WHERE
THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON
ACT
1 SCENE 1: A FAMILY DINNER
(Minli,
Ma, and Ba are sitting around a small table having dinner.)
Minli:
Ba, tell me the story of fruitless mountain again, tell me again why
nothing grows on it.
Ba:
Ah, you've heard this story so many times.
Minli:
Tell me again, Ba, please?
Ba:
Alright. (He sets down his chopsticks) Once, when there were no
rivers on the earth, the Jade Dragon was in charge of the clouds. She
decided when and where the clouds would rain apon the land and when
they would stop.
(Jade
Dragon flies in and swoops around.)
Ba:
She was very proud of her power and the reverence the people of the
earth paid her. Jade Dragon had four dragon children; Pearl,
(Jade
Dragon stops swooping. Pearl flies in and stands next to Jade
Dragon.)
Ba:
Yellow,
(Yellow
flies in and stands next to Jade Dragon.)
Ba:
Long,
(Long
flies in adn stands with his family.)
Ba:
and Black.
(Black
flies in and stands with his family.)
Ba:
They helped Jade Dragon with her work, and whenever they flew in the
sky she was overwhelmed with love and pride.
(Pearl,
Yellow, Long, and Black fly in circles around Jade Dragon. Jade
Dragon smiles.)
Ba:
However, one day, as Jade Dragon ended the rain and moved the clouds
far from the land, she overheard some villigar's conversation.
(
The dragons stand off to the side. Cheng and Fengge enter the scene.)
Cheng:
Ah, thank goodness the rain is gone.
Fengge:
Yes, I'm so tired of the rain. I'm glad the clouds are gone and the
sun is finally shining.
(The
Villigars walk out of the scene.)
Ba:
Those words filled Jade Dragon with anger.
Jade
Dragon: (Stepping forewards) Tired of rain! Glad the clouds are gone!
How dare the villigars dishonor me this way!
Ba:
Jade Dragon was so offended that she decided to never let it rain for
the people again.
Jade
Dragon: The people can enjoy the sun forever.
Ba:Of
course that meant dispair for the people on earth.
(Cheng
and Fengge enter.)
Ba:
As the sun beat overhead and the rain never came, drought and famine
spread over the land.
Fengge:
How are we supposed to live without water?
Cheng:
I don't know. It feels as if the rain will never come.
Fengge:
I sure hope it does.
Cheng:
Me too.
Fennge
and Cheng: Please Jade Dragon, make it rain!
(Jade
Dragon turns her back on the villigars.)
Ba:
But the suffering did not go unnoticed by Jade Dragon's children.
They were horrified by the anguish and misery on earth.
(Pearl
walks up to Jade Dragon, Black, Long, and Yellow trailing behind
her.)
Pearl:
Please, Mother. Please make it rain on earth, the people are
suffering.
Yellow,
Long, and Black: Please?
Jade
Dragon: We will never make it rain for the people again!
Ba:
Pearl, Yellow, Long, and Black met in secret.
(The
Dragon Children huddle in the front corner away from Jade Dragon.)
Black:
We must do something for the people, if they don't get water soon,
they will die.
Yellow:
Yes, but what can we do? We cannot make it rain. We cannot dishonor
our mother with disobedience.
Long:
I will sacrifice myself for the people of the earth. I will lie on
the ground and transform myself in to water for them to drink.
Yellow:
I will do the same.
Pearl
and Black: As will we.
(The
Dragon Children lie down in four different places.)
Ba:
So Jade Dragon's children went down to the earth and turned
themselves into water, saving the people of the earth. They became
the four great rivers of the land, stopping the draught and death of
all those on earth.
(Jade
Dragon flies in.)
Ba:
But when Jade Dragon saw what her children had done, she cursed
herself for her pride. No longer would her Dragon Children fly in the
air with her or call her mother.
Jade
Dragon: Oh, what have I done?
Ba:
Her heart broke in grief and sadness; she fell from the sky and
became the Jade River in hopes that one day she could be reunited
with her children.
(Jade
Dragon falls to the ground.)
