The Garden of Paradise by Hans Christian Anderson play by Ruth Willerth copyright 1993 (The Garden of Paradise faithfully sticks to the original story, first created in the 1870s. Language and technology evolved in the last hundred years. A good segment of the population lives better than yesterdays' royalty. To keep the story fresh, this play transpires in the present.) CAST MOTHER: practical and possessive JOHN: a seventeen year old romantic CHRISTI: full of vigor MOTHER OF THE WIND: an oldish woman, tall and strong enough to be a man in disguise NORTH WIND: leather pants, fur jacket, winter cap, big and boisterous ZEPHYR: a wild man from the woods, cowboy hat, mahogany club SOUTH WIND: turban and robe EAST WIND: oriental dress PRINCESS: glittering garments DEATH: black hooded cape, sickle GRANDMOTHER: YOUNG JOHN: Optional cast (group scenes) (Stage behind John, The Mother of the Winds, and her four children.) Walrus Hunters: Caravan: Chinese Crowd: (Give their line to the East Wind, if omitted.) (Characters may be painted on backdrop.) Angels: Adam & Eve: People in History: (If these characters are omitted, due to a lack of actors, execute their lines from off stage.) BEAUTIFUL GIRLS: each with a gleaming star in their hair THE FLOWERS: (Approximately 30 minutes) Act One Prologue (Grandmother enters front of the curtain, followed by Young John.) GRANDMOTHER: Every flower in the garden of Paradise is a delicious cake. The pistils are full of wine. One flower, holds all of history. Another flower, maps out geography, and another calculate math. The more you eat, the more history, geography and arithmetic you know. These wonders disappeared when Adam and Eve bit into the forbidden fruit. YOUNG JOHN: Tell me more, Grandma. GRANDMOTHER: No, look it up yourself. The book of Genesis is a good place to start. (Grandmother hands young John a Bible.) YOUNG JOHN: Boring. GRANDMOTHER: (Opening the book and pointing to the page) It's in the first book of the Bible, right after God created the world. YOUNG JOHN: (John reads for a few seconds.) Grandma, why couldn't Eve leave the tree of knowledge alone? Why did Adam eat the forbidden fruit anyway? GRANDMOTHER: Oh, never underestimate the power of temptation. It's a terrible trap to fall in John. (Grandmother exits.) YOUNG JOHN: If I had been there, it wouldn't of happened. There'd be no such thing as sin. (Young John runs to catch up with Grandmother.) Scene One (Curtain opens with John sitting with a stack of books around him. He is reading one of them. Christi runs on stage.) CHRISTI: John, JOHN: Go away. Can't you see I'm busy. CHRISTI: Steve and Darron are at the door. JOHN: So? CHRISTI: They want you to shoot some hoop. (John looks up from his book for the first time.) JOHN: They want me to do what? CHRISTI: Play basketball with them. JOHN: Tell them I can't. (Pauses to make up an excuse) I got homework. CHRISTI: Too much reading will make you fat. (Christi runs off stage. John throws a book at her.) (To Johns' friends) John can't. (sarcastic) He's reading. That's all he ever does. Can I play? (Door slams from off stage. Door opens again.) I'm going outside to play. (Door slams shut.) MOTHER: (Calls from off stage) John. Garbage pickup is tomorrow. John? John! (Mother enters.) MOTHER: John, there you are. I use my loudest voice to call you, and you still don't hear me. Are you deaf? John? You always have your nose in a book. Pay attention to me, for once. John are you listening to me? JOHN: Uh huh. MOTHER: John close that book this instant. Listen to me. JOHN: Oh hi Mom. MOTHER: Another Atlas? JOHN: Dad brought it home. This one was published in 1902. MOTHER: You're not still looking for the Garden of Paradise? For the last eight years that is all I've heard about. A boy your age should be thinking seriously about a career, and going out with a nice girl. Jenny's nice. What do you think about Jenny? JOHN: There's plenty of nice girls in the Garden of Paradise, Mom. MOTHER: Jenny's out of the question huh. (John's attention returns to the atlas.) JOHN: Mmm...was Poland a country that year? (Mother takes the book from John.) MOTHER: Have you seen Christi? JOHN: Yeah, she was bugging me a little while ago. MOTHER: You were supposed to be watching your little sister. I work. I pass through the front door at six. Christi's bus drops her off at four. I'm only asking you to watch her for two hours. JOHN: Christi went out to play basketball. MOTHER: With whom? JOHN: Umm. MOTHER: You were to busy reading to notice. John, how many Atlas's do you own? How many history books? Plenty. Right? In all those volumes of books, have you found one reference to the Garden of Paradise? You haven't. Have you? JOHN: No, not yet. MOTHER: How do you know your Garden of Eden even exists? JOHN: Grandma says it exists. MOTHER: Yes, but-- JOHN: Grandma never lied to me. The gardens there and I'll find it. MOTHER: John, you're nuts. JOHN: I just have to look for it. That's all. MOTHER: Did it ever occur to you that Grandmother told you that story to inspire you to do well at school? JOHN: I get good grades at school. MOTHER: That's not the point. My daughter doesn't read enough, and my son does nothing else but read. JOHN: How else am I going to find the garden of Eden? MOTHER: Go out and look for it, after you baby-sit your sister and take out the trash. Why can't my son be normal, like everyone else? JOHN: I'm normal enough for me. MOTHER: Normal children don't waste their time searching for mythical gardens. JOHN: People didn't believe in the ancient city Troy, until some crazed wacko dug up the remains. I'm going out for a walk in the woods. See you later. MOTHER: John. (John exits) John! Take out the garbage before you go. Wear a poncho and some boots. It's going to rain tonight. (Curtain closes.) Scene Two (Curtain opens. The stage dimly lit, showing a backdrop of woods. There is a rumble or two of thunder. John enters.) JOHN: Take out the trash. Watch your crummy sister. I hate taking out the garbage. Christi doesn't stay still long enough, for any one to watch her. You should be thinking about a career. Nag nag nag. I am thinking about a career. I'm going to be an explorer or an archeologist. Finding the Garden of Paradise will make me famous before I'm twenty -- one. Jenny's a nice girl. I told her, I was going to find the Garden of Paradise. Jenny laughed in my face. Yeah, sure Mom, Jenny is a nice girl. Aren't parents great? Then there is Gina Kalonzinski. She's best friends with Jenny, and Jenny had to go out and broadcast the news, to everybody. They won't even talk to me. Why would I want to go out with them? Let's just forget marriage. O.K.? Famous people don't worry about marriage. I'll bet that the Garden of Paradise makes these woods look shabby. Why couldn't Eve just leave the tree of knowledge alone? Adam didn't have to eat the forbidden fruit. If only if, it had been me. The rest of history would have never happened. (Thunder and lightning, the sound of heavy wind and rain.) JOHN: I should have brought my poncho. (John slips on the way off stage. Stage goes black.) Scene Three (Rain and thunder continue. John enters stage on the same side came in two lines ago. He slips and falls two more times. Spot light comes up on Mother of the Winds, in the mouth of a cave. She adds a branch to the fire next to her.) MOTHER OF THE WINDS: Well, I'll be...What's that boy doing here? Trespassing and up to trouble, I'd wager. The boy is probably unaware that he strayed so far from home. I can't remember the last time a visitor stopped by. If a woman can handle the four winds, she can surely handle a nasty little human. Besides, this could be fun. (Calls to John) Come in child. Come in by the fire, so that your clothes will dry. (John enters the cavern.) JOHN: Thank you. Did you come in here to get out of the rain too? (John warms himself by the fire.) MOTHER OF THE WIND: The boy is definitely lost. JOHN: Brrrrrrr...I'm still cold. There's a terrible draft in here. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: It will be worse when my children come home. You are in the cavern of the winds. JOHN: The cavern of the where? MOTHER OF THE WINDS: The cavern of the winds. Do you understand? JOHN: No. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: The four winds are my children. JOHN: Oh yeah, of course. Where are they now? MOTHER OF THE WINDS: Well, aren't you nosy? There isn't an easy answer. My children do as they like. They are out playing ball with the clouds in the great hall. JOHN: I thought all old ladies were pleasant and polite. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: Old la... JOHN: That didn't come out the way I meant. Errrr...why do you sound so bitter? MOTHER OF THE WINDS: First: If you don't want old ladies to be cross, than don't remind them that they are old. As for your next question, I have nothing better to do than be a cross old lady. I have to be harsh if I am to keep my children under control. I can do it you know, although they are a stiff-necked lot. Do you see those four bags hanging on the wall? JOHN: Yes. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: They are as frightened as you would be. What if your parents grounded you indefinitely? JOHN: Then I could read my books in peace. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: When you finish reading your books, what happens then? JOHN: Then? MOTHER OF THE WINDS: Then you find out indefinitely can be forever. JOHN: Forever is a very long time. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: I can double any one of my children up. I tell you. Then they have to go into the bag. There they stay. They can't get out to play their tricks till it suits me to let them out. Enough said. Here comes one of them now. (There is a sound of howling wind. The North Wind enters.) JOHN: Don't come too close to the fire. You might have frostbite. NORTH WIND: Frostbite! (laughs) Why frostbite is one of my greatest delights. What sort of feeble creature are you? How did you get into the cave of the winds? MOTHER OF THE WINDS: He is my guest. If that explanation doesn't win your approval, you may go into the bag. Do you understand me? NORTH WIND: Perfectly. Are the North Winds' pleasures and pastimes still fresh air for your soul? MOTHER OF THE WIND: North Wind, you have my undivided attention. NORTH WIND: Magnificent. I come from the Arctic seas. I have been on Behring Island with the Russian walrus hunters. (John looks confused.) I sat at the helm and slept when they sailed from the north cape. When I woke now and then, the stormy petrels were flying about my legs. They are queer birds. They flap their wings briskly and then stretch them out motionless. Even then, they have plenty of speed. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: Don't be too long-winded. So at last you got to Behring Island? NORTH WIND: It's perfectly splendid! There you have a floor to dance on, as flat as a lake in the distance. Half thawed snow and moss cover the island. JOHN: The North Wind. Yeah, sure. The North Wind is just standing in front of me, telling a story. NORTH WIND: (To John) Don't interrupt, boy. (To Mother of the Winds) Bones of whales and polar bears lie about, which look as if the legs and arms of giants covered with green mold. One would think that the sun had never shone on them. MOTHER OF THE WIND: What else did you see? NORTH WIND: I gave a little puff to the fog. I discovered a house, built of wreckage and covered with whale skins. A polar bear sat on the roof growling. JOHN: (John pinches himself and feels it.) O. K., The North Wind is right in front of me, telling a story. NORTH WIND: (To John) Quiet. (Complain to Mother of the Winds) Mother. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: (harshly to John) Quiet boy. (Pleasantly to North Wind) Please, continue. NORTH WIND: I went to the shore to see the bird nests, and saw the featherless young birds screaming and gaping. I blew down thousands of their throats. That taught them to shut their mouths. (Mother of the Wind snickers.) A little farther, the walruses were rolling like monster maggots, with pigs' heads and teeth a yard long! MOTHER OF THE WINDS: You are a good storyteller, my child. It makes my mouth water to hear you. (Walrus hunters enter, wielding harpoons. They act out the North Winds' story.) NORTH WIND: Then there was a hunt. Harpoons plunged into the walruses' breasts. The streaming blood spurted over the ice like fountains. JOHN: How gross. NORTH WIND: Then I remembered my part of the game. I blew mountain- high icebergs against the boats. Whew! How the crews whistled and screamed. I whistled louder. They hurled the dead walruses, chests and ropes out onto the ice. I shook snowflakes over them (Walrus hunters exit.) and let them drift south to taste the salt water. They will never return to Behring Island. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: (moves toward North Wind) Then you've been doing evil. NORTH WIND: What good I did, the others may tell you. (Zephyr enters) Here we have my brother from the West. (to John) I like him the most. He smells of the sea, and brings a wonderful cool breeze with him. JOHN: Is that the little Zephyr? MOTHER OF THE WINDS: Yes, it certainly is Zephyr. NORTH WIND: He is not so little as all that. MOTHER OF THE WIND: He use to be a fine boy. That was long ago. (to Zephyr) And where have you been? ZEPHYR: Out in the wilderness, where thorny creepers make a fence between every tree. In the mettles where the water snake lies in the wet grass, (pauses and looks directly at John) and where humans are a novelty. NORTH WIND: Mother invited him. ZEPHYR: (surprised) Mother did? Then I welcome him with open arms. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: (sweetly) Tell us, what did you do out in the wild? ZEPHYR: I looked at a mighty river. I saw where it dashed over the rocks, and flew with the clouds to carry the rainbow. (Looks back at Mother of Winds for approval.) MOTHER OF THE WINDS: (bored) What else did you see? ZEPHYR: (louder) A wild buffalo swam in the river. The stream carried him away. He floated with the wild duck, which soared into the sky at the rapids. (Mother of the Winds nudges John and prods a question.) JOHN: And? ZEPHYR: The water carried the buffalo until the bank reached out its mighty arm and rescued him. I liked that, and blew up a storm so big that it whirled the primeval trees about like shavings. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: (crossly) You have done nothing else? ZEPHYR: (proudly) I have been turning somersaults in the Savannah, patting the wild horse and shaking down coconuts. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: That's it? ZEPHYR: Oh, I have plenty of stories. You know very well old woman, one need not tell everything all at one time. (Zephyr kisses his mother, who falls backwards.) (South Wind enters and puts down a box on the caves' floor.) SOUTH WIND: It is fearfully cold in here. It is easy to see that the North Wind got here first. NORTH WIND: It is hot enough to roast a polar bear. SOUTH WIND: You are a polar bear. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: Do you want to go into the bag? Sit down on that stone and tell us where you've been. SOUTH WIND: In Africa Mother. I have been chasing lions with the Hottentots in Kaffirland. What grass there is on those plains, as green as an olive. The gnu was dancing about. The ostriches ran races with me. JOHN: You won of course. SOUTH WIND: I'm still the fastest. I went to the desert with its yellow sand. (Caravan enters, and acts out South Winds story.) It looks like the bottom of the sea. I met a caravan. They were killing their last camel to get water to drink. JOHN: Did the caravan get enough water? SOUTH WIND: They didn't get much. The sun was blazing above and burning below. I burrowed into the fine loose sand and whirled it into huge columns. ZEPHYR: That must be a sight. SOUTH WIND: It was a dance. You should have seen how devastated they looked, and how the merchant drew his caftan over his head. (laughs) He threw himself down before me, as if I was Allah, his god. NORTH WIND: I'm sure you liked that. Where did you leave the caravan my dear sister? (Caravan sinks from a bow, to a slumped dead position. Spot light goes out. Caravan quietly exit.) SOUTH WIND: Why I buried them, as you might have guessed, if you were thinking. I covered them with a pyramid of sand. (John gasps in horror.) SOUTH WIND: When I blow it away, sometime, the sun will bleach their bones. Travelers will see that people have been there before them. MOTHER OF THE WIND: Then you have only been doing harm. Into the bag you go. (Mother of the Wind grabs the South Wind by the waist a puts a bag over the wind. The South Wind rolls about on the floor until the Mother of the Wind sits on the bag.) JOHN: (still feeling squeamish) Your children are something else. MOTHER OF THE WIND: Yes indeed, but I can master them. Here comes the fourth. (East Wind enters. Mother of the Wind looks at him.) Oh, you have come from that quarter of the world? I thought you had been in the Garden of Paradise. EAST WIND: I am going there tomorrow. It will be one hundred years since I have been there. JOHN: You're going where? EAST WIND: We have a visitor. (takes Johns hands and holds them.) Charmed to meet you. JOHN: (surprised) Why thank you. EAST WIND: (to family) I have just come back from China. (Chinese crowd enters.) I danced round the porcelain tower till all the bells jingled. The people in the streets ranging from the first to ninth rank, flogged the officials. CHINESE CROWD: (or everyone backstage) Many thanks, Father and benefactor. EAST WIND: They shrieked. The people didn't mean what they said. I went on ringing the bells, singing "Tsing, tsang, tsu!" (Mob runs off stage.) MOTHER OF THE WINDS: You're quite happy about it. It's a blessing you're going to the Garden of Paradise tomorrow. It always affects your behavior wonderfully. Drink deep of the well of wisdom mind you, and bring a bottle home for me. EAST WIND: That I will. Why have you put my little sister from the South into the bag? Out with her! MOTHER OF THE WINDS: No. I will do no such act. EAST WIND: She must tell me about the phoenix. The Princess always wants to hear about that bird when I call. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: I put your sister into the bag because she deserves to be there. EAST WIND: Open the bag. Then you'll be my sweetest mother. MOTHER OF THE WINDS: My answer stands. EAST WIND: I'll give you two pockets full of tea as green and fresh as when I picked it. MOTHER OF THE WIND: Well, for the sake of the tea, and because you are my darling, I will open the bag. (Mother of the Wind opens the bag. South Wind crawls out embarrassed.) JOHN: Who is the Princess? ZEPHYR: She is the queen of the fairies. EAST WIND: What news do you have of the phoenix? SOUTH WIND: (picks up box, opens it) Here is a palm leaf for the Princess. The old phoenix gave it to me. (South Wind gives East