Read Online Brecht Collected Plays: 1: Baal; Drums in the Night; In the Jungle of Cities; Life of Edward II of England; & 5 One Act Plays: "Baal", "Drums in the Night", "In the Jungle of Ci (World Classics) by Bertolt Brecht - Free Book Online
Authors: Bertolt Brecht
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humour, Ekart.
PARSON : Don’t you realize how childish your plan was?
To Ekart
: What does your friend want?
BAAL
leaning back
: In the evening when it gets dark – of course, it has to be evening and of course the sky must be cloudy – when the air is warm and the wind gentle, the bulls come. They come trotting from every direction, an impressive sight. And the poor farmers stand in the middle and don’t know what to do with the bulls, and they’ve miscalculated: all they get is an impressive sight. I like people who miscalculate. And where else can you see so many animals together?
PARSON : And just for this you wanted to mobilize seven villages?
BAAL : What are seven villages compared with an impressive sight?
PARSON : Now I understand. You’re just a poor fellow. With a particular liking for bulls, I suppose?
BAAL : Come, Ekart, he’s spoilt it all. Christians don’t love animals any more.
PARSON
laughs, then seriously
: I can’t agree with you there. Be off now, and don’t make yourselves conspicuous. I think I’m rendering you a considerable service.
BAAL : Let’s go, Ekart. You’ve missed your treat, brother.
He slowly leaves with Ekart
.
PARSON : Good evening! I’ll settle the gentlemen’s bill.
LANDLORD
behind the table
: Eleven gins, your reverence.
Trees in the Evening
Six or seven woodcutters are sitting on the ground leaning against a tree, among them Baal. A corpse in the grass
.
FIRST WOODCUTTER : It was an oak tree. It didn’t kill him at once. He suffered.
SECOND WOODCUTTER : Only this morning he said the weather seemed to be getting better. This is how he liked it, green and a bit of rain. And the wood not too dry.
THIRD WOODCUTTER : He was a good lad, Teddy. He used to keep a small shop somewhere. In the old days. Used to be as fat as a priest. He ruined his business on account of a woman, and he came up here. Lost a bit of his paunch every year.
ANOTHER WOODCUTTER : Didn’t he ever say anything about the woman?
THIRD WOODCUTTER : No. And I don’t know that he wanted to go back. He saved quite a bit, but maybe that was because he was abstemious. Nobody tells the truth up here. It’s better that way.
A WOODCUTTER : Last week he said he was going north this winter. It seems he had a cabin somewhere up there. Didn’t he tell you where, elephant?
To Baal
: You were talking about it, weren’t you?
BAAL : Leave me alone. I don’t know anything.
THE PREVIOUS ONE : You wouldn’t be thinking of moving in yourself, eh?
SECOND WOODCUTTER : You can’t trust that one. Remember how he put our boots in the water that night, so we couldn’t go to the forest the next day. Only because he was lazy as usual.
ANOTHER WOODCUTTER : He does nothing for his money.
BAAL : It’s not a day for wrangling. Can’t you spare a thought for poor Teddy?
A WOODCUTTER : Where were you when he packed in?
Baal gets up, sways over the grass to Teddy. He sits there
.
THE PREVIOUS ONE : Look, he can’t walk straight!
ANOTHER : Leave him alone! The elephant had a shock!
THE THIRD : Can’t you keep it quiet just for today while he’s lying there.
THE OTHER : What are you doing to Teddy, elephant?
BAAL
by the corpse
: Teddy is at peace, and we are the opposite. Both are good. The sky is black. The trees shudder. Somewhere clouds gather. That is the setting. One eats. After sleep one wakes. Not him. Us. And that’s doubly good.
THE OTHER : What did you say the sky was like?
BAAL : The sky is black.
THE OTHER : You’re not all there. The good ones always cop it first.
BAAL : How right you are, my dear chap!
A WOODCUTTER : It couldn’t happen to Baal. He’s never around where there’s work.
BAAL : But Teddy, he was a hard worker. Teddy was generous. Teddy was friendly. One thing’s certain: Teddy
was
.
