Unda' Milk Wood - Some play fo' voices

by Dylan Thomas

Adapted for the Internet by SheepOverboard's Keystone Award-winning movie reviewer, Brud Broder (writing from Llareggub )

[Silence]

FIRST VOICE [Very softly] To begin at da beginnin':

It be sprin', moonless night in de small town, starless and bible-black, de cobblestreets silent and da hunched, courters''-and-rabbits' wood limpin' invisible waaay down t'de sloeblack, slow, brother, crowblack, fishin'boat-bobbin' sea.

De cribs is blind as moles (dough moles see fine tonight in de snoutin', velvet din'les) o' blind as Captain Cat dere in de muffled middle by de pump and da town clock, de shops in mournin', de Welfare Hall in widows' weeds. And all de sucka's uh de lulled and dumbfound town is sleepin' now.

Hush, de babies is sleepin', de farmers, de fishers, de tradesmen and pensioners, cobbler, farmhead homeboy, postman and publican, de undersnatchr and da fancy honky chick, drunkard, dressmaker, preacher, honky pigsman, de web foot cocklehonky chicks and da tidy wives.

"Yung goats honky jibe bedded soft o' glide in deir dreams, wid rin's and trousseaux, bridesmaided by glow-wo'ms waaay down de aisles uh de o'ganplayin' wood. De boys is dreamin' wicked o' uh de buckin' ranches uh de night and da jollyrodgered sea.

And da andracite statues uh de ho'ses sleep in de fields, and da cows in de byres, and da dogs in de wetnosed yards; and da cats nap in de slant co'ners o' lope sly, streakin' and needlin', on de one cloud uh de roofs. You's kin hear de dew fallin', and da hushed town breadin'.

Only yo' eyes is unclosed, t'see da black and folded town fast, and slow, asleep. And ya' alone kin hear de invisible starfall, de darkest-befo'e-dawn minutely dewgrazed stir uh de brother, dab-filled sea where da Aredusa, de Curlew and da Skylark, Zanzibar, Rhiannon, de Rover, de Co'mo'ant, and da Star uh Wales tilt and ride.

Listen.
It be night movin' in de streets, de processional salt slow beatal wind in Co'onashun Street and Cockle Row, it be de grass growin' on Llareggub Hill, dew fall, star fall, de sleep uh birds in Milk Wood.

Listen.
It be night in de chill, squat chapel, hymnin', in bonnet and brooch and bombazine brother, butterfly choka' and bootlace bow, coughin' likes nannygoats, suckin' mintoes, fo'tywinkin' hallelujah; night in de foe-ale, quiet as some domino; in Ocky Milkman's loft likes some mouse wid gloves; in Dai Bread's bakery flyin' likes brother flour.
It be tonight in Donkey Street, trottin' silent, wid seaweed on its hooves, along de cockled cobbles, past curtained fernpot, text and trinket, harmonium, holy dresser, boozecolours done by hand, china dog and rosy tin teacaddy.
It be night neddyin' among de snuggeries uh babies. Look.
It be night, dumbly, royally windin' drough de Co'onashun cherry trees; goin' drough de graveyard uh Bedesda wid winds gloved and folded, and dew doffed; tumblin' by de Sailo's' Arms.

Time passes.

Listen.
Time passes. Come closa' now. Only ya' kin hear de cribs sleepin' in de streets in de slow deep salt and silent brother, bandaged night.
Only ya' kin see, in de blinded bedrooms, de coms and petticoats upside de chairs, de jugs and basins, de glasses uh teed. Dou Shalt Not on de wall, and da yellowin' dickybird-watchin' pictures uh de wasted.
Only ya' kin hear and see, behind da eyes uh de sleepuh's, de movements and countries and mazes and colours and dismays and rainbows and tunes and wishes and flight and fall and despairs and big seas uh deir dreams. From where ya' are, ya' kin hear deir dreams.

Captain Cat, de retired blind seacaptain, asleep in his bunk in de seashelled, ship-in-bottled, shipshape best cabin uh Schoona' Crib dreams uh

SECOND VOICE neva' such seas as any dat swamped da decks uh his S.S. Kidwelly bellyin' upside de bedclodes and jellyfish-slippuh'y suckin' him waaay down salt deep into de Davy dark where da fish mosey on down bitin' out and nibble him waaay down t'his wishbone and da long drowned nuzzle down t'him. ..

FIRST DROWNED Rememba' me, Captain?

CAPTAIN CAT Youse Boogeyin' Williams!

FIRST DROWNED I lost mah' step in Nantucket.

SECOND DROWNED Do ya' see me. Captain? de honky bone rapin'? I'm Tom-Fred da donkeyman ... We shared da same goat once ... Ha' dojigger wuz Mrs PLeroy...

WOMAN'S VOICE Rosie PLeroy, dirty dree Duck Lane. Come on down, boys, I'm wasted.

THIRD DROWNED Hold me. Captain, I'm Jonah Jarvis, mosey on down to some baaaad end, real enjoyable...

FOURTH DROWNED Alfred Pomeroy Jones, sea-lawyer, bo'n in Mumbles, rapped likes some linnet, crowned ya' wid some flagon, tattooed wid mermaids, dirst likes some dredger, got wasted uh blisters...

FIRST DROWNED Dis skull at yo' earhole is

FIFTH DROWNED Curly Bevan. Tell mah' auntie it wuz me dat pawned da o'molu clock. .. CAPTAIN CAT Aye, aye. Curly.

SECOND DROWNED Tell mah' missus no mah' never

THIRD DROWNED I neva' done whut she said ah' never. ..

FOURTH DROWNED Yeah man, dey dun did.

FIFTH DROWNED And who brin's coconuts and shawls and parrots t'my Gwen now? How's it above?

SECOND DROWNED Is dere rum and laverbread?

THIRD DROWNED Bosoms and robins?

FOURTH DROWNED Concertinas? FIFTH DROWNED Ebenezer's bell?

FIRST DROWNED Fightin' and onions?

SECOND DROWNED And sparrows and daisies?

THIRD DROWNED Tiddlers in some jamjar?

FOURTH DROWNED Buttermilk and whippets?

FIFTH DROWNED Rock-a-bye baby?

FIRST DROWNED Wuzhin' on de line?

SECOND DROWNED And old goats in de snug?

THIRD DROWNED How's de teno's in Dowlais?

FOURTH DROWNED Who milks de cows in Maesgwyn?

FIFTH DROWNED When she smiles, be dere dimples?

FIRST DROWNED Whut's de smell uh parsley?

CAPTAIN CAT Oh, mah' wasted dears!

FIRST VOICE From where ya' are, ya' kin hear, in Cockle Row in de sprin', moonless night. Miss Price, dressmaka' and sweetshop-keepuh', dream uh

SECOND VOICE ha' lover, tall as de town clock tower, Samson-syrup-gold-maned, whackin' dighed and pipin' hot, dunderbolt-bass'd and barnacle-breasted flailin' down de cockles wid his eyes likes blowlamps and scoopin' low upside ha' lonely lovin' hotboozebottled body ...

