nt ocean. It was all so blue and
so green and so purple--and the sinking sun is all shining on the
great-a, beeg waves, like-a sparkling diamonds. (_Use elaborate
gestures at all times._) And me, the poor, leetla Italian girl, gets
to see all this great-a, grand-a ocean. It is superb, magnificent,
sublime! Ah, I am so happy, I could sing and dance and kees everybody
on the great-a, grand-a earth!

MEENY (_at L._). Vot makes you so happy, Anita? Maybe I'd be happy yet
also, if I didn't get seasick once in a while.

ANITA. What makes me so happy, Meeny? It's the sun and the waves, and
the sunlight shining like diamonds on the great-a, grand-a ocean. Are
you not also happy, Biddy Mary?

BIDDY MARY (_standing by_ ANITA). I am not. Sure, I niver do be having
time to be seeing diamonds on the great big waves. I have to be hard
at work, so I do, peeling the praties for our Christmas breakfast.

ANITA. I watched the great-a red sun as he began to sink, sink, sink
way down in the ocean. And the beeg-a waves got more beeg and more
beeg and on top of them I saw long white lace fringe. The green silk
waves were all-a trimmed with white lace fringe. And sometimes I think
I see the leetla mermaid fairies dancing in the foam. Leetla green and
white mermaids with the long long-a hair.

TOMASSO (_at R._). You make-a me seek, Anita. There is-a no such
things as fairies.

ANITA. But I love to _think_ there is. It is a great, grand-a pleasure
just to think there is. Is it not, Meeny?

MEENY (_stolidly_). Oh, sure.

ANITA. And that is why we should all be so verra, verra happy. We can
think such-a lovely things. The poor leetla children at-a home, pouf!
They cannot think such things, because they have never seen such a
great, beeg-a ship, or such a great, beeg-a ocean--

SERGIUS. Or a whale.

PADDY MIKE. Or a sailor man.

HULDA. Or a nice little steerage bed built just like a shelf in the
wall.

TOMASSO. Or the great beeg-a engine that makes the ship go.

MEENY. Or the tons and tons of coal vay down deep by the cellar.

SERGIUS (_mocking her_). Way down deep by the cellar! Whoever heard of
a cellar on board of a ship? You mean--down in the hatch.

MEENY. Hatch? Vot is dot hatch? Dis ain't a chicken, it's a boat.
(_All laugh._)

KLINKER (_takes_ SCHWILLIE _by the hand and goes to_ ANITA). Anita, we
want to ask you a question.

ANITA. Well, and what is the question of the leetla Dutch twins?

SCHWILLIE. Tonight is the