Ba:
Fruitless mountain is the broken heart of the Jade Dragon. Nothing
grows or lives on the mountain; the land around it is hard and the
water of the river is dark because Jade Dragon's spirit is still in
there. Until Jade Dragon is no longer lonely and is reunited with at
least on of her children, fruitless mountain will remain bare.
(All
Dragons leave the stage.)
Minli:
Why doesn't someone bring the water from the four great rivers to the
mountain? Wouldn't that make Jade Dragon happy?
Ba:
When Jade dragon's children turned themselves into water they were at
peace and thier spirits were released. Thier spirits are no longer in
the water. So Jade Dragon cannot find them in the rivers. Over a
hundred years ago, a man tried to reunite them by bringing stone from
the mountain to the four rivers.
Ma:
That man was not taking the stone for a dragon spirit, my grandmother
told me he was an artist. He took the rock to carve into inking
stones.
Minli:
Did he ever come back?
Ma:
(Sighs) No, it probably didn't make good ink. He probably found
something finer elsewhere. I bet the bronze on his horse's sadlle was
more than we'll ever have. (Sighs)
Minli:
So how will fruitless mountain ever grow green again?
Ba:
Ah, that is a question you will have to ask the Old Man of the Moon.
Minli:
Oh, tell that story next! Whenever I ask something important, people
say “That is a question you wll have to ask the Old Man of the
Moon”. One day, I will ask him.
Ma:
The Old Man of the Moon! Another story! Our house is bare and our
rice hardly fills our bowls, but we have plenty of stories. What a
poor fortune we have. (Sighs)
Ba:
Maybe I should tell you that story tomorrow.
ACT
1 SCENE 2: THE GOLDFISH
(Minli
is standing in her house staring into a basin of water.)
Minli:
Ma is right, what a poor fortune we have. Everyday Ba and Ma work and
work, but we still have nothing. I wish I could change our fortune.
(Goldfish
Man enters the street outside Minli's house. Villigars enter and
watch the Goldfish Man.)
Goldfish
Man: Goldfish! Goldfish! Bring fortune to your home! Goldfish!
(Minli
walks out of her house and up to the Goldfish Man.)
Minli:
How does a goldfish bring forttune into your home?
Goldfish
Man: Don't you know? Goldfish means plenty of gold. Having a bowl of
goldfish means your house will be full of gold and jade.
(Minli
runs into her house, grabs a coin, and runs back to the Goldfish
Man.)
Minli:
(Pointing at a goldfish) I'll buy that one.
Villigar
1: Don't believe his impossible talk. A goldfish won't bring fortune.
Save your money.
(Minli
gives the Goldfish Man the coin and he hands her a goldfish.)
Goldfish
Man: May it bring you great fortune.
(The
Goldfish Man walks away Minli returns to her house and sets the fish
on the table. Ma and Ba walk in the door.)
Minli:
Ma! Ba! I got a goldfish!
Ma:
How could you spend your money on that?
(Ma
sets down bowls on the table.)
Ma:
On something so useless! And we will have to feed it! There is barely
enough rice for us as it is!
Minli:
I will share my rice with it. The goldfish man said that it will
bring fortune to our house.
Ma:
Fortune! You spent half the money in our house!
Ba:
Now, Wife. It was Minli's money. It was hers to do with as she
wished. Money must be used sometime. What use is money in a bowl?
Ma:
It's more useful than a goldfish in a bowl.
Ba:
Who knows, maybe it will bring fortune to our house.
Ma:
Another impossible dream. It will take more than a goldfish to bring
fortune to our house.
(Minli
sits down at the table.)
Minli:
Like what? What do we need to bring fortune here?
Ba:
(Sitting down) Ah, that is a question you wll have to ask the Old Man
of the Moon.
Minli:
The Old Man of the Moon again. Ba, you said you would tell me the
story of the Old Man of the Moon again today.
Ma:
(Sitting down) More stories! Haven't we had enough of those?
Ba:
Now, Wife, stories cost us nothing.
Ma:
and gain us nothing as well.
Minli:
Please, Ba?
(Ma
shakes her head and sighs.)