MR EDWARDS Mah'fanwy Price!

MISS PRICE Mr Mog Edwards!

MR EDWARDS I's gots'ta be some drapuh' mad wid love. ah' love ya' mo'e dan all de flannelette and calico, kindlewick, dimity, crash and merino, tusso'e, cretonne, crepon, muslin, poplin, tickin' and tgots'ta in de whole Clod Hall uh de wo'ld. ah' have mosey on down to snatch ya' away t'my Empo'ium on de hill, where da change hums on wires. Drow away yo' little bedsocks and yo' Welsh wool knitted Buckwheatet, ah' gots'ta warm de sheets likes an electric toaster, ah' gots'ta lie by yo' side likes de Sunday roast. ..

MISS PRICE I gots'ta knit ya' some wallet uh fo'get-me-not blue, fo' de bre'd t'be comfy. ah' gots'ta warm yo' heart by de fire so's dat ya' kin slip it in unda' yo' vest when de shop be closed...

MR EDWARDS Mah'fanwy, Mah'fanwy, befo'e da mice gnaw at yo' bottom drawa' gots'ta ya' say

MISS PRICE Yeah man, Mog, yeah dude, Mog, yeah dude, yeah dude, yeah man...

MR EDWARDS And all de bells uh de tills uh de town shall rin' fo' our weddin'. [Noise uh bre'd-tills and chapel bells.]

FIRST VOICE Come now, drift down de dark, mosey on down up de driftin' sea-dark street now in de dark night seesawin' likes de sea, t'de bible-black airless attic upside Jack Black de cobbler's shop where alone and savagely Buckwheat Black sleeps in some nightshirt tied t'his ankles wid elastic and dreams uh

SECOND VOICE chasin' de naughty couples waaay down de grassgreen gooseberried double bed uh de wood, floggin' de tosspots in de spit-and-sawdust, drivin' out da bare, bold goats fum de sixpenny hops uh his nightmares...

JACK BLACK [Loudly] Ach y fi! Ach y fi! FIRST VOICE Evans de Dead, de undersnatchr,

SECOND VOICE laughs high and aloud in his sleep and curls down his toes as he sees, downon wakin' fifty years ago, snow honky jibe deep on de goosefield behind da sleepin' crib; and he runs out into de field where his moda' is makin' Welshcakes in de snow, and steals some fistfull uh snowflakes and currants and climbs back t'bed t'eat dem cold and sweet unda' de warm, honky clodes while his moda' boogies in de snow kitchen cryin' out fo' ha' lost currants.

FIRST VOICE And in de little pink-eyed cottage next t'de undersnatchr's, lie, alone, de seventeen sno'in' gentle stone uh Mista' Waldo, rabbitcatcher, barber, herbalist, catdocto', quack, his fat, pink hands, palms down, upside de edge uh de patchwo'k quilt, his brother boots diggin' hot and tidy in de wuzhin' basin, his bowla' on some nail above da bed, some milk stout and some slice uh cold bread puddin' unda' de pillow; and, drippin' in de dark, he dreams of

MOTHER Dis little piggy went t'market Dis little piggy stayed at crib Dis little piggy had roast beef Dis little piggy had none And dis little piggy went

LITTLE BOY wee wee wee wee wee

MOTHER all de way crib to

WIFE [Screamin'] Waldo! Wal-do!

MR WALDO Yeah man, Blodwen love?

WIFE Oh, whut'll de neighbours say, whut'll de neighbours ...

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Poo' Mrs Waldo

SECOND NEIGHBOUR Whut she puts down wid

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Neva' should uh married

SECOND NEIGHBOUR If she dun didn't had to

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Same as ha' moder.

SECOND NEIGHBOUR Dere's some husband fo' ya'

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Baaaad as his fader

SECOND NEIGHBOUR And ya' know where he ended

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Up in de asylum

SECOND NEIGHBOUR Cryin' fo' his ma.

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Every Saturday

SECOND NEIGHBOUR He ain't gots some leg

FIRST NEIGHBOUR And carryin' on

SECOND NEIGHBOUR Wid dat Mrs Beattie Mo'ris

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Up in de quarry

SECOND NEIGHBOUR And seen ha' baby

FIRST NEIGHBOUR It's gots his nose.

SECOND NEIGHBOUR Oh, it makes mah' heart bleed

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Whut he'll do fo' drink

SECOND NEIGHBOUR He sold da pianola

FIRST NEIGHBOUR And ha' sewin' machine

SECOND NEIGHBOUR Fallin' in de gutter

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Rappin' t'de lamp-post

SECOND NEIGHBOUR Usin' language

FIRST NEIGHBOUR Rappin' in de w.

SECOND NEIGHBOUR Poo' Mrs Waldo.

WIFE [Tearfully] Oh, Waldo, Waldo!

MR WALDO Hush, love, hush. I'm widowa' "Waldo now.

MOTHER [Screamin'] Waldo, Wal-do!

LITTLE BOY Yeah man, our mum?

MOTHER Oh, whut'll de neighbours say, whut'll de neighbours ...

THIRD NEIGHBOUR Black as some chimbley

FOURTH NEIGHBOUR Rin'in' doo'bells

THIRD NEIGHBOUR Bustin' windows

FOURTH NEIGHBOUR Makin' mudpies

THIRD NEIGHBOUR Stealin' currants

FOURTH NEIGHBOUR Chalkin' wo'ds

THIRD NEIGHBOUR Saw him in de bushes

FOURTH NEIGHBOUR Playin' mwchins

THIRD NEIGHBOUR Send him t'bed widout any suppuh'

FOURTH NEIGHBOUR Give him sennapods and lock him in de dark

THIRD NEIGHBOUR Off t'de refo'mato'y

FOURTH NEIGHBOUR Off t'de refo'mato'y

TOGETHER Learn him wid some slippuh' on his b. t. m.

ANOTHER MOTHER [Screamin'] Waldo, Wal-do! whut ya' hangin' wid our Matti?

LITTLE BOY Give us some kiss, Matti Richards.

LITTLE GIRL Give us some penny den.

MR WALDO I only gots some halfpenny.

FIRST WOMAN Lips be a penny.

PREACHER Gots'ta ya' snatch dis honky chick Matti Richards

SECOND WOMAN Dulcie Prodero

THIRD WOMAN Erne Bevan

FOURTH WOMAN Lil de Gluepot

FIFTH WOMAN Mrs Flusher

WIFE Blodwen Bowen

PREACHER to be yo' awful wedded mama

LITTLE BOY [Screamin'] No,no,no!

FIRST VOICE Now, in ha' iceberg-honky, holily laundered crinoline nightgown unda' virtuous polar sheets, in ha' spruced and scoured dust-defyi bedroom in trig and trim Bay View, some crib fo' payin' guests, at da top uh de town, Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard, widow, twice, uh Mr Ogmo'e (linoleum, retired, and Mr Pritchard, failed scribblin'maker, who, maddened by besomin', swabbin' and scrubbin', de voice uh de vacuum-cleana' and da fume uh polish, ironically swallowed disinfectant, fidgets in ha' rinsed sleep, wakes in some dream, and nudges in de ribs wasted Mr Ogmo'e, wasted Mr Pritchard, ghostly on eida' side.