THE SECOND : Wonder where he is now?
BAAL
points to the dead man
: There he is.
THE THIRD : I always get the feeling that the wind is made of dead souls, especially on spring
PARSON : Don’t you realize how childish your plan was?
To Ekart
: What does your friend want?
BAAL
leaning back
: In the evening when it gets dark – of course, it has to be evening and of course the sky must be cloudy – when the air is warm and the wind gentle, the bulls come. They come trotting from every direction, an impressive sight. And the poor farmers stand in the middle and don’t know what to do with the bulls, and they’ve miscalculated: all they get is an impressive sight. I like people who miscalculate. And where else can you see so many animals together?
PARSON : And just for this you wanted to mobilize seven villages?
BAAL : What are seven villages compared with an impressive sight?
PARSON : Now I understand. You’re just a poor fellow. With a particular liking for bulls, I suppose?
BAAL : Come, Ekart, he’s spoilt it all. Christians don’t love animals any more.
PARSON
laughs, then seriously
: I can’t agree with you there. Be off now, and don’t make yourselves conspicuous. I think I’m rendering you a considerable service.
BAAL : Let’s go, Ekart. You’ve missed your treat, brother.
He slowly leaves with Ekart
.
PARSON : Good evening! I’ll settle the gentlemen’s bill.
LANDLORD
behind the table
: Eleven gins, your reverence.
Trees in the Evening
Six or seven woodcutters are sitting on the ground leaning against a tree, among them Baal. A corpse in the grass
.
FIRST WOODCUTTER : It was an oak tree. It didn’t kill him at once. He suffered.
SECOND WOODCUTTER : Only this morning he said the weather seemed to be getting better. This is how he liked it, green and a bit of rain. And the wood not too dry.
THIRD WOODCUTTER : He was a good lad, Teddy. He used to keep a small shop somewhere. In the old days. Used to be as fat as a priest. He ruined his business on account of a woman, and he came up here. Lost a bit of his paunch every year.
ANOTHER WOODCUTTER : Didn’t he ever say anything about the woman?
THIRD WOODCUTTER : No. And I don’t know that he wanted to go back. He saved quite a bit, but maybe that was because he was abstemious. Nobody tells the truth up here. It’s better that way.
A WOODCUTTER : Last week he said he was going north this winter. It seems he had a cabin somewhere up there. Didn’t he tell you where, elephant?
To Baal
: You were talking about it, weren’t you?
BAAL : Leave me alone. I don’t know anything.
THE PREVIOUS ONE : You wouldn’t be thinking of moving in yourself, eh?
SECOND WOODCUTTER : You can’t trust that one. Remember how he put our boots in the water that night, so we couldn’t go to the forest the next day. Only because he was lazy as usual.
ANOTHER WOODCUTTER : He does nothing for his money.
BAAL : It’s not a day for wrangling. Can’t you spare a thought for poor Teddy?
A WOODCUTTER : Where were you when he packed in?
Baal gets up, sways over the grass to Teddy. He sits there
.
THE PREVIOUS ONE : Look, he can’t walk straight!
ANOTHER : Leave him alone! The elephant had a shock!
THE THIRD : Can’t you keep it quiet just for today while he’s lying there.
THE OTHER : What are you doing to Teddy, elephant?
BAAL
by the corpse
: Teddy is at peace, and we are the opposite. Both are good. The sky is black. The trees shudder. Somewhere clouds gather. That is the setting. One eats. After sleep one wakes. Not him. Us. And that’s doubly good.
THE OTHER : What did you say the sky was like?
BAAL : The sky is black.
THE OTHER : You’re not all there. The good ones always cop it first.
BAAL : How right you are, my dear chap!
A WOODCUTTER : It couldn’t happen to Baal. He’s never around where there’s work.
BAAL : But Teddy, he was a hard worker. Teddy was generous. Teddy was friendly. One thing’s certain: Teddy
was
.
THE SECOND : Wonder where he is now?
BAAL
points to the dead man
: There he is.
THE THIRD : I always get the feeling that the wind is made of dead souls, especially on spring
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