Ba:
Once there was a magistrate who was quite powerful and proud.
(Magistrate
Tiger walks onstage.)
Ba:
He was so proud that he demanded constant respect from his people.
Whenever he made a trip out of the city, no matter wahst time of day
or night, people were to leave thier homes, get on thier knees, and
make deep bows as he passed, or else face the brutal punishment of
his soldiers.
(Villigars
run out of thier homes and kneel.)
Ba:
The Magistrate was fierce in his anger as well as his pride. It was
said he even expected the monkeys to come down from the trees to bow
to him. People called him Magistrate Tiger. Magistrate Tiger's most
coveted wish was to be of royal blood. As soon as his son was born,
(Magistrate
Tiger's son comes to join his father.)
Ba:
He began to make trips and inquiries to gain influence, in hopes that
he could marry his son to a member of the imperial family. One night
the magistrate travelled through the mountains.
(The
Old Man of the Moon walks on and sits down with his book. Magistrate
Tiger walks up to him.)
Ba:
He saw an old man sitting alone in the moonlight. The old man ignored
him and simply continued reading the large book in his lap. The old
man was fingering a bag of red string beside him. The old man's
indiference infuriated the magistrate.
Magistrate
Tiger: (Stomps) Do you not bow to your magistrate?
(The
Old Man of the Moon does nothing.)
Magistrate
Tiger: What are you reading that is so important? (Looking in the big
book) Why, it's just nonesense written in there!
Old
Man of the Moon: Nonesense! You fool. This is the book of fortune.It
holds all the knowledge of the world-the past, preasent, and future.
Magistrate
Tiger: I cannot read it!
Old
Man of the Moon: Of course not. But I, The Old Man of the Moon,
guardian of the book of fortune, can read it, and with it, I can
answer any question in the world.
Magistrate
Tiger: You can answer any question in the world? (Scoffing) very
well, who will my son marry when he is of age?
(The
Old Man of the Moon flips through his book and stops at a page.)
Old
Man of the Moon: Hmm. Yes, here it is... your son's future wife is
now the two-year-old daughter of a grocer in the next village.
Magistrate
Tiger: The daughter of a grocer!
Old
Man of the Moon: Yes, right now she is wrapped in a blue blanket
embroidered with white rabbits, sitting on the lap of her blind
grandmother in front of her house.
Magistrate
Tiger: No! I won't allow it!
Old
Man of the Moon: It's true. they are destined to be husband and wife.
I, myself tied the red chord that binds them.
Magistrate:
What red chord?
Old
Man of the Moon: Do you know nothing? I tie together everyone who
meets with these red threads.
(Old
Man of the Moon holds up his bag of red threads.)
Old
Man of the Moon: When you were born, I tied your ankle to your wife's
ankle with a red thread, as you both became older the line became
shorter until you finally met. All the people you met in your life
have been brought to you by the red chords I tied. I must have
forgotten to tie the end of one of the threads, which is why you are
meeting me now. I won't do that again.
Magistrate
Tiger: I don't believe you.
Old
Man of the Moon: Believe it or don't believe it. We have reached the
end of our thread and I will now leave.
(Old
Man of the Moon stands up and puts his book on his back. He exits.)
Magistrate
Tiger: Crazy old man, what a waste of my time!
Ba:
The Magistrate continued along the road.
(Magistrate
Tiger keeps walking. Grandmother appears holding baby in blue ad
white blanket.)
Ba:
But as he walked through the next village he saw an old blind woman
holding a baby girl in front of a house. The girl was wrapped in a
blue blanket embroidered with white rabbits, just as the Old Man of
the Moon had said.
(Servant
1 walks up and stands next to the Magistrate.)
Magistrate
Tiger: I will not let my son marry a grocer's daughter! That's it, I
must kill her. Servant, I order you to go stab that girl with a
knife, that will take care of her.
Ba:
Many years later Magistrate Tiger had his dream fulfilled.
(Grandmother
and baby exit. Partygoers and Magistrate's Wife enter.)
Ba:
He was finally able to obtain a match for his son with one of the
emporer's many grandaughters, and his son would innherrit the rule of
a remote city.