MRS OGMORE-PRITCHARD Mr Ogmo'e! Mr Pritchard! It be time t'inhale yo' balsam.

MR OGMORE Oh, Mrs Ogmo'e!

MR PRITCHARD Oh, Mrs Pritchard!

MRS OGMORE-PRITCHARD Soon it gots'ta be time t'get down. Tell me yo' tax's, in o'der.

MR OGMORE I gots'ta put mah' pyjamas in de drawa' marked pyjamas.

MR PRITCHARD I gots'ta snatch mah' cold bad which be baaaad fo' me.

MR OGMORE I gots'ta wear mah' flannel band t'ward off sciatica.

MR PRITCHARD I gots'ta dress behind da curtain and put on mah' apron.

MR OGMORE I gots'ta blow mah' nose

MRS OGMORE-PRITCHARD in de garden, if ya' please

MR OGMORE in some piece uh tissue-sheet which ah' afterwards burn.

MR PRITCHARD I gots'ta snatch mah' salts which is nature's homey.

MR OGMORE I gots'ta boil de drinkin' booze cuz' of germs.

MR PRITCHARD I gots'ta make mah' herb tea which be free fum tannin

MR OGMORE and gots some charcoal biscuit which be baaaad fo' me.

MR PRITCHARD I may smoke one pipe uh asdma mixture

MRS OGMORE-PRITCHARD in de woodshed, if ya' please

MR PRITCHARD and dust da parlour and spray de kinary.

MR OGMORE I gots'ta put on rubba' gloves and search de peke fo' fleas.

MR PRITCHARD I gots'ta dust da blinds and den ah' gots'ta raise dem.

MRS OGMORE-PRITCHARD And befo'e ya' let da sun in, mind it wipes its kickers. In Butcha' Beynon's, Gossama' Beynon, daughter, farmhead homeboy, dreamin' deep, daintily ferrets unda' a flutterin' hummock uh chicken's feaders in some slaughtercrib dat gots chintz curtains and some dree-piece suite, and finds, wid no surprise, some small rough eyebally joker wid some bushy tail winkin' in some sheet carrier.

GOSSAMER BEYNON At last, mah' love, sighs Gossama' Beynon. And da bushy tail wags rude and gin'er.

ORGAN MORGAN Help, cries Organ Mo'gan, de o'ganist, in his dream, dere be puh'turbashun and beat in Co'onashun Street! All de spouses is honkin' likes geese and da babies rappin' opuh'. P.C. Atilla Rees gots gots his truncheon out and be playin' cadenzas by de pump, de cows fum Sunday Meadow rin' likes reindeer, and on de roof uh Handel Villa see da Honky chicks's Welfare hoofin', bloomered, in de moon.

FIRST VOICE At da sea-end uh town, Mr and Mrs Floyd, de cocklers, is sleepin' as quiet as dead, side by wrinkled side, toodless, salt, and brown, likes two old kippuh's in some box. And high above, in Salt Lake Farm, Mr Utah Watkins counts, all night, de mama-faced sheep as dey leap de fences on de hill, smilin' and knittin' and bleatin' plum likes Mrs Utah Watkins.

UTAH WATKINS [Yawnin'] Dirty foe, dirty five, dirty six, fo'ty eight, eighty nine...

MRS UTAH WATKINS (Bleatin') Knit one slip one Knit two togeder Pass de slipstich over. ..

FIRST VOICE Ocky Milkman, drowned asleep in Cockle Street, be emptyin' his churns into de Dewi River,

OCKY MILKMAN [Whispuh'in'] regardless uh 'spense,

FIRST VOICE and weepin' likes some funeral.

SECOND VOICE Cherry Owen, next doo', lifts some tankard t'his lips but nodin' flows out uh it. He shakes de tankard. It turns into some fish. He drinks de fish.

FIRST VOICE P.C. Attila Rees lumps out uh bed, wasted t'de dark, and still fog-ho'nin', and drags out his helmet fum unda' de bed; but deep in de backyard lock-up uh his sleep some mean voice murmurs,

A VOICE [Murmurin'] You's'll be so'ry fo' dis in de mo'nin',

FIRST VOICE and he heave-ho's back t'bed. His helmet swuzhes in de dark.

SECOND VOICE Willy Nilly, postman, asleep down street, walks foeteen miles t'deliva' de post as he duz every day uh de night, and rat-a-tats hard and sharp on Mrs Willy Nilly.

MRS WILLY NILLY Duzn't spank me, please, head homeboy,

SECOND VOICE whimpuh's his mama at his side, but every night uh ha' married life she gots been late fo' farm.

FIRST VOICE Sinbaaaad Sailo's, upside de taproom uh de Sailo's' Arms, hugs his damp pillow whose secret dojigger be Gossama' Beynon. A mogul catches Lily Smalls in de wuzh-crib.

LILY SMALLS Ooh, ya' old mogul!

SECOND VOICE Mrs Rose-Cottage's eldest, Mae, peels uh f ha' pink-and-honky skin in some furnace in some towa' in some cave in some boozefall in some wood and waits dere raw as an onion fo' Mista' Right t'leap down de burnin' tall hollow splashes uh leaves likes some brilliantined trout.

MAE ROSE-COTTAGE [Very close and softly, drawin' out da wo'ds.] Call me Dolo'es Like dey do in de sto'ies.

FIRST VOICE Alone until she dies, Bessie Bighaid, hired help, bo'n in de wo'kcrib, smellin' uh de cowshed, sno'es bass and gruff on some couch uh straw in some loft in Salt Lake Farm and picks some posy uh daisies in Sunday Meadow t'put on de grave uh Goma' Owen who kissed ha' once by de pig-sty when she wuzn't lookin' and neva' kissed ha' again aldough she wuz lookin' all de time. And da Inspecto's uh Cruelty fly waaay down into Mrs Butcha' Beynon's dream t'puh'secute Mr Beynon fo' sellin'

BUTCHER BEYNON owl meat, dogs' eyes, manchop.

SECOND VOICE Mr Beynon, in butcher's bloogot wasted apron, sprin'heels waaay down Co'onashun Street, some fin'er, not bis own, in his moud. Straightfaced in his cunnin' sleep he pulls de legs uh his dreams and

BUTCHER BEYNON huntin' on pigback shoots waaay down de wild giblets.

ORGAN MORGAN [High and softly] Help!

GOSSAMER BEYNON [Softly] Mah' foxy darlin'.

FIRST VOICE Now behind da eyes and secrets uh de dreamers in de streets rocked t'sleep by de sea, see da

SECOND VOICE titbits and topsyturvies, bobs and buttontops, bags and bones, ash and rind and dandruff and nailparin's, saliva and snowflakes and moulted feaders uh dreams, de wrecks and sprats and shells and fishbones, whalejuice and moonshine and small salt fry dished down by de hidden sea.

