CHARACTERS: BUMPY JENNY TOM THE HAG THE OLD MAN BULKY OAFY MOTHER FATHER GRANDDAD BIRD
The birds are singing, the sounds of forest. The drape is closed. The hag sings in front of the closed drape. (The hag comes, she sings and dances.) THE HAG: Metsas tunnen kõiki radu, olgu torm või olgu sadu. Tean, kus lind või loom on peidus, Minus kavalus ja nõidus. Tasa! Metsas kõnnib keegi. Näete, teada on mul seegi. Hetkeks varjun puude tahaSealt on väga hästi näha. (The hag vanishes) (Jenny and Tom come, tired) JENNY: (sobbing): I can’t walk any more. TOM: But we’ve got to get home. We can’t stay in the forest all night. We’ll get home, somehow. I don’t think we’ll come back to this boulder for a third time. Let’s sit down for a while, rest our feet and go on then. I think we’ve come a long way from home. Put your head on my shoulder and try to sleep. (The children fall asleep. The owl hoots. The children wake up.)
JENNY: What was it? TOM: The owl hooted. JENNY: I’m scared, Tom! TOM: Don’t be. The owl will do no harm. Better tell me: are you strong enough to walk, now? JENNY: Yes, I think so, but I’m afraid to go now. Look, it’s so dark. TOM: Then we’ll stay here for the night. JENNY: No, I don’t want to stay here, either. I want to get home. TOM: What shall we do then? Try to get some more sleep, it’ll be light soon, we’ll set off then. Tom tries to be awake, but soon he falls asleep) THE HAG: (comes) Get up, get up! TOM: (wakes up) Was it you, speaking, auntie? THE HAG: Of course it was me. Get up, get up now. This is no place for sleeping. Wake the girl up, too. I’ll take you home. TOM: (merrily) Will you? Will you really take us home? We’ve been in the forest since yesterday morning and now we’re cold. THE HAG: Good, good. Now get up and let’s start moving. TOM: But auntie, tell me first how you knew where to go. Was it Mummy who sent you to find us? THE HAG: I’ll tell you when we’re on our way. Wake the girl up! TOM: Jenny, wake up! There is an old auntie, she’ll take us home. JENNY: An auntie? Home? TOM: Yes, yes! Home! The auntie knows where we live. (The hag goes ahead of the children, looking back over her shoulder. They go behind the drape. (The drape opens. Witch’s house) THE HAG: Well, we’re at home at last. Get inside! TOM: What! It certainly isn’t our home! THE HAG: It will be from now on and don’t argue with me, boy! See, if you aren’t quick about what I tell you to do, you’ll get to know this stick of mine. Old man! THE OLD MAN (he is sleeping on the stove) What? THE HAG (loud) Look, old man. I’ve brought a childminder and a swineherd from the forest. THE OLD MAN: Don’t shout! I’m not deaf! THE HAG: I no longer need to strain my old bones so much. THE OLD MAN: H’m, H’m! Throw them up here so I could take a look at them.
THE HAG: Oh, don’t bother! You’ll see them tomorrow when it’s light. Let them get some sleep. I’ll make them start work early in the morning.
(Bumpy starts to move in the cradle, he roars. The hag shakes the cradle. Silence) THE HAG: Now get behind the stove and turn in! TOM: But first we’d like to get something to eat. THE HAG: Phew! So you want to eat. Get behind the stove. I’ll find something to eat for you. (The hug brings two bones.) THE HAG: Here, take your supper! (The hag climbs onto the stove, and everything in the hut falls quiet) TOM: (whispers) You know, Jenny, things look pretty bad. We’ve got into the grip of some cruel witch. Ordinary old women are never evils. Besides, I saw that the old man has horns on his head. (Jenny starts to cry) TOM: Hush, hush, Jenny. Now listen to this: we’ll have to get away from here, the sooner, the better. We’ll wait for the hag and the old man to fall asleep. Let’s pretend we’re asleep. (Snoring. Louder and louder.) TOM: Now, Jenny! Get up, take my hand and follow me. See you don’t make even the slightest noise, for witches are light sleepers, even if they snore. (Tom and Jenny sneak towards the door. They reach the door. Suddenly, a loud thudding reaches their ears from the outside, as if wild horses were galloping near the hut. Tom leads his sister back behind the stove. Bulky and Oafy come, sing and jump around.)