Magistrate
Tiger: Oh son, I'm so happy. I totally outwitted that Old Man of the
Moon!
Ba:
The son was not like his father, and after the ceremony he sent a
trusted servant to find the grocer's family and make ammends.
(Servant
exits.)
Ba:
The Magistrate's son found his new wife to beautiful, the only oddity
about her bieng that she always wore a delicate flower on her
forehead.
Magistrate's
Son: Dear wife, why do you always wear that flower? Even to sleep,
you never remove it.
Magistrate's
Wife: It's to hide my scar. (touches the flower) When I was a child
no older than two, a strange man stabbed me with a knife. I survived,
but I still have this scar.
(Servant
rushes in.)
Servant
1: Master, I made teh inquiries you asked for. In a flood many years
ago the grocer's family parished-except for the daughter. The king of
the city (The emporer's ninth son) then adopted the daughter and
raised her as his own... and that daughter is your wife!
Minli:
So the Old Man of the Moon was right!
(All
story characters exit.)
Ba:
Of course he was. The Old Man of the Moon kows everything and can
answer any question you ask.
Minli:
I should ask him how to bring fortune to our house! He would know,
I'll ask him. Where do I find him?
Ba:
They say he lives on top of Never Ending Mountain, but no one I have
ever spoken to knows where that is.
Minli:
Maybe we can find out.
Ma:
Oh Minli! Bring fortune to our house! Making Fruitless Mountain
bloom! Your always wishing to do impossible things! Stop believing
stories and stop wasting your time!
Ba:
Stories are not a waste of time.
Ma:
Stories are what wasted money on this goldfish.
(Minli
stares down at her rice.)
Ba:
Eat all your rice, daughter.
(Ba
drops a few grains of rice from his bowl into the fishbowl.)
ACT
1 SCENE 3: DIRECTIONS
(Minli
is sitting by the Jade River with her fishbowl.)
Minli:
I am sorry I can't keep you. I hope you will be alright in the river.
(Minli
empties the fishbowl into the river and sighs. Goldfish swims around
in circles.)
Minli:
Ma will never stop sighing unless our fortune changes, but how will
it ever change? I guess that's just another question for the Old Man
of the Moon. Too bad no one knows how to get to Never-Ending Mountain
to ask him anything.
Goldfish:
(Looking at Minli) I know where it is.
Minli:
Did you say something?
Goldfish:
Yes, I know how you can get to Never-Ending Mountain and ask the Old
Man of the Moon a question.
Minli:
You're a talking fish? How can you talk?
Goldfish:
Most fish talk, if you are willing to listen. One, of course must
want to listen.
Minli:
I do! How do you know the way to Never-Ending Moutain?
Goldfish:
I've swum all the oceans and rivers, except one, and on my way to the
last one, the Goldfish Man caught me. I dispaired in his cart, for I
have seen and learned so much of the world, including the way to
Never-Ending-Mountain. Since you have set me free, I will tell you.
Minli:
You've swum all the oceans and rivers? Which river haven't you seen?
Why have you travelled so much? Where is Never-Ending-Mountain? When
did-
Goldfish:
This river is the one river I have not swum, and I have waited a long
time to see it, so I would like to start as soon as possible. You can
ask the Old Man of the Moon your other questions. Let me tell you the
way to him so I can be off.
(Minli
nods.)
Goldfish:
Take a small bit of this stone and rub it up and down a needle 99
times. Put water in a bowl and let a piece of bamboo float in it.
Place the needle you rubbed the stone on and set it on the piece of
bamboo. Follow the point of the needle.
Minli:
Thank you! Good luck!
(Minli
picks up the stone from the Goldfish. Minli runs off with the empty
fishbowl.)
ACT
1 SCENE 4: RUNNING AWAY
(Minli
walks onstage and sets two bowls on the table. She sits down at the
table with a pen and paper and starts to write.)
Minli:
(Writing) Dear Ma and Ba, I am going to Never-Ending-Mountain to ask
the Old Man of the Moon how I can change our fortune. I might be away
for many days, but don't worry, I will be fine. When I come back, we
will be able to fill our house with gold and jade. Love, your
obedient daughter, Minli.