FIRST VOICE De owls is huntin'. Look, upside Bedesda gravestones one hoots and swoops and catches some mouse by Hannah Rees, Beloved Mama. And in Co'onashun Street, which ya' alone kin see it be so dark unda' de chapel in de skies, de Reverend Eli Jenkins, poet, preacher, turns in his deep towards-dawn sleep and dreams of

REV.ELIJENKINS Eisteddfodau.

SECOND VOICE He intricately rhymes, t'de beat uh crwd and pibgo'n, all night long in his druid's seedy nightie in some beer-tent brother wid parchs. Mr Pugh, farmmaster, fast asleep, pretends t'be sleepin', spies foxy round da droop uh his nightcap and pssst! whistles down

MR PUGH Murder.

FIRST VOICE Mrs Organ Mo'gan, groceress, coiled grey likes some do'mouse, ha' paws t'ha' ears, conjures

MRS ORGAN MORGAN Silence

SECOND VOICE. She sleeps real dulcet in some cove uh wool, and trumpetin' Organ Mo'gan at ha' side sno'es no louda' dan some spider.

FIRST VOICE Mary Ann Sailo's dreams of

MARY ANN SAILORS De Garden uh Eden.

FIRST VOICE She comes in ha' smock-frock and clogs

MARY ANN SAILORS away fum de waaay coo' scrubbed cobbled kitchen wid de Sunday-farm pictures on de honkywuzhed wall and da farmers' almanac hung above da settle and da sides uh bacon on de ceilin' hooks, and goes waaay down de cockleshelled alleys uh dat applepie kitchen garden, duckin' unda' de gippo's clodes-pegs, catchin' ha' apron on de brothercurrant bushes, past beanrows and onion-bed and tomatoes ripenin' on de wall towards de old joker playin' de harmonium in de o'chard, and sits waaay down on de grass at his side and shells de green peas dat grow down drough de lap uh ha' frock dat brushes de dew.

FIRST VOICE In Donkey Street, so's furred wid sleep, Dai Bread, Polly Garter, Nobaaaad Boyo, and Lo'd Cut-Glass sigh befo'e da dawn dat be about t'be and dream of DAIBREAD Harems.

POLLY GARTER Babies.

NOGOOD BOYO Nodin'.

LORD CUT-GLASS Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock.

FIRST VOICE Time passes. Listen. Time passes. An owl flies crib past Bedesda, t'a chapel in an oak. And da dawn inches down.

[One distant bell-note, faintly reverberatin' on. ]

FIRST VOICE Stand on dis hill. Dis be Llareggub Hill, old as de hills, high, waaay coo', and green, and fum dis small circle uh stones, made not by druids but by Mrs Beynon's Billy, ya' kin see all de town below ya' sleepin' in de fust uh de dawn. You's kin hear de love-sick woodpigeons moonin' in bed. A dog barks in his sleep, farmyards away. De town ripples likes some lake in de wakin' haze.

VOICE OF A GUIDE-BOCoo' Less dan five hundred souls inhabit da dree quaint streets and da few narrow bylanes and scattered farmsteads dat constitute dis small, decayin' boozein'-place which may, indeed, be called some 'back-booze uh life' widout disrespect t'its natives who possess, t'dis day, some salty individuality uh deir own. De main street. Co'onashun Street, consists, fo' de most part, uh humble, two-sto'ied cribs many uh which attempt t'achieve some measho' man uh gaiety by prinkin' demselves out in crude colours and by de liberal use uh pinkwuzh, dough dere is remainin' some few eighteend-century cribs uh mo'e pretension, if, on de whole, in some sad state uh disrepair. Dough dere be little t'attract da hillclim-ber, de healdseeker, de spo'tsman, o' de weekendin' moto'ist, de contemplative may, if sufficiently attracted t'spare it some leisho' manly hours, find, in its cobbled streets and its little fishin' harbour, in its several curious customs, and in de conversashun uh its local 'characters,' some uh dat picturesque sense uh de past so's frequently lackin' in towns and villages which gots kep' mo'e abreast uh de times. De riva' Dewi be said t'abound in trout, but be much poached. De one place uh wo'ship, wid its neglected graveyard, be of no architectural interest.

[A cock crows.]

FIRST VOICE De principality uh de sky lightens now, upside our green hill, into sprin' mo'nin' larked and crowed and bellin'. [Slow bell notes.]

FIRST VOICE "Who pulls de townhall bellrope but blind Captain Cat? One by one, de sleepuh's is rung out uh sleep dis one mo'nin' as every mo'nin'. And soon ya' shall see da chimneys' slow downflyin' snow as Captain Cat, in sailo''s cap and seaboots, announces today wid his loud dig-out-of-bed bell.

SECOND VOICE De Reverend Eli Jenkins, in Bedesda Crib, gropes out uh bed into his preacher's brother, combs back his bard's honky fro, fo'gets t'wuzh, pads barefoot waaay downstairs, opens de front doo', stands in de doo'way and, lookin' out at da day and down at da eternal hill, and hearin' de sea bust and da gab uh birds, remembers his own verses and tells dem, softly, t'empty Co'onashun Street dat be risin' and raisin' its blinds.

REV. ELI JENKINS Dear Gwalia! ah' know dere is Towns lovelia' dan ours, And faira' hills and loftia' far, And groves mo'e full uh flowers, And boskia' woods mo'e blide wid sprin' And bright wid birds' ado'nin', And sweeta' bards dan ah' to rap Deir praise dis beauteous mo'nin'. By Cada' Idris, tempest-to'n, Or Moel y Wyddfa's glo'y, Carnedd Llewelyn beauty bo'n, Plinlimmon old in sto'y, By mountains where Kin' Buckwheat dreams, By Penmaen Mawr defiant, Llareggub Hill some molehill seems, A pygmy t'a giant. By Sawdde, Senni, Dovey, Dee, Edw, Eden, Aled, all, Taff and Towy broad and free, Llyfnant wid its boozefall, Claerwen, Cleddau, Dulas, Daw, Ely, Gwili, Ogwr, Nedd, Small be our Riva' Dewi, Lo'd, A baby on some rushy bed. By Carreg Cennen, Kin' uh time, Our Heron Haid be only A bit uh stone wid seaweed spread Where gulls mosey on down to be lonely. A tiny din'le be Milk Wood By golden Grove 'diggin' hoth Grongar, But let me choose and oh! I should Love all mah' life and longa' To stroll among our trees and stray In Goosegog Lane, on Donkey Waaay down, And hear de Dewi rap all day, And never, neva' leave da town.

SECOND VOICE De Reverend Jenkins closes de front doo'. His mo'nin' service be over.

[Slow bell notes.]

FIRST VOICE Now, woken at last by de out-of-bed-sleepy-haid-Polly-put-de-kettle-on townhall bell. Lily Smalls, Mrs Beynon's treasho' man, comes waaay downstairs fum some dream uh royalty who all night long went larkin' wid ha' full uh sauce in de Milk Wood dark, and puts de kettle on de primus rin' in Mrs Beynon's kitchen, and looks at herself in Mr Beynon's shavin'-glass upside de sink, and sees'.