Wind the palm leaf. South wind examines the leaf closely.) EAST WIND: Why the old bird wrote on it. SOUTH WIND: He scratched his whole history on it with his bill. EAST WIND: The old phoenix's entire history? SOUTH WIND: Well, the last one hundred years anyway. EAST WIND: I have to have one story for the Princess. SOUTH WIND: The Princess can read it for herself. JOHN: You are all full of stories. You can't think of one more yarn that the phoenix didn't write? NORTH WIND: Aren't we getting nippy? SOUTH WIND: What a cold tone, dear brother. NORTH WIND: You're full of hot air. Tell us about the old phoenix. (Mother of the Wind reaches for one of her bags. Everybody notices.) SOUTH WIND: I was just warming up to the story. There is only one phoenix you know. The bird set fire to his nest, and sat on it as it burnt. It smoked. The branches crackled. What a smell there was. (Mother of the Winds puts the bag back where it was.) At last it all burst into flame. The old phoenix burnt to ashes. His egg lay glowing in the fire. It broke with a loud bang, and the young one flew out. JOHN: Awww--some. SOUTH WIND: Now it rules over all the birds, and it is the only phoenix in the world. He bit a hole in leaf I gave you. That is his greeting to the Princess. JOHN: So when are we going to the Garden of Paradise? EAST WIND: When are we going? Since when, are we going anywhere? Tomorrow I am going to the Garden of Paradise. JOHN: Please, I want to see the princess. (Curtain closes.) Act II Scene One (Mother enters front of curtain.) MOTHER: This isn't like him. John should be home by now. That was the fiercest thunder storm we've had in ages. I thought he may of stayed over at a friend's house, but John is always home in time for breakfast. Now it's suppertime. Lightning could have struck him. The wind may have torn off a tree branch and left John in a coma. I'm calling 911. (Mother exits.) (Christi enters from the behind the audience.) CHRISTI: John. John! Where are you? (She asks one of the audience) Excuse me, I'm looking for my big brother. He's real tall and wears glasses. Have you seen him? (If audience member says "yes he just saw John in a cave with the four winds," take a few steps toward the stage. Turn around. Repeat the answer. Look directly at the audience member, and say "Not!" If the answer is "No I haven't." say "Well if you see him, tell John to come home." and ask one more audience member closer to the stage.) (Mother enters.) MOTHER: (talking into the receiver of a telephone) No, not a sign of him yet. I'm sure I'll find him. You just stay home and watch for John. He may come back on his own. I'll call you back when I hear something. (She hangs up the phone,) CHRISTI: (scrambles on stage, stops and surveys audience) John. John! Answer me. Where are you? MOTHER: (looks at her watch) Christi where have you been? You should have been home an hour ago. CHRISTI: Mom, when is John coming home? MOTHER: I don't know honey. (Christi and Mother exit.) Scene Two (Curtain opens. John is asleep in a beautiful wood. There is a bridge leading off stage. Flowers are peering at John from a safe distance.) FLOWERS: (in melodic whispers) Oh, what is it? Hard to say. The East Wind dragged it in. Does the princess know about this? Shhhh... It is waking up. JOHN: (yawns and stretches.) What a weird dream. I dreamed that I was sitting by a fire talking to the four winds and their mother. (John shakes his head.) The East Wind said she would take me with her to the Garden of Paradise. She gently carried me on her back. Woods, fields, rivers and lakes looked like a large map right out of one of my atlases. I could hear the trees rustle as we passed. Night came. I still remember the sound of the East Winds' voice, as if this really happened. The lights from towns and cities were awesome. EAST WIND: (from off stage) You better hold on tight. You're going to fall and find yourself hanging onto a church steeple. JOHN: We out ran eagles, and galloping horses. EAST WIND: (from off stage) Now you can see the Himalayas. They are the highest mountains in Asia. JOHN: As we went south, the air smelled like spices and flowers. I remember asking: Are we there yet? EAST WIND: (from off stage) No, we still have a long way to go. Do you see that wall of rock? JOHN: We are headed straight for it. EAST WIND: (from off stage) Do you see the great cavern where the wild vine hangs like a big curtain? JOHN: Yeah, I see it. EAST WIND: (from off stage) We have to go through there. JOHN: The cave was ice cold, and dark, right out of a late night horror movie. From the light of the East Winds' wings, the cave looked like the chapel of the dead. Organ pipes and banners turned into stone, were the standard decor. What a crazy dream. (East Wind enters.) EAST