(Minli
leaves the note on the table and sets a blanket on the floor. On the
blanket Minli puts the stone from Goldfish, a needle, chopsticks, her
white rabbit rice bowl, a piece of dried bamboo, a hollow gourd full
of water, a small knife, a fishnet, some uncooked rice, a large pot,
and a coin. Minli wraps the blanket into a bag and hangs it over her
shoulder. Minli walks out the door. Minli walks to the opposite
corner of the stage and unwraps the blanket. Minli takes out the
knife, the needle, the rice bowl, the bamboo piece, the stone from
the Goldfish and the gourd of water. Minli rubs the stone along the
needle many times. Minli puts water in the rice bowl and sets the
piece of bamboo in it. Minli picks up the needle.)
Minli:
OK, lead the way.
(Minli
sets the needle in the bowl and smiles. Minli picks up the bowl.)
Minli:
Thank you, now I'll follow where you want me to go.
(Minli
starts to walk across the stage.)
Minli:
Goodbye, Jade Dragon! When I come back I will know how to make you
happy again!
(Minli
keeps walking.)
Minli:
I want to make sure I walk far enough that if Ma and Ba begin to look
for me, they can't find me.
ACT
2 SCENE 1: THE NOTE
(Ma
and Ba walk towards thier house.)
Ma:
Why is Minli sitting in the darkness?
Ba:
(shaking his head) Maybe she is upset about giving up her goldfish.
Ma:
Can our fortune be any poorer? (sighs) We cannot even feed a goldfish
for our daughter.
(Ma
and Ba enter the house and read Minli's note.)
Ma:
Aah! I spoke too soon. Our fortune is now the worst, for our only
daughter is gone!
Ba:
Quiet, quiet, wife. If we move quickly we can catch up with her and
bring her back home.
(Ba
starts to pack a cloth.)
Ba:
She has almost half a day to travel ahead, it might take us some time
to find her.
Ma:
It's all the stories you told her, she believed them and now she's
out looking for fairy tales.
Ba:
Let us go.
(Ma
and Ba leave the house. The Villigars crowd around to see what's
going on.)
Villigar
1: What is happening?
Ba:
Minli has left to find the Old Man of the Moon to change our fortune.
Villigar
1: The Old Man of the Moon?
Villigar
2: Changing your fortune? You'd better go find her or else she will
never return.
Villigar
3: Foolish Minli, she is trying to do the impossible!
Ma:
Did any of you see her leave?
(All
villigars point in random directions.)
Little
Boy: Minli left towards Fruitless Mountain, I saw her with her pack.
She went that way (points to Fruitless Mountain.)
(Ma
and Ba walk up to Fruitless Mountain.)
Ba:
Where did she go from here?
Ma:
Here! There are footprints going towards the woods. Maybe they are
Minli's.
Ba:
(pointing to the ground) But what is that?
Ma:
Maybe Minli was dragging a walking stick, the footprints could be
hers.
Ba:
Perhaps they are, let's follow them.
(Ma
and Ba walk off stage. Ma and Ba walk back on stage and start to walk
across the stage.)
Ba:
We should rest.
Ma:
We must keep going, we have to find Minli.
Ba:
But you are tired, I am too. We can rest and afterwards be will be
able to continue faster.
Ma:
I am not tired. If you are tired, you can rest, but I will continue
to look for our daughter.
Ba:
We should stay together.
Ma:
If you wish to stay with me, then you will have to keep going.
Ba:
If Minli stopped to rest we may catch up with her soon.
Ma:
When we find her she must know she is never to do this agian. Never!
Ba:
Now, wife. Minli did not leave to cause us harm.
Ma:
No, she left to find a fairy tale. Never-Ending-Mountain and the Old
Man of the Moon! Of all the foolish things.
Ba:
Stories are not foolish.
Ma:
Says you! Because you are the one who filled her with them. Making
her believe she could change our miserable fortune with an impossible
story! Ridiculus!
Ba:
Yes, it is impossible, but it is not ridiculus.
(Sound
of breaking branches comes from up ahead.)
Ma:
Minli!
(Ma
and Ba run off in the direction.)
Ma:
It's the Goldfish Man. Will we ever find Minli?
ACT
2 SCENE 2: THE DRAGON
(Minli
is walking with her empty jug of water through the forest.)
Minli:
That's water trickling! Now I can fill my jug!
(Minli
runs down to the stream and tastes the water.)
Minli:
Salt water! This water is salty! How is this stream salty? I am far
from the ocean. This is very strange. I will follow it to see why
it's salty.
Dragon:
(Moans)
Minli:
Who's there?
Dragon:
Help! Can you help me?
Minli:
I'm coming!
(Minli
puts down her things and runs towards the Dragon.)
Dragon:
Are you still there? Please help me!
Minli:
I'm coming!
(Minli
runs up to the Dragon.)
Minli:
A dragon!
Dragon:
Can you help me? I am trapped.
Minli:
What happened to you?
Dragon:
The monkeys tied me up while I was sleeping. I have been here for
days.
(Minli
takes her knife out of her pack and starts to cut the rope off of the
Dragon.)
Minli:
Why did the monkeys tie you up?
Dragon:
Because I want to go further into the forest into the peach grove,
and the monkeys will not let anyone through. I have been trying to
make them let me pass peacefully for days, but they are so
unreasonable. Finally I told them if they did not let me through I
would just force my way through. They know I am big and strong enough
to go through without thier persmission. So when I went to sleep,
they tied me up.
Minli:
Why won't the monkeys let anyone pass?
Dragon:
Because they are greedy things. They have just discovered the peach
trees that make up the next part of the forest. The monkeys do not
want to let anyone through because they don't want to share the
peaches. Even when I promised not to touch any fruit, they would not
let me through. They do not even want to share the sight of those
peaches.
Minli:
Why do you have to go through the forest, can't you just fly over?
Dragon:
I cannot fly. I do not know why. All other dragons can fly, but I
cannot. I wish I knew why.
Minli:
Don't cry. I am going to the Never Ending Mountain to see the Old
Man of the Moon and ask him how to change our family's fortune. You
can come too and ask him how to fly.
Dragon:
You know where Never Ending Mountain is? I thought to see the Old Man
of the Moon was impossible. You must be very wise to know how to find
him.
Minli:
Not really, I got the directions from a goldfish.
(Minli
finishes cutting the rope off the dragon.)
Minli:
I'm Minli, what's your name?
Dragon:
Name? I don't think I have a name.
Minli:
Everyone has a name. When you were born, did someone give you a name?
Dragon:
When I was born I remember two voices speaking.
(Chen
walks in with dragon painting. Aprentice follows.)
Aprentice:
Master! This is magnificent – the dragon is almost alive!
Chen:
Add more water to the inkstone and speak quietly. You will wake the
dragon.
Aprentice:
I am sorry master, it is only that this painting is most amazing,
even for such a skilled artist as you. This dragon painting will
bring great honor to the village when we present it to the
Magistrate.
Chen:
Wasted on the Magistrate. A concieted, self important man, who, when
only the emperial family is allowed to use the image of a dragon,
commisions one. Now that his son has married the king's daughter,
Magistrate Tiger will do anything to flaunt his power and overstretch
his authority. But this painting will buy his favour and free the
village from his unfair taxes.
Aprentice:
What, master?
Chen:
Nothing, only that I have painted the dragon on the ground, not
flying in the sky like other dragons. Perhaps the Magistrate will see
how his wieght weighs him down.
Aprentice:
I doubt the Magistrate will understand that meaning, Master.
Chen:
True, but the dragon should still please him. I will prepare for his
visit. The painting is finished. Clean the brushes and take great
care of my special inkstone. It is one of a kind, the only inkstone
that was able to be made from a rock my master cut from a mountain
far from here. He never told anyone which mountain, so we can never
make another.
Aprentice:
Yes, master. But the dragon, is it finished? You have not painted the
eyes.
Chen:
As a painting, it is finished, young aprentice, I still have much to
teach you.
Dragon:
I heard the voices and footsteps fade away. I felt the warm light of
the sun running over my skin, but my arms and legs were frozen. I
could hear the wind rustling leaves in the trees and the birds
hopping on the ground, but I saw nothing.
(Magistrate
Tiger, Aprentice, Chen, Servant 1, and Townspeople enter.)
Chen:
As you requested, your Magnificence.
Magistrate:
Painter Chen, this is indeed great work.
Chen:
Thank you, Magistrate. I am glad it pleases you. Then our agreement
will be fulfilled?
Magistrate:
Yes, the village will be free from taxation for the next year.
(Townspeople
cheer.)
Magistrate:
And I will take the painting.
Dragon:
Even though I did not know exactly what was going on, I knew I did
not want to belong to Magistrate Tiger. His voice had an undertone of
cruelty and greed, even while he was expressing his pleasure. I tried
to protest but my lips uttered no sound. Then I was rolled up and all
sound and feeling dissapeared.
(Servant
1 rolls up the painting. Servant 1 and Magistrate Tiger walk off
stage in one direction, everyone else walks off another way.)
Dragon:
I do not know how long I was rolled up. All I could do was wait. But
finally I was unrolled and I felt a cold gust of air all over me.
(Servant
1 is standing with the rolled up painting. Magistrate is sitting in a
large chair against the wall. Servant 1 unrolls the painting.)
Servant
1: This painting is a masterpiece! As only fitting for your
greatness.
(Enter
Servant 2.)
Magistrate
Tiger: Yes, have it hung behind my chair.
Servant
1: Yes, Magistrate. (Looks at the painting) How strange.
Magistrate:
What's strange?
Servant
1: Well, there are no eyes on the dragon, the painter must have
forgotten.
Magistrate:
No eyes! Painter Chen dared give me an unfinished painting! I will
double tax his village for the next ten years!
Servant
2: Magistrate, (Steps forewards) it is only a minor flaw. If we just
dotted in the eyes the dragon would be finished.
Magistrate:
Hmm, yes. Bring me a paintbrush and ink.
(Servant
1 leaves and comes back with a paintbrush and ink. The servants set
the painting in front of Magistrate Tiger. Servant 1 hands him the
paintbrush. Magistrate Tiger reaches to paint eyes onto the dragon.)
Dragon:
I felt the cold ink touch my eye, and suddenly, I could see. I saw
the Magistrate's face leering over me as he reached over to dot in
the other eye.
(Magistrate
Tiger paints the other eye.)
Dragon:
I felt strength come into my arms, legs, hands, and feet, and my neck
and head stretched for the first time. All the loud yells I had
wanted to make now came rushing out of my mouth.
(roar
from offstage.)
Magistrate
Tiger: It has come alive! Dragon! It has come alive! Dragon!
(All
story characters leave stage.)
Dragon:
I jumped from where I was and jumped over everyone, knocking over
desks, chairs, and columns. I saw the blue sky and green leaves
through a window, went towards it, and simply crashed through a wall
to get through. The building was falling down and all the people were
yelling. I ran as fast as I could into the forest and left them far
away. So I think my name is Dragon, since that's what everyone called
me.
Minli:
Dragon. Well, I guess it's a good enough name. It will be easy for me
to remember.
(Dragon
nods.)
Minli:
So you were born from a painting! That is why you are so different
from the other dragons my father told me about.
Dragon:
Your father knew other dragons? I have never seen another dragon. I
always thought if I could fly, I would finally meet another like me.
Minli:
Um, well. I don't think my father knew any dragons. He just told me
stories about them. Most people think dragons are just in stories.
You are the only dragon I've ever met.
Dragon:
Oh, and I am not even a real dragon.
Minli:
You are the only dragon I've ever met in real life, and you feel real
to me. So , I think you're a real dragon, or, at least real enough.
Anyway, if we're going to Never Ending Mountain together, let's at
least be real friends.
Dragon:
Yes.
(They
exit.)
ACT
2 SCENE 3: LAO LAO
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