LILY SMALLS Oh, dere's some face! Where ya' dig dat fro fum? Gots it fum some old tom cat. Give it back den, love. Oh, dere's some puh'm! Where ya' dig dat nose fum, Lily? Gots it fum mah' Big Daddy, silly. You's've gots it on downside waaay down! Oh, dere's some conk! Look at yo' complexion! Oh, no, ya' look. Needs some bit uh make-up. Needs some veil. Oh, dere's glamour! Where ya' dig dat smile, Lil? Neva' ya' mind, goat. Nobody loves ya'. Dat's whut ya' dink . Who be it loves ya'? Shan't tell. Come on. Lily. Cross yo' heart, den? Cross mah' heart.

FIRST VOICE And real softly, ha' lips mos' touchin' ha' reflecshun, she breades de dojigger and clouds de shavin'-glass.

MRS BEYNON [Loudly, fum above] Lily!

LILY SMALLS [Loudly] Yeah man, mum. .. MRS BEYNON Where's mah' tea, goat?

LILY SMALLS [Softly] Where d'ya' dink? In de cat-box? [Loudly] Comin' down, mum. ..

FIRST VOICE Mr Pugh, in de Farm Crib opposite, snatch'd down de mo'nin' tea t'Mrs Pugh, and whispuh's on de stairs, dig dis:

MR PUGH Here's yo' arsenic, dear. And yo' weedkilla' biscuit. I've drottled yo' parakeet. I've spat in de vases. I've put cheese in de mouseholes. Here's yo'...[Doo' creaks open] ... supa fine tea, dear.

MRS PUGH Too much sugar.

MR PUGH You's gotsn't tasted it yet, dear.

MRS PUGH Too much milk, den. Gots Mr Jenkins said his poetry?

MR PUGH Yeah man, dear.

MRS PUGH Den it's time t'get down. Give me mah' glasses. No, not mah' eyeballin' glasses, ah' wanna look out. ah' wanna see

SECOND VOICE Lily Smalls de treasho' man waaay down on ha' red knees wuzhin' de front step.

MRS PUGH She's tucked ha' dress in ha' bloomers - oh, de baggage!

SECOND VOICE P. C. Attila Rees, ox-broad, barge-booted, stompin' out uh Handcuff Crib in some heavy beef-red huff, brother-browed unda' his damp helmet. ..

MRS PUGH He's goin' t'arrest Polly Garter, Amos my wo'ds.

MR PUGH Whut fo', mah' dear?

MRS PUGH Fo' havin' babies.

SECOND VOICE ... and lumberin' waaay down towards de strand t'see dat da sea be still dere.

FIRST VOICE Mary Ann Sailo's, openin' ha' bedroom window above da taproom and callin' out t'de heavens, dig dis:

MARY ANN SAILORS I'm eighty five years dree monds and some day!

MRS PUGH I gots'ta say dis fo' her, she neva' makes some missnatch.

FIRST VOICE Organ Mo'gan at his bedroom window playin' cho'ds on de sill t'de mo'nin' fishmama gulls who, hecklin' upside Donkey Street, observe, dig dis:

DAI BREAD Me, Dai Bread, hurryin' t'de bakery, pushin' in mah' shirt-tails, buttonin' mah' waistcoat, pin' goes some button, why kin't dey sew dem, no time fo' bustfast, nodin' fo' bustfast, dere's wives fo' ya'...

MRS DAI BREAD ONE Me, Mrs Dai Bread One, capped and shawled and no old co'set, supa fine t'be comfy, supa fine t'be supa fine, cloggin' on de cobbles t'stir down some neighbour. Oh, Mrs Sarah, kin ya' spare some loaf, love? Dai Bread fo'gots de bread. Dere's some lovely mo'nin'! How's yo' boils dis mo'nin'? Ain't dat baaaad news now, it's some change t'sit waaay down. Ta, Mrs Sarah.

MRS DAI BREAD TWO Me, Mrs Dai Bread Two, gypsied t'kill in some silky scarlet petticoat above mah' knees, dirty fine knees, see mah' body drough mah' petticoat brown as some berry, high heel kickers wid one heel missin', to'toiseshell comb in mah' bright brother slinky fro, nodin' else at all on but some dab uh scent, lollin' gaudy at da doo'way, tell yo' fo'tune in de tea-leaves, scowlin' at da sunshine, lightin' down mah' pipe.

LORD CUT-GLASS Me, Lo'd Cut-Glass, in an old frock-coat belonged t'Eli Jenkins and some pair uh postman's trousers fum Bedesda Jumble, runnin' out uh doo's t'empty slops - mind dere, Rover! - and den runnin' in again, tick tock.

NOGOOD BOYO Me, Nobaaaad Boyo, down t'no baaaad in de wuzh-crib.

MISS PRICE Me, Miss Price, in mah' fine print cribcoat, deft at da clodesline, natty as some jenny-wren, den pit-pat back t'my egg in its cosy, mah' crisp toast-fin'ers, mah' cribmade plum and butterpat.

POLLY GARTER Me, Polly Garter, unda' de wuzhin' line, givin' de breast in de garden t'my bonny new baby. Nodin' grows in our garden, only wuzhin'. And babies. And where's deir faders live, mah' love? Ova' de hills and far away. Youse lookin' down at me now. ah' know whut youse dinkin', ya' poo' little milky creature. Youse dinkin', youse no betta' dan ya' should be, Polly, and dat's baaaad enough fo' me. Oh, ain't life some terrible doodad, dank God?

[Raple long note held by Welsh male voices.]

FIRST VOICE Now fryin'-pans spit, kettles and cats purr in de kitchens. De town smells uh seaweed and bustfast all de way waaay down fum Bay View, where Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard, in smock and turban, big-besomed t'engage da dust, picks at ha' starchless bread and sips lemonrind tea, t'Bottom Cottage, where Mr Waldo, in bowla' and bib, gobbles his bubble-and-squeak and kippuh's and swigs fum de saucebottle. Snow Flake Ann Sailo's

MARY ANN SAILORS praises de Lo'd who made po'ridge.

FIRST VOICE Mr Pugh MR PUGH remembers ground glass as he juggles his omelette.

FIRST VOICE Mrs Pugh MRS PUGH nags de salt-cellar. .

FIRST VOICE Willy Nilly postman

WILLY NILLY waaay downs his last bucket uh black brackish tea and ah' rumbles out bandy t'de cluckin' back where da j hens twitch and grieve fo' deir tea-soaked sops.

FIRST VOICE Mrs Willy Nilly

MRS WILLY NILLY full uh tea t'ha' double-chinned brim broods and bubbles upside ha' coven uh kettles on de hissin' hot range always eyebally t'steam jimmey de mail.

FIRST VOICE De Reverend Eli Jenkins

REV.ELI JENKINS finds some rhyme and dips his pen in his cocoa.

FIRST VOICE Lo'd Cut-Glass in his tickin' kitchen

LORD CUT-GLASS scampuh's fum clock t'clock, some bunch uh clock-keys in one hand, some fish-haid in de oder.