BULKY: Tõlpa olen mina Ja sina oled Mõhk. Hoia kinni nina, Sest sinust paks on õhk OAFY: Mõhk, jah, olen mina Ja Tölpa oled sa.
Löristad vaid nina Ja lollpea oled kah. BULKY AND OAFY: Kõht ole kole tühi. Ta lausa pilli lööb. Pisar silmast pühiEhk kodus ootab söök. (They thump on the door)
BULKY: Open up, old woman! OAFY: Open up! (The hug turns over) BULKY AND OAFY: Open up! Open up! THE HAG: Coming, coming! Don’t break the door down! (The hag climbs down the stove) BULKY AND OAFY: Get us some food! Quick! THE HAG: I haven’t got anything. Go to sleep! BULKY AND OAFY: Food! Food! THE HAG: Look yourselves- look into the pot- look into the oven- nothing! Here, take, two bones! Eat and then go to sleep! BULKY AND OAFY: More! THE HAG: Shut up! I haven’t got any more food. Go and turn, you loafers! You’ve roamed about in the forest all day, but haven’t brought anything along. OAFY: I threw two grouses and a duck into that corner. BULKY: Oh, yes! But why did you eat three ducks all alone on the way home? THE HAG: There you are! You stuff yourself with food in the forest and then come home, wanting more. (The hag climbs onto the stove) OAFY: Bulky’s lying. THE HAG: Shut up, you two! If you don’t calm down, I’ll take the old man’s crutch! BULKY: Here. Take this, Oafy. You may pick this bone. There’s some meat left on it. OAFY: That’s a bloody lie! It’s already been picked! BULKY: It hasn’t been picked! OAFY: It has! BULKY: It hasn’t!
OAFY: It has! THE HAG: Shut up!
(Bulky and Oafy lie down on the straw and begin to snore at once)
TOM: These must be the hag’s sons, they have returned from their hunt. Didn’t you hear- one is called Bulky and the other, Oafy. They have fallen asleep. Jenny, get up! Let’s go! (Just when they have reached the cradle, the old man turns over and pushes his crutch down from the stove. The noise wakes the hag.)
THE HAG: Who is there? JENNY: No one. THE HAG: (The hag jumps down from the stove) Ah, I see, it’s no one. I think you wanted to run away, my chicks. Now listen carefully. First of all, remember you cannot escape from here. Never! This place is so far from people’s homes that nobody will come to look for you here. If you try to run away into the forest, you’ll get lost and you’ll be torn to pieces by wolves. BULKY: (Asks with sleepy voice) Whom are you scolding old woman? THE HAG: It’s none of your business. BULKY: Well I don’t know…. I think I can smell a human. OAFY: I can smell a human, too. THE HUG: Well, even if it were a human what of it? BULKY: Nothing much … I’d eat him up! THE HAG: Go to sleep, Bulky and Oafy! There aren’t any humans around here. (The sounds of snoring.) (Bird song. The hag jumps down the stove. She goes and wakes the children.) THE HAG: Up! Up! With you! I need no lazy- bones around here. There are pigs to be fed, faggots and water to be fetched, vegetable beds to be weeded. And you girl, leave of the whimpering! You’ll mind the baby! You must swing the little one and when he wakes up, take the bottle of milk out from the oven and let him suck at it.
