The Scarlet Ibis - Libretto by David Cote

The Scarlet Ibis Opera in thirteen scenes

Music by Stefan Weisman Libretto by David Cote Based on the story by James Hurst

LIBRETTO

CHARACTERS

Brother (mezzo): Six years old at beginning of story; thirteen at the end

Doodle (countertenor): Younger brother; grows to nearly seven

Mother (soprano): A woman in her thirties

Father (baritone): A man in his late thirties or forties

Auntie (alto): A woman in her forties; Father’s older sister

The Scarlet Ibis (puppet): A tropical bird blown off course

TIME 1912–1918

PLACE In and around the Armstrong home in northeast North Carolina, a three-­‐story house with a broad front lawn and a red-­‐gum tree out back (“the bleeding tree”).

There’s a barn nearby, attached to a carpentry shed. The house is not far from the sea, and a short walk through the woods to a local swamp.

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Scene 1: The Caul

October 1912. Night. Brother sits in the living room playing with toy soldiers and cannon. Mother, Father and Auntie are upstairs in the bedroom.

BROTHER Sun up on Gettysburg: Wake up, soldiers!

(Sings reveille) Ba, bum, ba, da, bum, bum!

Ba, bum, ba, da, bum!

Ba, bum, ba, da, bum, ba, bam, ba, bum, ba, bum, baaah!

MOTHER (Overlapping, in labor pains) Uff! Uff! Uff! Ahhhh!

BROTHER Soldiers wake up!

MOTHER Oh… Ah! Uh, uh!

BROTHER (Arranging his toy soldiers in battle lines) Billy Yank and Johnny Reb raise their rifles. Bayonets shine in the light.

“Chaaaarge!”

MOTHER (Overlapping) Ahhhhh!

BROTHER “Fire cannon!” Boom!

MOTHER Iiieeeeee! Ohhh!

BROTHER “Ugh!” “Gah!” “I’m hit!”

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Breathe. Breathe, Sister, breathe!

Pow! Pow-­‐pow! Pow!

AUNTIE BROTHER

MOTHER Where’s the doctor? I need a doctor!

BROTHER “I’ll get you Billy Yank!”

FATHER I called him, dear. He’s coming.

BROTHER Shot between the eyes!

MOTHER Oh! God help me!

BROTHER “Cannon took his head clean off!”

AUNTIE Short breaths, Sister.

BROTHER “I’ll get you, Johnny Reb!”

FATHER The doctor should be here, dammit!

MOTHER Oh, ah—Ahh!

AUNTIE Might have to do without. Keep breathing.

(Auntie rushes downstairs into the living room.)

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BROTHER (Still lost in his game) Look at all them blood and guts!

AUNTIE You got a brother on the way.

(She goes into the kitchen. Brother follows. Auntie collects a basin and towels.)

BROTHER A brother?

AUNTIE She’s carrying low, low, low! Portents indisputable: A boy is on the way!

(She takes a bottle of grain alcohol from the cupboard.)

MOTHER Oh! Sister!!

(Pours a shot and downs it.)

AUNTIE That will do.

MOTHER Ah…

AUNTIE She’s carrying so low, she may give birth in China!

(Auntie rushes back upstairs.)

BROTHER A brother. I’m gonna get a brother! We can run together, swim and race and fight and explore every corner of the swamp. I’ll teach him how to climb the vines. We’ll swing like Tarzan. I’ll be Tarzan. He can be my chimpanzee. We can play Pirates.

King Arthur and his Knights. Well, King Arthur and his one Knight. I’ll be King Arthur! We can play Wild West and Civil War—

MOTHER Oh! Oh! Oh!

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BROTHER Maybe I’ll take just a little peek.

(Brother tiptoes up the stairs. He cracks open the bedroom door and peeks in. Mother is on the bed, writhing in pain. Auntie tends to her. Father paces.)

MOTHER Eeeeeah!

FATHER She should not suffer so!

AUNTIE Brother, I’ve seen worse.

MOTHER Oh!

FATHER That’s my brave girl! Take my hand.

AUNTIE Breathe and push, push and breathe!

MOTHER Aaaaaaarrrgh!

FATHER That’s right, my dear. Push.

AUNTIE Push! I can see his head, Sister! Push.

FATHER Push! It will soon be over! Push. Push.

(Brother, caught up in what’s happening, barges in.)

BROTHER Push it, Mama, push! Push! Push!

(The voices swell until Mother gives one last cry.)

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Oh! Now!

Holy moly.

I told you to stay below.

But I only—

You listen, boy. Go!

MOTHER (The baby comes out. Silence. Everyone stares at the newborn. Auntie gathers up a tiny bundle of tissue, blood and hair. The baby is covered in a milky membrane. Auntie makes holes for the nose so the baby can breathe. Brother, shocked, breaks the silence.)

BROTHER (Father realizes Brother is there, and he turns on him.)

FATHER BROTHER FATHER

BROTHER Whatever that is, it ain’t no brother of mine!

(Brother turns and runs out of the bedroom.)

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Scene 2: The Coffin

(A short time after. Brother sits in the kitchen, moping.

Auntie enters, carrying the basin.)

AUNTIE Didn’t I tell you he was a boy? And a caul baby, too. Caul babies are special.

BROTHER It looked weird. Like an egg.

AUNTIE Nature is a wondrous thing.

(Father enters, shaken and somber.)

FATHER Sister. We need your help with the baby.

(Auntie exits to go upstairs to bedroom.)

FATHER Your brother has come out...small, son. He’s tired. Small and tired.

(Father starts to leave.)

BROTHER Where are you going, Daddy?

FATHER Out to the shop. I’ve got something to build.

BROTHER I’ll help.

FATHER No, son, no.

BROTHER Please!

(Unable to answer, Father leaves. Brother follows.)

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(Upstairs, Auntie enters Mother’s bedroom. Mother sits up in bed holding her newborn, humming, worried.)

MOTHER I can’t tell whether he’s asleep, or awake, or in between.

AUNTIE Give him time. So what’s my nephew’s name?

MOTHER Oh. We never discussed it. Names are so important, don’t you think?

AUNTIE He’s special. A caul baby.

(Mother and Auntie hum over the baby.)

MOTHER He’s so quiet. So still.

(She sings a lullaby.)

Rest, my dear one, rest, But don’t forget to wake.

Sleep, my baby, sleep, Then come back to me.

Dream yourself to distant shores, But sailors must return to port, Turn your ship back home.

Every night must end, And every day begin.

Home.

(Auntie leaves mother and child. She goes outside and heads to the carpentry shed. She stops outside the door, listening. In the shop, Father is selecting tools and wood. Brother stands off to the side and watches.)

FATHER Choose the boards, Strong straight grain, No knot no rot.

It’s good wood.

(He gets out a measuring stick and saw.)

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Cut the boards, Fourteen inch, Six inch, four; It’s good wood.

What’s he making?

I don’t know.

It’s too late for work.

Plane the boards, Sand them smooth, Brush the dust.

Mahogany wood.

Ah! Brother, no!

FATHER

(As Father measures and saws the boards to fit, Auntie enters. Brother goes over to her and whispers.)

AUNTIE BROTHER AUNTIE FATHER

(Auntie sees what he is building: a small coffin.)

AUNTIE

BROTHER What’s he making? Auntie?

(Father angrily hammers nails into the coffin sides.)

FATHER Then hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer!

Hammer home the nails.

Hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer!

AUNTIE It’s wrong, Brother. Stop, no! It’s wrong, Brother.

FATHER Hammer home the nails!

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(In the bedroom, Mother continues her lullaby.)

Dream yourself to distant shores…

You’re going home, my boy.

But sailors must return to port.

You’re going home.

MOTHER FATHER MOTHER FATHER BROTHER

Can I see, Daddy? Is it… a toy?

(Father holds up the coffin.)

BROTHER What is it?

FATHER It’s for your brother.

BROTHER It’s a box. (Pause) But what are you gonna put in it? (Pause) Daddy, he can have my windup leapfrog. It’s broken but he won’t know no better.

FATHER This is not a toy, son. It’s for your brother.

(Father, overcome with emotion, leaves the shed and goes back to the house. Brother turns to Auntie.)

BROTHER (Low, scared) Is my brother dead?

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AUNTIE You mark me, boy: He will live.

He’s a caul baby. Do you know what a caul is?

It’s a second skin, and that means second sight.

Cauls are cut from Jesus’ nightgown.

God wraps the baby to keep it warm.

Mark me, child: your brother will have second sight.

He’s gonna see—straight through you, straight through me.

Signs of wonder, signs of God. Proof indisputable! Proof divine!

Mark me, boy, he’ll make it through the night, And he will live.

Live!

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Scene 3: The Nickname

(Months later. Father takes the coffin and stows it in the hayloft. In the guest bedroom, we see the infant, lying in the center of the bed, a tiny pink creature that seems all head. It moves weakly, pushing itself backward with its hands. Mother and Brother stand by the bed.)

MOTHER (Gingerly, testing the name out) William Theodore Armstrong.

BROTHER (Mockingly) “William Theodore Armstrong.” That sounds like tying a long tail on a little kite.

MOTHER (Not amused) Do you have a better idea?

BROTHER (Sheepish) No, ma’am.

(Impatiently) Mama, when will he be able to play with me?

Go down to the swamp and swing on vines?

MOTHER I don’t know.

BROTHER Climb trees?

MOTHER I don’t know.

BROTHER Race me across the field?

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I don’t know.

MOTHER

(Upset, but trying to explain gently) There’s a different size to every life.

(Fearful realization, losing her calm) Oh, God. My God. Oh… (Recovering her composure) He may not be all there, son, he may not be all there.

He cannot play, cannot play. The size of his life is this bed, this room, today.

(Mother, crying, leaves. Brother turns to the infant.)

BROTHER You made Mama cry.

What are you good for, huh?

William? Stupid name.

You sure are weird looking.

Teensy and weensy and weak and ugly.

Can’t even move right, only crawl backward like…like…

Like a doodle-­‐bug!

That’s right: doodle-­‐bug.

You’re more bug than brother.

Doodle, Doodle, Doodle, Doodle!

That’s what I’m gonna call you!

Doodle.

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Scene 4: Do’s and Don’ts

(Father is on the telephone. Mother, Auntie and Brother stand and listen nearby.)

FATHER Yes. Mm-­‐hm. Yes. Yes, doctor. Just a moment, doctor. Let me write it down.

(With a stub of pencil, he scratches on paper.)

William must stay warm, he must not get a chill.

MOTHER Must stay warm, mustn’t get a chill.

AUNTIE Keep cozy, no chill.

BROTHER Stick the little critter in the icebox, with the Easter ham!

FATHER Twice a day, crush and dissolve one blue pill.

AUNTIE Blue pill with breakfast and one with lunch.

MOTHER Blue at eight, blue at two.

BROTHER And wash ‘em down with moonshine!

FATHER William must not be shaken; he must lie still.

MOTHER He must lie still.

AUNTIE Go easy with him.

BROTHER Toss him high, catch him by the heels, and swing the little bug around!

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(Father hangs up the phone.)

FATHER (Sharp, annoyed) Son! We need your help taking care of William.

BROTHER (Sheepishly) Doodle.

FATHER Excuse me?

BROTHER I call him Doodle cuz he can only crawl backward, like a doodle-­‐bug.

MOTHER Doodle?

FATHER Doodle?

AUNTIE Caul babies should be shown respect.

FATHER It’s alright, I suppose. Don’t let…Doodle crawl too far. Don’t hold him too tight.

MOTHER Don’t kiss him too hard.

FATHER Don’t give Doodle food he cannot chew.

AUNTIE Don’t shake him or pinch him.

FATHER Don’t leave him in the sun.

MOTHER Don’t leave him in the shade.

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Don’t—

FATHER, MOTHER AND AUNTIE

BROTHER Don’t don’t don’t don’t DON’T! What can I do?!

FATHER Do help him.

AUNTIE Do watch him.

MOTHER Do love him.

AUNTIE Do wait.

BROTHER Wait? For what?

AUNTIE You’ll see…

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Scene 5: The Smile

(Nighttime. Brother approaches Doodle in his bed. He leans over and takes a good long look.)

BROTHER I’m waiting. (Pause) I’m still waiting.

(Brother takes a pillow from the bed. He raises it over Doodle’s head. His hands shake. He stops. After a moment, he raises the pillow again, moves in closer.

Suddenly, Doodle turns his head to Brother.)

BROTHER Oh! He’s smiling. Smiling. He’s all there!

(Brother throws the pillow down and calls to the rest of the family as he runs through the hall.)

BROTHER Mama!

Daddy!

Auntie!

He’s smiling!

He’s all there!

Doodle is all there!

Guess I have a brother!

A real brother!

We can play!

Play!

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Scene 6: The Red Wagon

(Four years later. A Saturday afternoon in September.

The living room. Mother, Father and Aunt Auntie are seated facing an antique toy theater restored by Father and temporarily set up in the parlor. Gilded proscenium, curtains, and all. Brother enters blowing a kazoo.)

BROTHER (Like a carnival barker) Hey, everybody in Vaudeville Land! What do ya say, how do ya do? Welcome to the Armstrong Family Variety Hour! Tonight we have a red-­‐hot talent from North Carolina. He ain’t much to look at, but he sure sings pretty. Without further ado I give you: Doodle!

(The curtain parts to reveal Doodle in a high-­‐backed chair. Brother puts Doodle on his knee and holds him up, like a ventriloquist and his dummy.)

DOODLE Hey everybody in Vaudeville Land! What do ya do, how do ya say?

BROTHER Back atcha, Doodle. Why don’t you tell the folks a little bit about yourself?

DOODLE Sure thing, Brother.

(Quickly and breathlessly) My name is Doodle I’m four years eleven months, and you know what? I counted seventeen bumblebees ’round that magnolia through yonder window I bet that magnolia smells sweet. (Stops, gasping a breath, sweetly:) I like flowers. (Quickly again) I read picture books, nature books, Mama’s backyard bird book, Auntie’s gospel book, Daddy’s Sears and Roebuck catalog book, even cookbooks, Yes, any old book will do. And I remember everything I read.

BROTHER (Interrupting) Okay! Okay! Doodle! Now how about you sing us one of them sappy church tunes?

AUNTIE (Disapprovingly) Oh.

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Son!

FATHER

BROTHER I mean, one of them bee-­‐yootiful hymns. Sing it, Doodle.

DOODLE Heal me, sweet savior.

Wash my wounds with your tears.

Heal me, sweet savior.

Soothe my heart, calm my fears.

For thy gentle touch Is God’s medicine And thy kiss is such It purges my sin.

Life is long as we journey through a vale of pain, But then we pray and we dream to see you again.

(The family joins in; Brother blows his kazoo) ALL Heal me, sweet savior.

Help me walk, make me whole.

Repair this broken body And save my dear soul.

Heal me, sweet savior.

Wash my wounds with your tears.

Heal me, sweet savior.

Soothe my heart, calm my fears.

DOODLE Amen.

(The family applauds. Doodle does a little bow.)

AUNTIE (To Mother) He sings just like the heavenly host.

FATHER (To Doodle) Well done, son.

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BROTHER I can sing that high, too. See? (He tries and fails to hit a high note) “Heal me, sweet Jesus!” Oooh…

MOTHER Doodle, you’ll be five soon. What do you want for your birthday?

BROTHER Ask for a bike! Ask for a bike!

FATHER Son, it’s your brother’s birthday.

BROTHER I know. But he can ride it, too.

FATHER No he can’t.

MOTHER What do you want, Doodle?

DOODLE Hm. Daddy told me about the Wright Brothers. Orville and… and…

AUNTIE And Wilbur. God rest his soul.

BROTHER They flew at Kitty Hawk! That’s only fifty miles east of here!

DOODLE Do you think the Wright Brothers would make me a flying machine? Specially built for someone like me? I could fly to China. And Russia. I could fly around the world. Brother, fetch me the world atlas. Please.

(Brother gets a book for Doodle from the bookshelf.)

BROTHER Daddy, are we really gonna get a flying machine?

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FATHER Well, the boy should see more of the world than the bedroom, parlor and porch.

(Has an idea; to Brother) Come along and help me in the shed.

(Father exits. Brother starts to follow.)

DOODLE Hey Brother: We’re gonna fly. We’re gonna fly everywhere!

(He reads the atlas, running his finger along the lines.)

Tim… Tim… Tim… Book… Two. Timbuktu.

MOTHER Sister, look how Doodle eats up the pages with his eyes.

DOODLE (Overlapping) Bo… Bo… Hee… Me… Ah… Bohemia and Timbuktu.

AUNTIE That boy is blessed. Grace undeniable! Nobody thought he’d live but he lived.

MOTHER Nobody thought he’d crawl, but he crawled.

AUNTIE Nobody thought he’d talk—

BROTHER But now you can’t shut him up!

DOODLE Ottawa. Mongolia. Persia. All the way to the North Pole!

BROTHER I’m gonna go help Daddy.

DOODLE (Still reading) Lichtenstein. Hawaii. Bombay! Guam.

(Brother goes outside to the carpentry shed. There, Father builds a wagon.)

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Choose the boards: Something light.

Not too dense.

Good pine wood.

Cut to fit: Clean design.

Plane the edge.

Fresh pine wood.

Fix the wheels: Two, three, four, Lined up right, So it runs smooth.

A handle you pull, Up the hill, Down the road, Across the field, Through the swamp, Away and then back home again.

Son, you’re coming home.

Ooooh! A wagon!

FATHER

BROTHER

(Father carries Doodle to the wagon, where he sits regally, like a king. Brother resentfully and slowly drags the wagon across the yard.)

DOODLE I wanna go faster. (Pause) I said, I would like to go faster! Please.

BROTHER And I would like a brother who ain’t no cripplerunt. Puh-­‐leeze.

DOODLE What’s that mean?

BROTHER It means what you are. I have to pull you around like I’m a goat or an ox.

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Hmm. What’s this big, red tree?

DOODLE

BROTHER We call that the bleeding tree. It bleeds because there’s an Injun stuck in the trunk. When the white man come to the New World, all the Injuns run off screaming: Ay-­‐yi-­‐yi-­‐yi!! Some hid up in the branches. Some hid inside the trees and got trapped. It’s real tight in there. They get splinters and cuts, so blood oozes through the bark. See?

DOODLE Is that real blood?

BROTHER Sure it is. Feel it.

DOODLE It’s thick. And sticky.

BROTHER Injun blood. It’s like molasses.

DOODLE Hmm. What else is there?

BROTHER The swamp.

DOODLE What’s that like?

BROTHER It’s my fav’rit place. Fish and fern and vines and birds and frogs and snakes and bugs and mud. And ghosts. Ghosts! Sometimes it’s got a sulfur smell like Hell. Like Hell!

DOODLE Hmm. I wanna see. I wanna see!

BROTHER Let’s go see.

DOODLE Let’s go see! I wanna see!

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(Blowing his kazoo, Brother pulls Doodle across the cotton field towards the swamp. Auntie comes out of the house, looking up at the sky.)

AUNTIE Boys! Boys! It’s starting to rain. Boys! Boys! Where are you?

(Brother and Doodle are down in the swamp. They stop by a pine tree near a stream. Brother takes Doodle out of the wagon and sets him on the bank.)

DOODLE (Breathes deeply) Oh. Smell that.

(Birds sing) Hear that.

(He brushes the grass with his hands) Feel that.

(He starts to cry) Oh… Ah...

BROTHER For Pete’s sake, Doodle, why are you crying?

DOODLE It’s so pretty. So pretty, pretty, pretty.

(Back at the house, Auntie keeps calling for the boys, who are too far away to hear.)

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AUNTIE Boys! Where are you?

Probably down in that nasty, stinking swamp.

Getting into Lord knows what trouble.

Chasing snakes, catching toads, killing crows.

Bringing filthy swamp flowers into the house and twisting them into crowns!

Into crowns!

That boy calls himself King of the Swamp.

The Devil is in the swamp.

Dirt, disease and wild beasts.

The Devil is in the swamp.

Where runaway slaves went to die.

And jail breakers. Child-­‐takers.

Snakes and ghosts behind every tree.

The Devil is in the swamp.

Ghosts and snakes behind every tree.

Boys! Boys! You listen to me!

Come home now!

Boys! Boys!

Where are you?

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Scene 7: The Coffin and the Owl

(Weeks later. Summertime. Brother pulls Doodle in the red wagon around the house.)

DOODLE What should we do, Brother?

(Brother stops.)

BROTHER What do you mean “we?” You can’t do much.

DOODLE I can whistle.

(Doodle whistles a little.)

BROTHER Eh. (Brother gets an idea.)

Hey! I know what we can do.

(Humming, Brother lifts Doodle and, holding him, climbs the ladder to the hayloft.)

DOODLE Hey, Brother: what is all this green stuff?

BROTHER That? That’s mint candy.

DOODLE Oooh! Really?!

BROTHER Naw, dummy. It’s poison. Daddy puts it here to kill rats.

DOODLE Oh.

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(Brother takes Doodle to a corner and sets him down.

He brushes away hay to reveal the baby coffin.)

BROTHER Look here, Doodle. Do you know what this is?

DOODLE No.

BROTHER After you were born, Daddy built it for you. You know what it is.

DOODLE It’s not mine. That’s not mine.

BROTHER Yes, it is. And before I take you down from here, you’re gonna touch it.

DOODLE I won’t touch it.

BROTHER Yes you will! You will touch it. You’ll touch it and open it.

DOODLE I won’t touch it.

BROTHER Touch the coffin, Doodle! Open the coffin, Doodle!

(Pause) Fine, then I’ll leave you here all by yourself. Bye-­‐bye!

(Brother pretends to leave.)

DOODLE No! Don’t leave me, brother.

(Doodle, hand shaking, slowly reaches out to the coffin.

As he opens the lid, an owl flies out, screeching terribly and flies off. Doodle screams and recoils.)

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Ah! An owl! An owl!

DOODLE

(He holds his arms out to Brother.)

Take me down, take me down. Don’t leave me, Brother. Don’t leave me.

BROTHER Ha! Sissy! Sissy! Sissy! It’s one thing you’re a cripplerunt. But do you have to be a sissy, too?

DOODLE I touched the coffin like you said. It felt cold. Don’t leave me, Brother! Don’t leave me, don’t leave me.

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Scene 8: A Doctor in Chicago

(Months later. The carpentry shed. Father works.

Brother sits in a corner, whittling. Mother enters with a newspaper. Brother listens closely.)

MOTHER (Quickly, excitedly) There’s a doctor in Chicago…

(Reading) “A visionary physician,” who works miracles with children in need.

He has a patented contraption— See?—steel rods and leather straps, wires and wheels.

Says it can “make the lame walk!”

This doctor in Chicago…

(Reading) “A clinical magician,” his specialty is children in need.

For a pair of Siamese twins, He tried “a pioneering procedure” One hundred steel sutures…

“One of the babies survived.”

There’s a doctor in Chicago…

FATHER (Angrily) This doctor! This doctor!

He’s hundreds of miles away.

Where’s the ticket, where’s the money?

These hands. These hands are here: steady, strong. Yours.

What can I build for you?

From a withered tree I cannot make a strong table.

From a rotted, fallen trunk no chair will stand.

The bad wood warps, cracks, splits, can’t be fixed, can’t be saved!

Chicago is very far away, And Doodle is too weak to go.

This load we must carry alone.

MOTHER Alone.

(The parents leave. Brother watches them go.)

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Scene 9: Learning to Walk

(Six months later. June. Brother and Doodle are in the swamp. It’s hot. Doodle lazes in the red wagon, Brother sits near. They hum and yawn and stare, watching the flies, the birds, everything. Brother sits up.)

BROTHER Okay! Listen up! I’m gonna teach you how to walk, Doodle!

DOODLE (Lazily) Why?

BROTHER So I won’t have to lug you around anymore!

DOODLE I can’t walk, Brother.

BROTHER Oh, you will walk, Doodle. Rest of the summer, you’re my special project. Like Frankenstein and his mad doctor. Or how Jesus done for Lizarus. First you’re gonna stand. Then you’re gonna walk. And Doodle, you’re gonna run. Give me your hands. Your hands, your hands.

(Brother takes Doodle by the arms and stands him up.

Doodle cries out in pain and collapses each time.)

DOODLE Oh. Oh. Ow! Oh. Oh. Ow! Oh. Oh. Ow! (Doodle cries out and collapses in a heap.)

I can’t walk, Brother. I just can’t do it. Let’s make honeysuckle wreaths.

(Brother regards Doodle with disgust.)

BROTHER All you got to do is try harder.

(Brother sulks by the wagon. Doodle looks around the swamp: the birds, the insects and at his legs.)

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DOODLE Brother, I’m broken.

My legs are no good.

Brother, I’m thin, and my skin, you can see straight to the veins.

And my blood is so weak, Brother.

I can feel it pumping like mud from my heart.

It knocks against my ribs and bones.

My bones…

My bones are bent, Brother.

When I breathe, they creak like the cellar door.

My body broke in Mama’s belly.

Go easy with me, Brother.

BROTHER Easy? Easy? No one ever got nowhere from easy, brother.

If you don’t start now, you’ll never learn.

And do you know how ridiculous we’ll look?

Just see us at eighty.

You sitting in that go-­‐cart, old as sin, White beard down to your knees.

And everyone pointing, laughing, saying: Look at those two old fools.

Is that how you want to spend the rest of your days, brother?

Is that how you want to spend your days? Carted around like a baby?

Baby with a three-­‐foot beard?

(Doodle considers this.)

DOODLE All right. Let’s try again!

(Once more, Doodle gives his hands to Brother, who pulls him slowly, painfully, to his feet. Doodle’s legs shake and his whole body quivers with fear. He howls in pain and Brother, perhaps to share the pain or muffle the noise, hollers along. Their screams and howls fill the swamp and scatter the birds as Doodle stands, for a heart-­‐stopping second, on his feet.)

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Scene 10: The Surprise

(A morning weeks later. The dining room. Father, Mother and Auntie face away, hands covering eyes.

Brother sticks his head into the room.)

BROTHER No one peek. Say cross your hearts and hope to die.

MOTHER What in heaven’s name is all this fuss?

FATHER Maybe the boys dug up gold in the swamp.

AUNTIE They’ve been hinting so long about some miraculous manifestation, unless it’s the Blessed Resurrection, I intend to be sore disappointed.

BROTHER Quiet, everyone! All will be revealed.

(Brother disappears. He reenters pulling Doodle into the room in the red wagon. He helps Doodle out of the wagon. Doodle stands.)

BROTHER All right. You can look.

(The adults turn and look. Doodle slowly walks to the table. The adults gasp.)

MOTHER Oh—!

FATHER What—!

AUNTIE Ah—!

FATHER What—? I—?!

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He…?! How?

Oh!

MOTHER AUNTIE (Doodle sits down at his place. The family is shocked and speechless, almost scared to make noise.)

DOODLE I would like pancakes and strawberry jam. Please.

MOTHER Oh, my sweet baby—!

(All gather around the boys, laughing and crying.)

DOODLE Hey! Come watch me walk from the house to the bleeding tree!

(All but Brother leave the dining room. Brother puts a hand up to his cheek. He feels tears.)

BROTHER What am I crying for? I did right. He was a cripplerunt. Now he ain’t. He’s normal.

Well, more normal. So… What am I crying for? He can walk. Because of me.

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Scene 11: Lying, Running, Climbing and Fighting

Let’s rest a spell, Brother.

(Two weeks later. The boys stroll on a dirt road near the house. Brother kicks at the dirt and pebbles impatiently.

Doodle walks slowly, using a stick for balance, and stops often to rest.)

DOODLE

BROTHER Okay. Let’s count the worms under this rock.

DOODLE Or we could lie.

BROTHER Lie?

DOODLE Yeah. Lying is fun. It’s like exercise for your brain.

Here’s my lie: I have wings to fly wherever I please.

On one of my journeys I meet the most curious boy.

He has very blonde hair, so yellow that it’s white, But his eyes are as dark as deep soil.

And he has a pet peacock with a ten-­‐foot tail.

And he walks about the palace with the peacock with the ten-­‐foot tail.

And he wears a golden robe that shines so bright that the sunflowers turn away from the sun to face him.

And when he goes to bed at night, the peacock spreads its tail to cover him.

So before he falls asleep, he sees a thousand colors.

But the peacock doesn’t sleep. It does not dream.

It only shines.

But look how late it is. That old moon, it fills the sky.

Bye-­‐bye. Bye-­‐bye. Bye-­‐bye!

I have wings to fly wherever I please.

I have wings.

Ah.

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Ah. Yes. Yes.

BROTHER (Enchanted, lost in the fantasy)

Okay. Now it’s your turn. Lie.

DOODLE

BROTHER Okay. Let’s see…

Once, uh, long ago I guess…

It was nighttime and…well…

Maybe it was day? —aw, shucks, Doodle!

I don’t have no stupid lie!

DOODLE Too bad. Lies can be beautiful.

BROTHER Anyway, we’ve rested enough. I got a new program for you. Running. Climbing.

Fighting.

DOODLE (A little scared) A new program?

BROTHER Yes. Running. Climbing. Fighting.

DOODLE Running. Climbing. Fighting.

BROTHER Didn’t I teach you how to walk, Doodle? Come September, you’re starting first grade. I don’t want the kids to laugh at you and point at you and call you cripplerunt. When you got a toy that’s busted, what do ya do? What do you do?

Throw it away? Keep it hid? Or try and fix it? I’m gonna give you a second life, Doodle. I’m gonna make you normal, just like me.

DOODLE Oh, Brother. You’re always saying I should be more this or that. But what about you?

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What about me?

I wish I had a sister. Instead of you.

BROTHER DOODLE

BROTHER Well, you don’t got no sister, cripplerunt. Just me. So start running.

(A series of scenes of the new program. Brother counts out while Doodle struggles to keep up. First: Running.)

BROTHER You should be able to race between the porch and the bleeding tree in ten seconds.

Go! One. Two. Three. Four. Faster, Doodle, faster!

DOODLE I’m trying, Brother!

(Next: Doodle dangles from a vine in the swamp.)

BROTHER You’ve got to haul yourself up that vine. I’ll give you to the count of fifteen. Go! One. Two. Three. Four. Five. C’mon, Doodle! Pull—pull!

DOODLE I’m trying, Brother!

(Next: Fighting. They square off to box.)

BROTHER Alright, Doodle. Just do it like I showed you in the magazine. I’ll give you one clean punch. Let’s see your right hook.

DOODLE What’s that?

BROTHER You’re right arm, dummy. Bend it like a hook, see? Now hit me.

DOODLE I don’t want to hit you, Brother.

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But you gotta learn self-­‐defense.

What for?

For this.

BROTHER DOODLE BROTHER

(Brother lightly punches Doodle on the shoulder.)

DOODLE Ow! Don’t hurt me, Brother.

(Brother punctuates his taunting with jabs)

BROTHER Then. Put. Up. Your. Fists. You’re ugly. You’re a sissy. And you’re a cripplerunt freak.

DOODLE That’s not nice.

(Doodle punches, lightning-­‐fast. Brother touches his upper lip.)

BROTHER (More pleased than hurt) Ow! Blood!

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Scene 12: The Scarlet Ibis

(The dining room. Weeks later. It’s now late August.

Doodle is six going on seven, and Brother is twelve. The family says grace before lunch.)

MOTHER Lord give strength to the Wilsons, whose boy Natty was lost in a forest called Belleau.

ALL Amen.

FATHER That boy never went three miles past his daddy’s farm. And he died in a place he couldn’t pronounce.

AUNTIE Nobody has been able to explain to me why we’re in this wicked war.

FATHER Dead in a place he couldn’t pronounce.

AUNTIE People move around too much.

BROTHER I want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro!

MOTHER Will you take Doodle with you?

BROTHER Maybe. If he learns to climb.

(A pause as the family eats in silence.)

FATHER It’s so calm, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a storm this afternoon.

MOTHER I haven’t heard a rain frog.

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I did. Down in the swamp.

He did not.

Yes I did.

You did, eh?

DOODLE BROTHER DOODLE FATHER

DOODLE I most certainly did. It sounded like this: Brap! Brap! Brap! Aap! Brap!

(There is a noise out in the yard, a strange croaking noise. And another.)

DOODLE What’s that?

(Doodle gets up and walks outside. He follows the sound to the bleeding tree out back.)

DOODLE (Calling to the others) A great big red bird! Come and see! Come and see!

(On a high branch of the tree there is a red bird, the size of a chicken. As it shifts its weight, a red feather flutters down. The rest of the family comes out and stares.)

MOTHER It’s not even frightened of us.

FATHER It looks tired. Or maybe sick.

AUNTIE I don’t like that bird one bit.

DOODLE We could feed it. Brother, go run back. I have some biscuit left.

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BROTHER You run back. Mama, you know birds. What is it?

MOTHER (To Brother) Get me my bird book. Hurst’s Birds of America.

(Brother runs back into the house.)

DOODLE Aren't you pretty? So pretty.

AUNTIE Red birds are bad luck.

(Brother returns with a large book: Hurst’s Birds of America. Hands it to Mother, who pages through it.)

DOODLE (As if in a trance, but also very focused) It’s a scarlet ibis.

MOTHER Oh. A scarlet ibis.

DOODLE Its red fades to pink in captivity.

FATHER Doodle: Have you memorized that book?

BROTHER (Reading over Mother’s arm) “Eek Dock Uh Mouse Rubber.” What’s that?

MOTHER That’s its Latin name.

(Reading) “The ibis is prominent in Egyptian mythology.”

DOODLE It lives in the tropics.

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Trinidad to Florida.

MOTHER

FATHER A storm must have blown him here.

BROTHER Storm!

AUNTIE Or it got lost, wandering on its own.

MOTHER In any case, he’s far away from home.

DOODLE (Doodle stares at the ibis, fascinated) Very far away.

I know what he went through.

One thousand miles he flew.

I saw it all ‘cause I got second sight.

Come down here, you pretty thing.

MOTHER Well, that’s not in the book.

(The bird squawks, weakly. Everyone stares.)

BROTHER “Eek Dock Uh Mouse Rubber.” What a weird-­‐looking bird.

MOTHER Looks almost dead, poor thing.

FATHER Wonder if there’s more around?

AUNTIE Bad omen, that bird roosting here.

DOODLE Come down here, you pretty thing. You pretty, pretty, pretty thing.

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Oh! It’s dead.

(Whether it means to fly away or just move, the bird wobbles, then it loses its footing, falling, bumping on branches, until it thumps down on the ground. It lands before the family. Its rapid breathing stops.)

MOTHER (Doodle reaches out.)

MOTHER Don’t touch it! It might have a disease.

FATHER Let’s finish our lunch.

DOODLE I’m not hungry.

AUNTIE Your mama baked a cherry pie.

DOODLE I’m gonna bury him.

MOTHER Don’t you dare touch it. Lord knows what disease it might have.

DOODLE I won’t touch him, ma’am, I promise. But I will bury him.

AUNTIE Red birds are bad luck. Especially dead red birds.

(Doodle takes a piece of string from his pocket, loops it around the bird’s neck, and drags him around to the front yard. He gets a shovel and digs a grave. One by one, the family members leave and go back to the house.

As Doodle buries the ibis, he sings.)

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DOODLE What did you see?

The sky, the clouds, The mountains, Oceans, The curve of earth.

What did you see?

Our lawn, our house, Our garden full of roses.

What did you see?

Our bleeding tree, A branch where you could land.

You flew.

You fell.

What else did you see, Way up in that tree?

(Doodle pats down the earth on the fresh grave. Brother comes out to join him. Doodle stands. They look at the grave. Brother turns to go. After a beat, Doodle follows.

The sky behind them darkens. A storm is coming.)

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Scene 13: The Storm

(Later. In the swamp, on the river. Brother and Doodle sit in a small wooden rowboat. Doodle pulls weakly at the oars as Brother, hunched and facing him, counts off the strokes. Clouds gather in the sky.)

BROTHER One-­‐and-­‐two, and one-­‐and-­‐two, and row, row, row. Row, row, row….

DOODLE (Overlapping, but faintly) Row, row, row…

BROTHER Pull the oars at the same time. Get your back into it.

DOODLE (Overlapping) Row, row, row. Row, row, row…

BROTHER I’ll give you till a hundred to row us back to shore!

Row one, row two, row three, row four. Row, row, row.

DOODLE Row, row, row, row, row— (He stops.)

I’m so tired! So tired, so tired.

BROTHER Okay, Doodle: Get your breath.

(The paddles sit idle in the oarlocks. Doodle looks around, strangely alert yet in a dream.)

DOODLE What do you call this season?

BROTHER Summer.

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I don’t think so.

Well it ain’t fall.

DOODLE BROTHER

DOODLE It’s in between. Like a baby chick half come out of its shell. Should be a special name for this season. It only lasts a day. (Pause) I don’t care what they call me at school. They don’t know my secret name.

BROTHER Your secret name?

DOODLE Very secret.

BROTHER Tell me.

DOODLE Only the scarlet ibis knows my secret name.

BROTHER Eh. Fine. Just row.

DOODLE (Firmly, with rising intensity) No. I won’t.

This is me: broken and all.

I won’t take orders anymore.

I won’t be normal no more.

I won’t row.

Anyway, there’s nowhere to go.

I want to drift.

(Short pause. Doodle listens intently.)

Listen: It’s alive.

BROTHER What is?

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The swamp. It’s alive. Hear it sigh.

Look at the river. It’s a mirror.

Can you see yourself?

I see… An eggshell.

A twig.

A feather.

DOODLE

BROTHER DOODLE BROTHER DOODLE

A leaf.

DOODLE AND BROTHER A tadpole. A flower petal.

An eggshell.

Raindrops. More raindrops.

Drop, drop, drop.

More raindrops.

Plop, plop, plop.

BROTHER I see a shadow in the water. I see a shadow way down there.

What is it? What is it?

It’s the devil in the swamp.

Oh. Is it me?

It is me.

DOODLE Last week that elderberry tree was bent low.

Today it’s broken.

BROTHER Tomorrow it will sink to the bottom and rot.

DOODLE AND BROTHER Last week that elderberry tree was bent low.

Today it’s broken.

Tomorrow it will sink to the bottom and…

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BROTHER

…rot.

Oh, where did the scarlet ibis go?

Is he only in the ground? Ah!

Why are you crying?

Because life is so big.

And the world is so small.

Brother? I’m not afraid—

Stop talking crazy…

—of pain.

…and row.

Row! Row!

A storm, and a big one.

Where are the boys?

DOODLE

BROTHER DOODLE

BROTHER (Interrupting) DOODLE BROTHER (Lightning flashes. The brothers look up and realize that a storm is nearly upon them.)

BROTHER (Thunder. Back at the house, Mother, Father and Auntie come out to the yard, looking up.)

FATHER

MOTHER

AUNTIE They’re always down in that devil swamp.

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FATHER MOTHER AND AUNTIE Boys! Boys! Boys!

Come back home!

Boys! Boys!

Come back home! Come back home, boys! Boys!

(In the swamp. Brother takes over the rowing and gets them back to the dock. Thunder rumbles. They get out of the boat. Rain starts to fall. They walk quickly, Brother in front, Doodle behind. Doodle can’t keep up with Brother. He catches hold of Brother’s sleeve.)

DOODLE Slow down! Slow down! Slow down.

(Brother shrugs Doodle’s hand off. He starts running.

Doodle can’t keep up.)

DOODLE Don’t leave me, Brother! Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me.

(Now it’s raining hard. Wind howling. Brother runs and runs. Doodle disappears. Brother stops and shelters under a tree. Finally the rain slows.)

BROTHER Hey, Doodle! Where are you?

(The rest of the family calls.)

FATHER MOTHER AND AUNTIE Boys! Boys! Where are you?

(Brother peers into the woods. Calls to Doodle.)

BROTHER Where are you, Doodle? Stop fooling. Let’s go home.

FATHER MOTHER AND AUNTIE Come on home. Come on home.

(Brother retraces his steps, calling out.)

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Doodle!

Doodle?

Doodle. Doodle.

The Scarlet Ibis

BROTHER (He finds Doodle sitting by the path near a red bush, his knees drawn up to his chin, arms folded around head.)

BROTHER (Brother shakes Doodle by the shoulder.)

(Doodle falls over. He has been bleeding from the mouth and his neck is streaked red. Brother stares. He picks up Doodle’s limp body and carries it home to the family.)

THE END

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