your sheep,
Give them to me.

CORYDON: Be off! Go finish your nap.
A red one--and a blue one--and a red one--
And a purple one--give you my sheep, did you say?--
Come, come! What do you take me for, a fool?
I've a lot of thinking to do,--and while I'm thinking,
The sheep might just as well be over here
As over there. . . . A blue one--and a red one--

THYRSIS: But they will die!

CORYDON: And a green one--and a couple
Of white ones, for a change.

THYRSIS: Maybe I have
Some jewels on my side.

CORYDON: And another green one--
Maybe, but I don't think so. You see, this rock
Isn't so very wide. It stops before
It gets to the wall. It seems to go quite deep,
However.

THYRSIS: [With hatred.] I see.

COLUMBINE: [Off stage.] Look, Pierrot, there's the moon.

PIERROT: [Off stage.] Nonsense!

THYRSIS: I see.

COLUMBINE: [Off stage.] Sing me an old song, Pierrot,--
Something I can remember.

PIERROT: [Off stage.] Columbine.
Your mind is made of crumbs,--like an escallop
Of oysters,--first a layer of crumbs, and then
An oystery taste, and then a layer of crumbs.

THYRSIS: [Searching.] I find no jewels . . . but I wonder what
The root of this black weed would do to a man
If he should taste it. ... I have seen a sheep die,
With half the stalk still drooling from its mouth.
'Twould be a speedy remedy, I should think,
For a festered pride and a feverish ambition.
It has a curious root. I think I'll hack it
In little pieces. . . . First I'll get me a drink;
And then I'll hack that root in little pieces
As small as dust, and see what the color is
Inside. [Goes to bowl on floor.]

The pool is very clear. I see
A shepherd standing on the brink, with a red cloak
About him, and a black weed in his hand. . . .
'Tis I. [Kneels and drinks.]

CORYDON: [Coming to wall.] Hello, what are you doing, Thyrsis?

THYRSIS: Digging for gold.

CORYDON: I'll give you all the gold
You want, if you'll give me a bowl of water.
If you don't want too much, that is to say.

THYRSIS: Ho, so you've changed your mind?--It's different,
Isn't it, when you want a drink yourself?

CORYDON: Of course it is.

THYRSIS: Well, let me see ... a bowl
Of water,--come back in an hour, Corydon.
I'm busy now.

CORYDON: Oh, Thyrsis, give me a bowl
Of water!--and I'll fill the bowl with jewels,
And bring it back!

THYRSIS: Be off, I'm busy now.

[He catches sight of the weed, picks it up and looks
at it, unseen by CORYDON.]

Wait!--P