Come, boy! Your work is outside. (The hag and Tom leave the stage) (Jenny looks into the cradle, the boy in the cradle clutches her nose) JENNY: Ouch! Ouch! Let go! I’ll fetch your milk right away. BUMPY: (Sound of the smacking lips) More! More! JENNY: There is no more milk. BUMPY: (pointing to the floor) Pit- pat! JENNY: Oh, I see! Wait a bit! (helps Bumpy out of the cradle). You are so big and you are still in the cradle. Oh! You have bumps on your head! Bumpy! I’ll call you Bumpy. (Tom comes with a pail full of water. Bumpy is running around) JENNY! Calm down! Don’t run! TOM: Look here, boy, if you don’t calm down at once, I’ll pour some cold water over you. (The hag is outside and she is shouting) TOM: Smack him if he doesn’t obey! (The hag comes.) THE HAG: All the work done? TOM: No. But tell us, auntie, when are we going to have breakfast. THE HAG: Breakfast! Only pigs want to fed that early. TOM: We’re terribly hungry. THE HAG: You’ll get your food when the mealtime comes. (Jenny swings the cradle. Tom goes outside) THE OLD MAN: Old woman! THE HAG: What do you want? THE OLD MAN: What I want? What I want? THE HAG: Speak! THE OLD MAN: Come and scratch my back! It itches. THE HAG: Girl, come and help the old man down and scratch his back. (Jenny scratches the back, then runs and swings the cradle, she runs back and scratches again, so several times.) THE HAG: (shouts): Mealtime! JENNY: (looks at the meat in the pot): But it’s raw. THE HAG: Who wants cooked meat? The real meat must be raw. Call the boy! JENNY: Tom! Mealtime!
(Tom comes, the hag and the old man are eating, children can’t eat raw meat.) BUMPY: Tom- ouch! Tom- bad! (The hag and the old man finish their meal) THE HAG: Help the old man back! Boy, go and weed the beds. (Tom leaves the stage) Girl, clean the room. I’ll have a nap and don’t even think about escaping! (The hag and the old man are sleeping. Tom comes.) TOM: Oh, Jenny, I’m so tired. JENNY: Bumpy pulls my hair every time I tell him to behave himself. Tom, do you think we should try to escape tonight? TOM: No, my little Jenny. The hag is on the alert and pricks her ears at the slightest noise. Let her become more careless. (The hag wakes up, jumps down) THE HAG: What a lazy- bones you are! Why aren’t you working! TOM: Auntie, you just keep finding more work for us to do. Let Jenny and me have a rest sometimes so that we could play, too. THE HAG: So you’re demanding less work! Well- never! Should Bulky and Oafy hear that, they’d start coming home at noon already. Don’t say such things when they are around or else I’ll take my cane! JENNY: Then at least you could give us better food, auntie. THE HUG: Better food? I wonder what food could be better than we’ve had today? (The hag runs away. Bumpy cries) THE OLD MAN: Be quiet! Just be quiet! (Tom goes outside. He starts to weed the beds. The bird flies on a bed and starts to talk) BIRD: So you’re still here, Tom? TOM: Yes BIRD: Weeding the hag’s vegetable beds and having no intention to go home? TOM: Of course I want to go home but I can’t see how we could escape. The hag keeps a close eye on us. BIRD: You may get away from here soon enough. TOM: How? BIRD: I saw Bulky and Oafy trying to prize open a coffer that they have found. They won’t succeed because they don’t know the magic formula. I’m sure they’ll soon come running home to get the witch to help them. I’m also sure that the hag will set off with her sons. If you want to escape you’ll have your opportunity.