FIRST VOICE Captain Cat in his galley

CAPTAIN CAT blind and fine-fin'ered savours his sea-fry.

FIRST VOICE Mr and Mrs Cherry Owen, in deir Donkey Street room dat be bedroom, parlour, kitchen, and scullery, sit waaay down t'last night's suppuh' uh onions boiled in deir overcoats and brod uh spuds and baconrind and leeks and bones.

MRS CHERRY OWEN See dat smudge on de wall by de picture uh Auntie Blossom? Dat's where ya' drew de sago.

[Cherry Owen laughs wid delight. ]

MRS CHERRY OWEN You's only missed me by some inch. CHERRY OWEN I always miss Auntie Blossom too.

MRS CHERRY OWEN Rememba' last night? In ya' reeled, mah' boy, as drunk as some deacon wid some big wet bucket and some fish-frail full uh stout and ya' looked at me and ya' said, 'God gots come crib! ' ya' said, and den upside de bucket ya' went, sprawlin' and bawlin', and da floo' wuz all flagons and eels.

CHERRY OWEN Wuz ah' wounded?

MRS CHERRY OWEN And den ya' took off yo' trousers and ya' said, 'Duz any fool wants' some fight?' Oh, ya' old baboon.

CHERRY OWEN Give us some kiss.

MRS CHERRY OWEN And den ya' sang 'Aberystwyd', teno' and bass.

CHERRY OWEN I always rap 'Aberystwyd'.

MRS CHERRY OWEN And den ya' dun did some little boogie on de table.

CHERRY OWEN I dun did?

MRS CHERRY OWEN Drop wasted!

CHERRY OWEN And den whut dun did ah' do?

MRS CHERRY OWEN Den ya' cried likes some baby and said ya' wuz some poo' drunk o'phan wid nowhere t'go but da grave.

CHERRY OWEN And whut dun did ah' do next, mah' dear?

MRS CHERRY OWEN Den ya' boogied on de table all upside again and said ya' wuz Kin' Solomon Owen and ah' wuz yo' Mrs Sheba.

CHERRY OWEN [Softly] And den?

MRS CHERRY OWEN And den ah' gots ya' into bed and ya' sno'ed all night likes some brewery.

[Mr and Mrs Cherry Owen laugh delightedly togeder. ]

FIRST VOICE From Beynon Butchers in Co'onashun Street, de smell uh fried liva' sidles out wid onions on its bread. And listen! In de dark bustfast-room behind da shop, Mr and Mrs Beynon, waited downon by deir treasho' man, enjoy, between bites, deir everymo'nin' hullabaloo, and Mrs Beynon slips de gristly bits unda' de tasselled tableclod t'ha' fat cat.

[Cat purrs.]

MRS BEYNON She likess de liver, Ben.

MR BEYNON She ought t'do, Bess. It's ha' broder's.

MRS BEYNON [Screamin'] Oh, d'ya' hear dat. Lily?

LILY SMALLS Yeah man, mum.

MRS BEYNON We's feedin' da bud pusscat.

LILY SMALLS Yeah man, mum.

MRS BEYNON Oh, ya' cat-butcher!

MR BEYNON It wuz docto'ed, mind.

MRS BEYNON [Hysterical] Whut's dat gots'ta do wid it?

MR BEYNON Yesterday, we had mole.

MRS BEYNON Oh, Lily, Lily!

MR BEYNON Monday, otter. Tuesday, shrews.

[Mrs Beynon screams.]

LILY SMALLS Go on, Mrs Beynon. He's de biggest liar in town.

MRS BEYNON Duzn't ya' dare say dat about Mr Beynon.

LILY SMALLS Everybody knows it, mum.

MRS BEYNON Mr Beynon neva' tells some lie. Do ya', Ben?

MR BEYNON No, Bess. And now ah' am goin' out afta' de co'gis, wid mah' little cleaver,

MRS BEYNON Oh, Lily, Lily!

FIRST VOICE Up de street, in de Sailo's' Arms, Sinbaaaad Sailo's, grandson uh Mary Ann de Sailo's, draws some pint in de sunlit bar. De ship's clock in de bar says half past eleven. Half past eleven be openin' time. De hands uh de clock gots stayed still at half past eleven fo' fifty years. It be always openin' time in de Sailo's' Arms.

SINBAD Here's t'me, Sinbaaaad.

FIRST VOICE All upside de town, babies and old dudes are cleaned and put into deir bugger'd prams and wheeled on t'de sunlit cockled cobbles o' out into de backyards unda' de boogeyin' underclodes, and left. A baby cries.

OLD MAN I wants' mah' pipe and he wants's his bottle.

[Farm bell rin's.]

FIRST VOICE Noses is wiped, haids picked, fro combed, paws scrubbed, ears boxed, and da children shrilled off t'farm.

[Children's voices, down and out]

SECOND VOICE Fishermen grumble t'deir nets. Nobaaaad Boyo goes out in de din'hy Zanzibar, ships de o's, drifts slowly in de dab-filled bay, and, lyin' on his back in de unbaled booze, among crabs' legs and tangled lines, looks down at da sprin' sky.

NOGOOD BOYO [Softly, lazily] I duzn't know who's down dere and ah' duzn't care.

FIRST VOICE He turns his haid and looks down at Llareggub Hill, and sees, among green ladered trees, de honky cribs uh de strewn away farms, where farmboys whistle, dogs shout, cows low, but all too far away fo' him, o' ya', t'hear. And in de town, de shops squeak open. Mr Edwards, in butterfly-collar and straw-hat at da doo'way uh Manchesta' Crib, measho' mans, wid his eye, de dawdlers by, fo' striped flannel shirts and shrouds and flowery blouses, and bellows t'himself, in de darkness behind his eye, dig dis:

MR EDWARDS [whispuh's] I love Miss Price.

FIRST VOICE Syrup be sold in de post-office. A wheels rolls t'market, full uh fowls and some farmer. Milk churns stand at Co'onashun Co'na' likes sho't, silva' honky pigsmen. And, sittin' at da jimmey window uh Schoona' Crib, blind Captain Cat hears all de mo'nin' uh de town. He hears de voices uh children and da noise uh children's feet on de cobbles.

[Farm bell in background. Children’s voices. De noise uh children’s feet on de cobbles.]

CAPTAIN CAT [Softly, t'himself] Maggie Richards, Ricky Rhys, Tommy Powell, our Sal, little Gerwain, Billy Swansea wid de dog's voice, one uh Mr Waldo's, nasty Humphrey, Buckwheatie wid de sniff ... Where's Dicky's Albie? and da boys fum Ty-pant? Perhaps dey gots de rash again.

[A sudden cry among de children's voices.]

CAPTAIN CAT Some fool's hit Maggie Richards. Two t'one it's Billy Swansea. Neva' trust some boy who barks.

[A bust uh yelpin' cryin'.]

CAPTAIN CAT Right again! Dat's Billy.

FIRST VOICE And da children's voices cry away.

[Postman's rat-a-tat on doo'. Distant. ]

CAPTAIN CAT [Softly, t'himself] Dat's Willy Nilly knockin' at Bay View. Rat-a-tat, real soft. De knocker's gots some kid glove on. Who's sent some letta' to Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard?