WIND: Good Morning! JOHN: (John jumps, shocked) Maybe that wasn't a dream. EAST WIND: I thought you would never wake up. JOHN: So this is the Garden of Paradise? EAST WIND: The one and only. No human has been here since Adam and Eve. You know all about them, I suppose? JOHN: Of course. EAST WIND: When God drove them out, the Garden of Eden sank into the ground. It kept its warm sunshine, mild air and all its charm though. JOHN: Your family must think I was very rude. I left without saying good-bye. EAST WIND: Oh, they will excuse you. You were asleep. JOHN: I was awake for some of the time. I remember following a river, when we were in the cave. EAST WIND: The river with the purple eels swimming in it? The eels with the dancing blue sparks as they curved through the water? JOHN: Yeah that's the one. Was that the River Styx? EAST WIND: (nods) We had to pass through Deaths' cavern to reach the Garden of Paradise. JOHN: No wonder I was having trouble finding it on a map. EAST WIND: Very few travels through Death's domain and live to tell about it. JOHN: Am I dead? That would explain a lot. Lightning didn't strike me during that terrible storm, did it? Maybe I fell into a ravine. You didn't tear down a tree and club me over the head, did you? The rocks were real slippery, and-- EAST WIND: (cuts John off) Death was elsewhere, taking care of business. He wasn't at home John. JOHN: No offense. EAST WIND: You are right about one fact. Procrastination, in this case, is a wise policy. I'm planning to steer well out of Death's way myself. JOHN: The winds are immortal. Why are you afraid of Death? EAST WIND: He is friends with my mother. JOHN: Oh. (to himself) That makes sense. EAST WIND: Listen closely. (slowly) Death cannot enter here. JOHN: That's a relief. EAST WIND: At least, he never has before. (John looks worried again.) Come on, I'll give you the grand tour. JOHN: I always imagined this happening--well, different from this. (Sound of children singing old song from childhood, like "The Marvelous Toy," comes from back stage.) EAST WIND: No place is more elegant. JOHN: Wow. Look at the flock of peacocks. EAST WIND: Look closer. JOHN: (John touches one.) Why, it's a flower. EAST WIND: Have you ever seen such rich and mighty trees? They look like palm trees, which lost their way when they were still seeds. So they took root on the sea's floor instead. JOHN: Who's singing? EAST WIND: The local vegetation. Mostly flowers and leaves. JOHN: They have wonderful voices. EAST WIND: Beyond the bridge is the Princess's palace. JOHN: (awed) It's crystal. EAST WIND: Her palace is full of windows. The walls are the colors of Dutch tulip beds in the spring. The ceiling is a giant shining flower. JOHN: Tell me more. EAST WIND: There is a large lofty room. The walls are like transparent paintings of faces. Each is more beautiful than the other. Millions of the Blessed smile and sing. Their songs melt into one perfect melody. Do you see the lion? JOHN: A lion? Where? EAST WIND: Among the green hedges. A wild dove is beating his golden mane with its wings. JOHN: The lion won't bite will he? EAST WIND: He'd let you pet him, if you could catch him. Do you want to try? (Fairy of the Garden enters, surrounded by beautiful girls) JOHN: Uh... EAST WIND: Never mind. This is you someone that you have to meet. She is the fairy of the garden; the princess herself. JOHN: I knew there were plenty of beautiful girls in the Garden of Paradise. EAST WIND: (Takes out the palm leaf from his jacket. She hands it to the Princess.) The Phoenix reached his five-hundredth birthday. He sent you a gift. (Princess takes the leaf. She reads some of it and smiles.) PRINCESS: Captivating. My old friend left me his diary. East Wind you are full of surprises. Not only did you bring a present from the great bird, but you brought a visitor as well. EAST WIND: Does it please you, my lady? PRINCESS: Indeed, a human is rare company. Not since Adam and Eve have I enjoyed such a privilege. JOHN: You knew Adam and Eve? PRINCESS: We were close acquaintances. JOHN: Strange, the Bible doesn't mention a beautiful princess. PRINCESS: It doesn't? What a pity. Let us talk about you now. How may I enchant you? Will you tour my palace? JOHN: Could I? All right! (Princess takes John by the hand, and leads them over the stairs, into the audience. Backdrop goes on stage. Princess takes John and the East Wind to the most convenient exit.) PRINCESS: Look through that gate. (John opens the door.) JOHN: The tree of knowledge. (East Wind peers over Johns' shoulder.) EAST WIND: The golden apples hang like oranges among its green leaves. JOHN: Is the tree diseased? Where did the red spots on the leaves come from? EAST WIND: (cringes) That tree weeps with tears of blood. PRINCESS: Those