New-York tribune., 1910-10-02
THE DRAMA
MaeterIinCk's "BIue Bird Pro-
duced at The New Theatre.


You. the emancipated. no longer a slave
Oh superstition, know all these things to be
true. or you knew the truth of them when
you We're child. OF course, you are free
now, but all your friends know that you
Knock wood with your knuckles when you
would avert sad fate, and that IL you
| invite the dark gods by spillinS salt you
repel their advances by tossing pinch
over your shoulder. You know They
Know. They do IT themselves. see the
new moon over your right shoulder Thats
good luck. II you were from almost any
Old World country you would know more,
ever so much more. Then. when you
wanted the secret of happiness, you would
think Of the Blue Bird. and you would
wish to catch him and keep him so that
you might have happiness as long as you
live. The littlers know all about II. They
know that this Blue Bird isn't the FELLOW
that wings along your fields ana fences
and gardens. He's ever and ever so much
blusr. TyItyI and Mytyl saw him, and you
may take their word for II.
II was Christmas Eve. In the voodcut-
ter's cottage Mummy Tyl had put the
children TO bed. and Daddy Tyl had looked
In to make sure. When Mummy and DADDY
had gone out again after putting out the
lamp queer light streamed in between
the shutters. It wasn't Iamplight. and II
wasn't daylight, but just such a light as
never was except in dreams and fairy
land, where all the real things are and the
real people. Then little Tyltyl and his little
sister, Mytyi, began to travel First they
travelled far as the window 10 see
what Father Christmas was doing. Father
Christmas was visiting the rich children
opposite and bringing them cakes and toys
But TyItyl and Mytyl weren't bit enVi-
Gus. They played at sharing imaginary
cakes. And then an old woman knocked
at the cottage and came in to call upon
the little TyIs She was so very old and
shabby, walking with stick. that she
must have been a fairy. Besides, she had
hump, and the point of her very pointed
nose and the point of her very sharp chin
nearly met, as they do. and must. in old
women fairies. She hadn't q card with
her. but she introduced herself-the FAIRY
Berylune making a call.
Human beings are very odd. she safd'
and since the death of the fairies they see
nothing at all and never suspect 1t. She
gave TyItyI a little green Rat with a big
NOhS
him that. when wearing the hat. II he
would turn the diamond a little. from
right 10 left. he would be able to see just
as we'll as the fairies. see even the inside
of things, the soul Of bread. of wine, of
pepper. of sugar and everything. He
could even see the future with it. and find
the Blue Bird
TyItyI turned til diamond. and then
what happened was iust as wonderful as
anything that Aladdin ever saw or did
when he rubbed the lamp The cottage
became n palace, the old woman a fairy
princess, ever so beautiful, the Hours de-
scended from the clock, the souls came
forth from the loaves OF bread. the water.
the fire and the sugar loaf, and from the
Cat and the Dog; and then the entire
party started for the Land of Memory.
which Is on the way 10 the Blue Bird, up
the first turning 70 the left.
But first they went to Fairy Berylune' :
palace and made the acquaintance of
Light, the loYeliest lady ever. The Cat,
it must be said made himself rather a
nuisance. he was so catfish and quarrel
some away from home) and Jealous and
always putting up suspicious and lies
against the Dog. who was scolded and
slapped, while Cat was petted and humored,
just as happens to folks in this make
believe world which we grownups think is
real Tylo, the Dog was the loyalest chap
alive. He called Tyltyl his Little God.
and would have done anything for him
Tylo understood q good deal more than
some folks do
Well, they got away TO the Land of
Memory. where they found CATER Ty1
and Granny Tyl, who were supposed 10 be
dead because they had been buried. But
nobody in that land knows what dead"
means. It's only word invented by folks
down here who are stupid and sightless.
Over there in Memory Land persons wake
up and go about their affairs whenever
you take the trouble 70 think of them. They
feel much better since they ceased living.
But the little exploring party couldn't
stop long in the Land of Memory. The
blue birds there were not blue enough.
The next station on the journey was the
Palace of Night. Anybody knows that
Tylette, the Cat, would like to catch the
Blue Bird. But the Ghosts were quite as
likely to catch the wee explorers, The
Sicknesses would have done so If they
could. but the Sicknesses. whom Night
keeps in one of her back rooms were
SO i'll themselves that they did not lift
their heads, excepting little Cold-in-the-
Head, who is always creeping ont and
never will wait for winter. which would be
sensible. Night keeps the Wars behind
lock and key. They are always trying to
break out. They scared Tyltyl badly, and
he ran. He saw a few Terrors and
Shades and those sorts of unhappy fell
lows; and Silence. tho Doorkeeper, nearly
froze him. But there were friendly Stars
and Will-o'- the Wisps, and NightingaIes
and Perfumes and sweet Dews BY and hv
TyltyI came to the Great Middle Door of
the Night, and his curiosity and reckless
ness spurred him to open It, although OPEN
ing it was not allowed The Stars took
flight. the Nightingales ceased singing. the
Perfumes ran off as fast as they could
Night herself was afraid 20 have that
door opened. Only Tylo the Dog, stood
by his little master. And TyIo was as
frightened as he could he. All the same.
Tyltyl opened that Great Middle Door.
And was il a terrible sight he saw? Not
a bit OF ~ An ineffab!e dream garden
among the stars and planets. with thou
sands of blue s--mllions-thousands Of
millions of blue birds flying all about They
We're not afraid. You could catch them
by handfuls while they fed on noonbeams
Tyltyl and Mytyl caught ever so many. as
many as they wanted. And that is saying
A good deal for younkets, isn't II? But all
the captured birds died in few minutes
And somehow the children found them
selves alone In forest. But they weren't
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