Now I know! We'll eat up the porridge so—
NISSE. The elf will get after him—
NILLA. And he can raise the mischief when he gets angry. [They are over by the dish now, and eating.]
NISSE. Oh, move along and make room for me!
NILLA. Hush! It creaks in the stairs.
NISSE. Now I see the bottom of the dish; there's the lump of butter!
NILLA. Help me with this corner.
NISSE. Ah!—now we'll wipe our mouths and run. [They scurry off left.]
[Elf slides down bell-rope.]
ELF. [Walks about and searches.] Where's my Christmas porridge? I scented its aroma a long way off. It will taste good to me on a cold night, like this. I hope he has given me a big lump of butter this year, since I have been so good to him. [Loosens belt.] There! get you ready, my stomach. I'll let out two holes in the belt, which will make it about right. [He sees dish.] Ah, ha! what's this? Empty dishes! What has come over the old man-hater? Has he grown stingy and arrogant, or does he mock me, when he sets out an empty dish! There has been porridge here [smells]—butter, too! Well, well, old man! I'm sorry for you, but I shall have to punish you. The elf is for the purpose of punishing and rewarding. I must sit down and think out some real Christmas gift. [Sits in chair.] Let me see! The old man shuts himself up in this place with his son, whom he wishes to shield from the evils and shams of the world. The old man has seen much of the world, and hates it; the young one has never been beyond the church door and has seen the world only from the tower. But I know that it tempts him, just because he has seen it like this—from a bird's-eye view. The old man has but one wish in life—that his son shall succeed him and thus be spared the struggles of life and the cruelty of men. It is this wish which I shall cross; it is his only vulnerable point. Well and good! I'll call his godmother. She shall take the boy in hand and show him all the glories of the world; afterwards, there will be nothing more for the old man to do in the matter. The dreams of youth—I know their powers. Well, then! [Blows a whistle.]
[Fairy dressed like an old witch, with brown cloak and cane, emerges from behind a post.]
FAIRY. Good evening, lad.
ELF. Good evening, old lady. Can you corrupt a young man?—Oh! understand me aright.
FAIRY. That depends—
ELF. It won't go in that costume! You see, it's a question of the old man's son.
FAIRY. Our Pehr?
ELF. Just he! Hush, old lady, I'm talking now! The boy is very dear to my heart—that he has been ever since his birth. We—you and I—stood sponsor for him, and we each have our duties. His education is being neglected; he has seen nothing of the world, although he is fifteen to-day. I want him to go out and look around so he will be a credit to us. Have you anything against it?
FAIRY. Nothing. But I fear that he will meet with difficulties out there which we cannot adjust, since our power does not extend beyond these church walls.
ELF. True; and I must search my brain for another idea. Ah—I have it! We'll each give him his godgift, which can serve him in all conditions of life.
FAIRY. And what shall you give? Let us hear!
ELF. Life is rather ticklish, as you know, and the boy is young! He has not as yet, through proper training, had time to learn all the arts by which one gains one's wishes. Now, I ask nothing more of life, for I know what it gives; therefore he shall have my wish-ring. And you?
FAIRY. I daresay that gift is a good one, but when once he has got all that he wished for, he will have made his journey like the blind; therefore I shall give him a gift which will show him matter's face value—I shall give him good company on the way.
ELF. Feminine?
FAIRY. Naturally.
ELF. You're a wise one! No—now you shall take charge of the lad and see that he gets away.
FAIRY. But how? He fears and obeys his father.
ELF. Fiddlesticks! Do your hokus-pokus and show him all the glories down there, in the Christmas-bedecked homes. Then it will go fast enough!
FAIRY. Do you think so?
ELF. I know the young. Here's my ring—and now to business!
FAIRY. Is it right to play with human destiny?
ELF. We only play with human beings, their destinies we do not control. Soon or late, the boy will go out into the world, and he is better equipped than many who have faced life before him. When his journey is over, we can discuss the subject more at length. Are you ready?
FAIRY. [Going toward post.] Immediately. [Fairy disappears.]
ELF. Then I'll whistle. [Disappears behind the other post.]
[Pehr comes down steps leading from top of tower.]
PEHR. Who's there?
FAIRY. [Appears suddenly, dressed in white.] Your godmother, Pehr. Don't you know me?
PEHR. Ah! you are the one who caught me in your arms that time, when I fell from the tower. What do you want of me to-day?
FAIRY. I want to give you a Christmas gift.
PEHR. A gift? What is that?
FAIRY. Something that gives one pleasure.
PEHR. Pleasure?
FAIRY. Fulfillment of one's wishes.
PEHR. Wishes! Now I begin to understand.
FAIRY. When standing out there on the balcony, have you never felt as if something were drawing you—sort of enticing you down?
PEHR. Yes, that I have felt. You see the black streak over there, where light and darkness meet? In the daytime it looks different; and when the wind blows, it moves.
FAIRY. The forest.
PEHR. What is it like in the forest?
FAIRY. It is cool and delightful.
PEHR. That's well! Thither I am drawn, sometimes, so powerfully that I want to rush through the tower window and soar, like the birds in the air!
FAIRY. Beyond the borders of the forest?
PEHR. Is there something beyond?
FAIRY. There lies the world.
PEHR. The world! What is that?
FAIRY. Would you like to see it?
PEHR. Is it pleasant?
FAIRY. Some say it is; the majority say it is not. Come over here and I will show you some pictures from that checkered panorama which people call life. [Transparency curtain.]
Do you see the great house on the square, where all the windows are lighted? The rich man lives there. Now look into the rooms. On the table there is a lighted Christmas-tree laden with all kinds of gifts: the golden fruits of the tropics