Now carry on weeding and don’t breathe a word. (The hag is coming) THE HAG: What, is it, Tom. You are so slow. You seem to be growing lazier and lazier. TOM: But, auntie…. (Loud thudding from the forest. Bulky and Oafy run to the stage) THE HAG: Home so early? BULKY: We h- have f- found…. THE HAG: What have you found? OAFY: A c- coffer THE HAG: (yelling) What? Where? (Bulky and Oafy point towards the forest) THE HAG: Then why didn’t you bring it along, you good- for- nothings? BULKY AND OAFY: We c- couldn’t. C- Come with us and b- break the spell. (They run into the house, come out, the hag has a book in her hands and they run off into the forest) (Tom comes into the hut) THE OLD MAN: Who’s there? TOM: It’s me Tom THE OLD MAN: Have any idea where the boys and the old crone ran? TOM: Oh, the boys and auntie? They ran into the forest to fetch a coffer. The boys found a treasure. THE OLD MAN: What? A Treasure? Come here, boy, help me climb down the stove and find my crutches. I’ll go and see myself. (The old man leaning on his crutches hobbles out of the hut, limps into the forest) BUMPY: Milk! Milk! TOM: Well, little boy, today it may take quite a while before you are given your lunch. Jenny, everybody’s away from home now- there’ll never be a better chance for escaping. JENNY: But where shall we leave the child? TOM: The child….. The child will stay here. You can’t take him along? JENNY: No, but how could I leave him on his own? He’ll hurt himself- he’s still very foolish. TOM: Cut it out, Jenny. First of all we’ve got to take care of ourselves. (The bird comes) BIRD: Be quick, children! Aren’t you still getting on your way?
TOM: We’ll come at once. (Tom takes his sister by the hand and pulls her away from the boy) BUMPY: Jenny! Jenny! TOM: Off in that corner with you, boy! JENNY: What do you think of taking him along? BIRD: Whatever you do, you must do it quick. TOM: All right, take him along if you wish. But when they start inquiring at home, you must say it was your idea, not mine. JENNY: Well, I certainly will. (Jenny, Tom and Bumpy start to run) BIRD: Listen! TOM: What is it, birdie? BIRD: It looks bad. The ogres are chasing us. Follow me, quick! Let’s hide! (They hide. The ogres come running) BULKY AND OAFY: Where did they go? THE HAG: Why did you leave them alone? THE OLD MAN: Where is the treasure. Let’s bring the treasure! THE HAG: Shut up! Follow me! (The ogres leave the stage) (The children come to the stage) THE BIRD: You’re as good as saved now. Look! Your home! TOM AND JENNY: Thanks a lot, dear birdie! If it hadn’t been you, they’d caught us. (The bird flies away.) (The living room. Mum and Dad are sitting) MOTHER: Where could our children be? FATHER: I hope that they’ll come home. (Jenny, Tom and Bumpy run into the living room) TOM AND JENNY: Mum! Dad! MOTHER: My dear children! FATHER: Our Tom and Jenny! At long last! MOTHER: You came home.
(Parents and children are hugging. Bumpy goes under the table) FATHER: Who is this? JENNY: It’s the youngest son of the witch. TOM: Jenny took him along. JENNY: I couldn’t leave him behind, alone, could I? He’s already beginning to obey me. Can he stay? FATHER: Well, well. Now that he’s here we can’t send him back, of course. Let Jenny herself look after him. MOTHER: He is rather strange…. So dirty…. And he’s bumps on his head. What is his name? JENNY: Bumpy! FATHER: A strange name! It might do for a nickname, but the boy should also have a real name. Peter? MOTHER: Peter is a nice name for a boy. Jenny, go and wash him. I’ll find some clothes for him. (All sing together) On Peetril nüüd nimepäev, nimepäev tore, sest nimeks ju Nuki on imelik, kole. :,:Saab Nukist nüüd inimlaps puhas ja hea Ja kooligi läheb me Peetrike pea. :,: :,: Oi, Peetrike, Peetrike, Peetrike, Pets, tee kohe sa minuga väikene tants. :,: On Peetril nüüd nimepäev, nimepäev tore, sest nimeks ju Nuki on imelik, kole. :,:Saab Nukist nüüd inimlaps puhas ja hea Ja kooligi läheb me Peetrike pea. :,: :,: Oi, Peetrike, Peetrike, Peetrike, Pets, tee kohe sa minuga väikene tants. :,: