The Blue Bird - LightNovelsOnl.com
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THE CHILD (_gravely touching_ TYLTYL'S _hat_) And that?...
TYLTYL That?... That is my hat.... Have you no hat?...
THE CHILD No; what is it for?...
TYLTYL It's to say How-do-you-do with.... And then for when it rains or when it's cold....
THE CHILD What does that mean, when it's cold?...
TYLTYL When you s.h.i.+ver like this: brrrr! brrrr!... When you blow into your hands and go like this with your arms....
(_He vigorously beats his arms across his chest_.)
THE CHILD Is it cold on earth?...
TYLTYL Yes, sometimes, in the winter, when there is no fire....
THE CHILD Why is there no fire?...
TYLTYL Because it's expensive and it costs money to buy wood....
THE CHILD What is money?...
TYLTYL It's what you pay with....
THE CHILD Oh....
TYLTYL Some people have money and others have none....
THE CHILD Why not?...
TYLTYL Because they are not rich.... Are you rich?... How old are you?...
THE CHILD I am going to be born soon.... I shall be born in twelve years.... Is it nice to be born?...
TYLTYL Oh, yes!... It's great fun!...
THE CHILD How did you manage?...
TYLTYL I can't remember.... It is so long ago!...
THE CHILD They say it's lovely, the earth and the live people!...
TYLTYL Yes, it's not bad.... There are birds and cakes and toys.... Some have them all; but those who have none can look at them....
THE CHILD They tell us that the mothers stand waiting at the door.... They are good, aren't they?...
TYLTYL Oh, yes!... They are better than anything in the world!... And the grannies too; but they die too soon....
THE CHILD They die?... What is that?...
TYLTYL They go away one evening and do not come back....
THE CHILD Why?...
TYLTYL How can one tell?... Perhaps because they feel sad....
THE CHILD Has yours gone?...
TYLTYL My grandmamma?...
THE CHILD Your mamma or your grandmamma, I don't know....
TYLTYL Oh, but it's not the same thing!... The grannies go first; that's sad enough.... Mine was very kind to me....
THE CHILD What is the matter with your eyes?.... Are they making pearls?...
TYLTYL No; it's not pearls....
THE CHILD What is it, then?...
TYLTYL It's nothing; it's all that blue, which dazzles me a little....
THE CHILD What is that called?...
TYLTYL What?...
THE CHILD There, that, falling down....
TYLTYL Nothing, it is a little water....
THE CHILD Does it come from the eyes?...
TYLTYL Yes, sometimes, when one cries....
THE CHILD What does that mean, crying?...
TYLTYL I have not been crying; it is the fault of that blue... But if I had cried, it would be the same thing....
THE CHILD Does one often cry?...
TYLTYL Not little boys, but little girls do.... Don't you cry here?...
THE CHILD No; I don't know how....
TYLTYL Well, you will learn.... What are you playing with, those great blue wings?...
THE CHILD These?... That's for the invention which I shall make on earth....
