is very attractive: a pretty little creature, with a pure and simple mind....

TYLTYL

But I also love the Mayor's daughter, Rosarelle.... She is really very beautiful, not a bit conceited and much better-educated than the others.... And then think of what she has done: she has left everything to go with me....

LIGHT

Yes, that is the proof of a real love....

TYLTYL

But I also love Roselle, the inn-keeper's daughter, who is a very pretty girl, so healthy and strong and frank and brave and cheerful and amusing: you can't think how kind and affectionate she is....

LIGHT

Yes, she has qualities; and I too find her very sympathetic....

TYLTYL

But I also love the wood-cutter's daughter, Milette.... She has such beautiful eyes and hair!... At first she seems a little awkward, a little shy; but it's quite different when you know her: she is really very playful and full of fun.... And then, have you noticed her mouth and her teeth?

LIGHT

Yes, I've noticed them....

TYLTYL

But I also love Belline, the butcher's daughter.... To begin with, she's my cousin; and one always loves one's cousins. And then there's something about her dark beautiful eyes that frightens me rather. I adore that.... But she's not unkind, not at all.... Have you noticed her smile? One can never tell exactly what it means....

LIGHT

Yes, she has a strange smile....

TYLTYL

But I also love the miller's daughter, Aimette.... To begin with, she's also my cousin.... She keeps her eyes lowered under her long, curling eyelashes; she blushes when you look at her and weeps when you speak to her.... She looks a little silly; well, she's not that at all. She's quite different when you know her a bit.... She's very bright and very jolly and whispers such nice, sweet things to you that you at once want to kiss her....

LIGHT

I can see that the choice will not be easy.

TYLTYL

Which do you think the best?

LIGHT

There are neither better nor worse; each one is as good as the other; and all are good when they suffer or when they love.

TYLTYL

The nuisance is that it seems you mustn't love more than one.... Tell me, though, is that true, or is it only one of the things people say to children just to keep them quiet?

LIGHT

No, it's true. When you love many, that merely shows that you haven't yet found the one whom you were to love.

TYLTYL

But, after all, you, who know everything and see everything, must know better than I and can tell me what I ought to do.

LIGHT

No, dear, that is beyond me, beyond the range of my sight. It is for this very reason that we are going to consult those who do know; and they are near at hand, because it is in you that they live. We seem to be taking a great journey: that is an illusion; we are not going outside yourself and all our adventures are happening within you.... But I hear your little friends. Where is your green hat?

TYLTYL

Here. I took it off because I felt hot.

LIGHT

Put it on again quickly, so that there may be no more misunderstandings, and turn the sapphire.

(_He does so. Forthwith, on every side, all sorts of monsters emerge from the ground and from between the rocks: monsters with more or less human or animal shapes and grotesque, brutish or repulsive faces. They hustle_ TYLTYL, _gather together and dance round him_.)

TYLTYL

(_Terrified_.) Hullo, hullo, what's all this?...

LIGHT

Nothing. You must have turned the sapphire from left to right.

TYLTYL

So I did, I believe; I forgot.... But what do they want with me? They are pushing up against me and snapping at my feet.

LIGHT

They won't hurt you; they are merely your own thoughts, which you sometimes secretly think; now you have set them free and they are showing themselves for an instant as they are.

TYLTYL

What!... Are my thoughts as ugly as that?... I should never have believed it!...

LIGHT

Don't take it so much to heart!... They are not as ugly as some, because you are still innocent and very young.... If you were to see those of other men!... Besides, you have beautiful ones; but they are more reluctant to show themselves.... However, I see the girls coming.... Turn the sapphire from right to left, so that we may get rid of these monsters, whom they must not see....

(_He does so; and the creatures go back into the ground. Enter_ THE SIX GIRLS, _preceded by_ DESTINY _and followed, at a distance, by_ THE WHITE PHANTOM, _who keeps on one side. They surround_ TYLTYL, _overwhelming him with caresses and all speaking at the same time_.)

THE GIRLS

Good-evening, Tyltyl!... We've found you again!... We were so anxious about you!... We couldn't keep up with you.... Aren't you tired?... May we kiss you?... Destiny held us back.... I wanted to run.... He stood in the way.... Aren't you too hot?... Mind you don't catch cold.... Kiss me too!... And me too!... And me too!...

TYLTYL

(_Distributing kisses all round_.) My sweethearts!... What darlings you are, and how happy I feel!... I hope I have not made you walk too fast?... You must forgive me; I am rather in a hurry.... Jalline dear, you haven't hurt your foot, have you?... And you, Rosarelle? You are not used to climbing rocks.... Aimette's hands are cold and Roselle has made herself much too hot....

LIGHT

Come, we will talk about all this later. We must now hasten to the Ancestors, who are waiting for us and would be very much annoyed if we arrived late....

DESTINY

(_Who has grown smaller still and is now hardly taller than a man of average height. He seems very tired and sits huddled on a boulder_.) Not a step farther!...

TYLTYL

Hullo! You've grown a bit smaller again!...

DESTINY

I? I've not changed. I am always the same, I am....

TYLTYL

I know, I know.... It's Light being so near, perhaps....

DESTINY

Light and I have nothing in common.... In any event, I alone am master and I order a halt....

LIGHT

By all means; there is no need to go any farther. We have arrived; we are here without taking another step, at the abode of the Ancestors....

(_The curtain parts and opens upon the next scene_.)