red spots are shiny drops of dew. Come, there is much more to see. Scene Three (Divide the backdrop into three sections. Each is a separate window frame. The tree of knowledge stands in all its glory on one. Lights come up. Adam and Eve pantomime the Garden of Eden story from Genesis under it. Jacob's Ladder leads up to heaven on the other end. Angels with great wings dance around the ladder. People from different periods come and go in the center. John runs up on stage. East Wind and Princess follow.) JOHN: It's Adam and Eve. She's giving Adam the forbidden fruit. Wait! Don't do it. Adam, listen to me. Stop! EAST WIND: (Catches up to John and grabs him by the shoulders.) John-- JOHN: Let me go. I must stop them. (John struggles to free himself from the East Winds grasp.) Let me go. (Adam bites into the apple. East Wind releases his grip.) EAST WIND: John. JOHN: Why did you stop me? Now, it's too late. (John stares at the East Wind.) Why? PRINCESS: (laughs) What a big fuss your making. JOHN: Why is she laughing at me? What's so amusing? EAST WIND: It's only a picture. JOHN: But...They look real as life. EAST WIND: Adam and Eve left the Garden of Paradise long ago. You told me you knew all about them. JOHN: I've never seen life sized, three dimensional videos before. PRINCESS: Isn't Father Time wonderful? JOHN: Father Time? PRINCESS: Yes, he is a remarkable painter. EAST WIND: Only Father Time imprints such incredible portrayals into each window pane. JOHN: His pictures are so convincing. PRINCESS: Don't feel bad. Father Time has a marvelous sense of realism. Now and then I feel as if I'm part of the picture too. JOHN: What a beautiful rendition of Jacob's Ladder. PRINCESS: Why thank you. JOHN: What's this picture in the middle? EAST WIND: History: All that has ever happened in this world appears and fades like a reflection in a mirror. JOHN: Can I stay here forever? PRINCESS: That depends on you. JOHN: Please say yes. PRINCESS: If you can resist temptation, and stay away from what is forbidden, you may remain here. JOHN: I will not touch the apples on the tree of knowledge. There are thousands of other fruits around. PRINCESS: Test yourself then. If you are not strong enough, go back with the East Wind. He is leaving now, and will not return for a hundred years. JOHN: I don't want to come back with the East Wind. I want to stay here. EAST WIND: One hundred years is a long time for temptation and sin. PRINCESS: Every evening I retire to my palace. I must beckon to you. I must utter: Come with me. JOHN: I'll do what ever you ask. PRINCESS: Ignore my bidding. Stay behind! JOHN: Why? PRINCESS: With every step you take, your longing will grow stronger. You will reach the hall where the tree of knowledge grows. I sleep beneath its fragrant branches. You will bend over me and I must smile. I will offer you a dream and give you a nightmare. Paradise will sink down further into the earth. It will vanish completely. The sharp winds of the wilderness will whistle around you. The cold rain will drop from your hair. JOHN: This all started in the wind and the rain. I'd be no worse off than I was then. PRINCESS: Sorrow and labor will be your lot. JOHN: I'm staying here. EAST WIND: Be courageous. We will meet again in a hundred years. Farewell. (East Wind exits.) FLOWERS: (whisper) Good bye, Good bye. PRINCESS: Now we begin our dance. When the sun goes down, you will watch me entice you. I will cry: Come to me. Do not move. I must repeat it every night for a hundred years. Each time you battle, you will grow stronger. JOHN: I'll resist your call. Don't worry. PRINCESS Tonight is the first time. Remember my warning. (Lights dim to black. The picture of Jacob's Ladder is moved off stage. The Princess lies beneath the tree of wisdom, where Adam and Eve acted out their story. On the other side of the stage, beautiful girls surround John. One serves him a glass of wine as the lights come up. The flowers have arranged themselves down stage and center.) JOHN: The Garden is everything I ever dreamed of, and more. PRINCESS: (Stands up, and calls.) John. John. My beloved child. JOHN: The East Wind was wrong. The tree doesn't drip tears of blood. PRINCESS: Forget my warning. FLOWERS: No John. Don't listen to her. JOHN: I thought the tree was diseased. PRINCESS: Come with me, John. JOHN: Those red spots are really bright shining red stars. FLOWERS: Listen to me, John. PRINCESS: Ignorance has a way of jumping out of dark corners and knifing you, when you least expect it to, John. MOTHER: (from backstage) The best way to expand your knowledge is to go out and do things John. PRINCESS: I know an easier way. BEAUTIFUL GIRLS: (or everyone back stage) The Princess summons you. Go to her, hurry. PRINCESS: Knowledge is glory. It's wise to