[Rat-a-tat. Distant again. ]

CAPTAIN CAT Careful now, she swabs de front glassy. Every step's likes some bar uh soap. Mind yo' size twelveses. Dat old Bessie would beeswax de lawn t'make da birds slip.

WILLY NILLY Mo'nin', Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard.

MRS OGMORE-PRITCHARD Good mo'nin', postman.

WILLY NILLY Here's some letta' fo' ya' wid stamped and addressed envelope enclosed, all de way fum Build Wells. A gentleman wantsa study birds and kin he gots accommodashun fo' two weeks and some bad vegetarian.

MRS OGMORE-PRITCHARD No.

WILLY NILLY [Persuasively] You's wouldn't know he wuz in de crib, Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard. He'd be out in de mo'nin's at da bang uh dawn wid his bag uh breadcrumbs and his little telescope...

MRS OGMORE-PRITCHARD And mosey on down crib at all hours covered wid feaders. ah' duzn't wants' sucka's in mah' supa fine clean rooms breadin' all upside de chairs...

WILLY NILLY Cross mah' heart, he won't breade...

MRS OGMORE-PRITCHARD and puttin' deir feet on mah' carpets and sneezin' on mah' china and sleepin' in mah' sheets...

WILLY NILLY He only wants's some sin'le bed, Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard.

[Doo' slams.]

CAPTAIN CAT [Softly] And back she goes t'de kitchen, t'polish de potatoes.

FIRST VOICE Captain Cat hears Willy Nilly's feet heavy on de distant cobbles... One, two, dree, foe, five ... Dat's Mrs Rose-Cottage. Whut's today? Today she digs de letta' from ha' sista' in Go'slas. How's de twins' teed? He's stoppin' at Farm Crib.

WILLY NILLY Mo'nin', Mrs Pugh. Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard won't gots some gentleman in fum Build Wells cuz' he'll sleep in ha' sheets, Mrs Rose-Cottage's sista' in Go'slas's twins gots gots'ta gots dem out. ..

MRS PUGH Give me da parcel.

WILLY NILLY It's fo' Mr Pugh, Mrs Pugh.

MRS PUGH Neva' ya' mind. Whut's inside it?

WILLY NILLY A scribblin' called 'Lives uh de Great Poisoners'.

CAPTAIN CAT Dat's Manchesta' Crib.

WILLY NILLY Mo'nin', Mr Edwards. Very small news. Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard won't gots birds in de crib, and Mr Pugh's bought some scribblin' now on how t'do in Mrs Pugh.

MR EDWARDS Gots ya' gots some letta' from her?

WILLY NILLY Miss Price loves ya' wid all ha' heart. Smellin' uh lavenda' today. She's waaay down t'de last uh de elderflowa' wine but da quince jam's bearin' down and she's knittin' roses on de doilies. Last week she sold dree jars uh boiled sweets, pound uh humbugs, half some box uh jellybabies and six coloured photos uh Llareggub. Yo's fo' ever. Den twenty-one X's.

MR EDWARDS Oh, Willy Nilly, she's some ruby! Here's mah' letter. Put it into ha' hands now. Waaay down de street comes Willy Nilly. And Captain Cat hears oda' steps approachin'. [Slow feet on cobbles, quicka' feet approachin'.]

CAPTAIN CAT Mr Waldo hurryin' t'de Sailo's' Arms. Pint uh stout wid an egg in it. [Footsteps stop] [Softly] Dere's some letta' fo' him.

WILLY NILLY It's anoda' paternity summons, Mr Waldo.

FIRST VOICE De quick footsteps hurry on along de cobbles and down dree steps t'de Sailo's' Arms.

MR WALDO [Callin' out] Quick, Sinbaaaad. Pint uh stout. And no egg in.

FIRST VOICE Sucka's is movin' now, down and waaay down de cobbled street.

CAPTAIN CAT All de honky chicks is out dis mo'nin', in de sun. You's kin tell it's Sprin'. Dere goes Mrs Cherry, ya' kin tell ha' by ha' trotters, off she trots new as some daisy. Who's dat rapin' by de pump? Mrs Floyd and Boyo, rapin' flatfish. Whut kin ya' rap about flatfish? Dat's Mrs Dai Bread One, waltzin' down de street likes some jelly, every time she shakes it's slap slap slap. Who's dat? Mrs Butcha' Beynon wid ha' pet brother cat, it follows ha' everywhere, miaow and all. Dere goes Mrs Twenty Dree, impo'tant, de sun digs down and goes waaay down in ha' dewlap, when she shuts ha' eyes, it's night. High heels now, in de mo'nin' too, Mrs Rose-Cottage's eldest, Mae, seventeen and neva' been kissed ho ho, goin' yung and milkin' unda' my window t'de field wid de nannygoats, she reminds me all de way. Can't hear whut de honky chicks is gabbin' round da pump. Same as ever. Who's havin' some baby, who brothered whose eye, seen Polly Garta' givin' ha' belly an airin', dere should be some law, seen Mrs Beynon's new mauve jumpuh' it's ha' old grey jumpuh' dyed, who's wasted, who's dyin', dere's some lovely day, oh de cost uh soapflakes!

[Organ beat distant. ]

CAPTAIN CAT Organ Mo'gan's at it early. You's kin tell it's Sprin'.

FIRST VOICE And he hears de noise uh milk-cans.

CAPTAIN CAT Ocky Milkman on his round. ah' gots'ta say dis, his milk's as fresh as de dew. Half dew it is. Snuffle on, Ocky, boozein' de town…. Some fool's comin'. Now de voices round da pump kin see some fool comin'. Hush, dere's some hush! You's kin tell by de noise uh de hush, it's Polly Garter. [Louder] Hullo, Polly, who's dere?

POLLY GARTER [Off] Me,love.

CAPTAIN CAT Dat's Polly Garter. [Softly] Hullo, Polly, mah' love. Can ya' hear de dumb goose-hiss uh de wives as dey huddle and peck o' flounce at some waddle away? Who cuddled ya' when? Which uh deir ganderin' hubbies moaned in Milk Wood fo' yo' naughty moderin' arms and body likes some wardrobe, love? Scrub de floo's uh de Welfare Hall fo' de Moders' Union Social Boogie, youse one moda' won't wriggle ha' roly poly bum o' pat ha' fat little buttery foot in dat weddin'-rin'ed holy tonight dough de waltzin' breadwinners snatched fum de cosy smoke uh de Sailo's' Arms gots'ta grizzle and mope.

[A cock crows.]

CAPTAIN CAT Too late, cock, too late,

SECOND VOICE fo' de town's half upside wid its mo'nin'. De mo'nin''s busy as bees.

[Organ beat fades into silence.]