have power. The kingdom is within your grasp. JOHN: The air smells sensational. (Princess stretches and lies back down.) MOTHER: (from backstage) John. John, don't you hear me? JOHN: Like a library. PRINCESS: Come with me. BEAUTIFUL GIRLS: The Princess demands your presence. PRINCESS: John. John don't you hear me? Why do you hesitate? JOHN: I'm coming. (John rushes toward her, and stops.) GRANDMOTHER: (from backstage) Temptation is a terrible trap John. MOTHER: Listen to me John. JOHN: It's not wrong. BEAUTIFUL GIRLS: Swiftly John, race ahead. FLOWERS: Will power. Remember the Princess's warning. PRINCESS: Trust me John. JOHN: I must see the Princess. BEAUTIFUL GIRLS: Quick, go with her now. JOHN: (weakly) Will power. (John goes to the Princess.) BEAUTIFUL GIRLS: Run John. (Beautiful Girls and Flower exit.) (Princess smiles in her sleep.) JOHN: (Squats and runs fingers through Princess's hair.) She is crying. Do you weep for me? Don't cry my beautiful Princess. I only now understand the full joy of Paradise. It surges through my blood and through my thoughts. (John pauses and notices something.) A book. (John picks up a book that was next to the Princess.) It fell from the tree of knowledge. (John stands, addressing the audience.) I feel the strength of angels and of everlasting life. Even if everlasting night comes over me, a moment like this is worth it. (John opens the book. Light dims. John drops the book, stumbles back to the other side of the stage and collapses. Spot light comes up on the Princess as she slithers off stage. Stage goes black.) Scene Four (Mic. the thunder. Change scene to woods and cave of winds. John is looks dead when the lights come up. It is raining. Mother of the Wind argues with Death.) DEATH: Neither you, nor your children, have the right to port creatures through my domain. MOTHER OF THE WIND: The East Wind meant you no harm. DEATH: She's a smuggler, and you're her accomplice. MOTHER OF THE WIND: The Princess is my daughters' hero. DEATH: And that justifies her actions? (John starts to get up.) MOTHER OF THE WIND: She merely sought to please the princess with the boys' company. DEATH: (notices John) Is this the Princess's noble companion? JOHN: I'm history. MOTHER OF THE WIND: On the very first evening. I thought as much. If you were my boy, you'd go into the bag. DEATH: He shall soon go there. JOHN: (scared) You're going to put me into one of the bags? DEATH: I am going to put you into a coffin. JOHN: Great. I just got kicked out of Paradise. Do I have to die all in the same day? MOTHER OF THE WIND: Stuff the boy into your coffin then. My bag is too good for him. DEATH: Don't push me into a rash conclusion. Smuggling, of all the underhanded- - MOTHER OF THE WIND: Right you are. There is no need for hasty judgment. (sighs) To have the company of a human, delighted the Princess so. DEATH: Today--I'll only mark him, and then leave him to wander about on the earth. MOTHER OF THE WIND: The boy is young yet. That will give him a chance to absolve his crimes and grow better. JOHN: So, you are going to let me go? DEATH: I will not forget you. I will be back when you least expect me. JOHN: What then? DEATH: (Death pushes back her hood. She is even more beautiful than the Princess) I'll lift you on my shoulders and carry you into the skies. MOTHER OF THE WIND: The Garden of Paradise blooms there too. DEATH: If he is good and holy, he will enter the Garden. MOTHER OF THE WIND: What if his thoughts are wicked and his heart is still full of sin? DEATH: He will sink deeper than Paradise sank. (very sad) JOHN: Forever? DEATH: I'll return one day, to observe if you're ready to sink deeper or prepared to rise to the stars. (Death and Mother of the Wind exit. Mother enters.) MOTHER: Thank you, Lord. John. I knew I could find you if I searched long enough. You look dead. Where have you been? If you say the Garden of Paradise, I'm going to break every bone in your body. JOHN: I was in the Garden of Paradise. MOTHER: John. JOHN: I was there long enough to make Adam look like a saint. MOTHER: John, look at me. I want you to stop hunting for the Garden of Paradise. JOHN: Mom. I won't be looking for the Garden anymore. MOTHER: That's a relief. Do you promise? JOHN: I promise. I'll do everything in my power to get back there again. CHRISTI: (calls from off stage) Mom. (Christi rushes on stage. She comes to a complete stop when she sees John and Mother.) Mom! (brightens) John. (at the same time) MOTHER: (upset) Christi. JOHN: (excited) Christi. MOTHER: I told you to stay at home and wait for your father. CHRISTI: Dad's home. JOHN: Hey Christi, later on will you show me how to play basketball? CHRISTI: Really? Yeah! Mom, guess what? John wants me to teach him basketball. John said so. (Curtain closes.)