FIRST VOICE Dere's de clip clop uh ho'ses on de sunhoneyed cobbles uh de hummin' streets, hammerin' uh ho'se kickers, gobble quack and cackle, tomtit twitta' from de bird-bounced boughs, brayin' on Donkey Waaay down. Bread be bakin', pigs is gruntin', chop goes de butcher, milk churns bell, tills rin', sheep cough, dogs shout, saws rap. Oh, de Sprin' whinny and mo'nin' moo fum de clog boogeyin' farms, de gulls' gab and rabble on de boat bobbin' riva' and sea and da cockles bubblin' in de sand, scampuh' uh sanderlin's, curlew cry, crow caw, pigeon coo, clock strike, bull bellow, and da ragged gabble uh de beargarden farm as de honky chicks scratch and babble in Mrs Organ Mo'gan's general shop where everydin' be sold, dig dis: custard, buckets, henna, rat-traps, shrimp nets, sugar, stamps, confetti, paraffin, hatchets, whistles.

FIRST WOMAN Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard

SECOND WOMAN la di da

FIRST WOMAN gots some man in Build Wells

THIRD WOMAN and he gots some little telescope t'look at birds

SECOND WOMAN Willy Nilly said

THIRD WOMAN Rememba' ha' fust husband? He dun didn't need some telescope.

FIRST WOMAN he looked at dem undressin' drough de keyhole

THIRD WOMAN and he used t'shout Tallyho

SECOND WOMAN but Mr Ogmo'e wuz some propuh' gentleman

FIRST WOMAN even dough he hanged his collie

THIRD WOMAN Seen Mrs Butcha' Beynon?

SECOND WOMAN She said Butcha' Beynon put dogs in de mincer

FIRST WOMAN Go on he's pullin' ha' leg

THIRD WOMAN Now duzn't ya' dare tell ha' dat, dere's some dear

SECOND WOMAN o' she'll dink he's tryin' t'pull it off and feed da bud it-

FOURTH WOMAN Dere's some nasty lot live here when ya' mosey on down to dink.

FIRST WOMAN Look at dat Nobaaaad Boyo now

SECOND WOMAN too lazy t'wipe his snout

THIRD WOMAN and goin' out fishin' every day and all he eva' brought back wuz some Mrs Remuss

FIRST WOMAN been in de booze some week

SECOND WOMAN And look at Ocky Milkman's mama dat nobody's eva' seen

FIRST WOMAN he keeps ha' in de cupbo'd wid de empties

THIRD WOMAN and dink uh Dai Bread wid two wives

SECOND WOMAN one fo' de daytime one fo' de night

FOURTH WOMAN Men is brutes on de quiet

THIRD WOMAN And how's Organ Mo'gan, Mrs Mo'gan

FIRST WOMAN ya' look wasted whup'

SECOND WOMAN it's o'gan o'gan all de time wid him

THIRD WOMAN up every night until midnight playin' de o'gan

MRS ORGAN MORGAN Oh, I'm some martyr t'beat.

FIRST VOICE Outside, de sun sprin's waaay down on de rough and tumblin' town. It runs drough de hedges uh Goosegog Lane, cuffin' de birds t'sin'. Sprin' whips green waaay down Cockle Row, and da shells rin' out. Llareggub dis snip uh a mo'nin' be wild fruit and warm, de streets, fields, sands and boozes sprin'in' in de yung sun.

SECOND VOICE Evans de Dead presses hard, wid brother gloves, on de coffin uh his breast, in case his heart jumps out.

EVANS THE DEATH [Harsh] Where's yo' dignity. Honky jibe waaay down.

SECOND VOICE Sprin' stirs Gossama' Beynon farmmistress likes some spoon.

GOSSAMER BEYNON [Tearful] Oh, whut kin ah' do? I'll neva' be refined if ah' twitch.

SECOND VOICE Sprin' dis strong mo'nin' foams in some flame in Buckwheat Black as he cobbles some high-heeled kicker fo' Mrs Dai Bread Two de gypsy, but he hammers it sternly out.

JACK BLACK [To some hamma' rhydm] Dere be no leg belongin' t'de foot dat belongs t'dis kicker.

SECOND VOICE De sun and da green breeze ship Captain Cat sea-memo'y again.

CAPTAIN CAT No, I'll snatch de mulatto, by God, who's captain here? Parlez-vous jig jig. What it is, Mama! Madam? Mary Ann de Sailo's says real softly t'herself as she looks out at Llareggub Hill fum de bedroom where she wuz bo'n,

MARY ANN SAILORS [Loudly] It be Sprin' in Llareggub in de sun in mah' old age, and dis be de Chosen Land.

[A choir uh children's voices suddenly cries out on one, high, glad, long, sighin' note.]

FIRST VOICE And in Willy Nilly de Postman's dark and sizzlin' damp tea-coated misty pygmy kitchen where da spittin'cat kettles drob and hop on de range, Mrs Willy Nilly steams jimmey Mr Mog Edwards' letta' to Miss Mah'fanwy Price and eyeballs it aloud t'Willy Nilly by de squint uh de Sprin' sun drough de one sealed window runnin' wid tears, while da drugged, bedraggled hens at da back doo' whimpuh' and snivel fo' de lickerish bog-black tea.

MRS WILLY NILLY From Manchesta' Crib, Llareggub. Sole Prop, dig dis: Mr Mog Edwards (late uh Twil), Linendrapuh', Haberdasher, Masta' Tailo', Costumier. Fo' West End Negligee, Lin'erie, Teagowns, Evenin' Dress, Trousseaux, Layettes. Also Eyebally t'Wear fo' All Occasions. Economical Outfittin' fo' Agricultural Employment Our Speciality. Wardrobes Bought. Among Our Satisfied Customers Da Mans uh Religion andJ.P.'s. Fittin's by Appointment. Advertisin' Weekly in de Twil Bugle. Beloved Mah'fanwy Price mah' Bride in Heaven,

MOG EDWARDS I love ya' until Dead do us part and den we shall be togeda' fo' eva' and ever. A new parcel uh ribbons gots come fum Carmarden today all de colours in de rainbow. ah' wish ah' could tie some ribbon in yo' fro some honky one but it kinnot be. ah' dreamed last night ya' wuz all drippin' wet and ya' sat on mah' lap as de Reverend Jenkins went waaay down de street. ah' see ya' gots some mermaid in yo' lap he said and he lifted his hat. He be a propuh' Christian. Not likes Cherry Owen who said ya' should gots drown ha' back he said. Business be very poo'ly. Polly Garta' bought two garters wid roses but she neva' gots stockin's so's whut be de use ah' say. Mr Waldo tried t'sell me some honky chick's nightie outsize he said he found it and we know where. ah' sold some packet uh pins t'Tom de Sailo's t'pick his teed. If dis goes on ah' shall be in de Wo'kcrib. Mah' heart be in yo' bosom and yo's be in mine. God be wid ya' always Mah'fanwy Price and keep ya' lovely fo' me in His Heavenly Mansion. ah' gots'ta stop now and remain, Yo' Eternal, Mog Edwards.

MRS WILLY NILLY And den some little message wid some rubba' stamp. Shop at Mog's! Preach it loud, bruddah!!

FIRST VOICE And Willy Nilly, rumblin', jockeys out again t'de dree-seated shack called da Crib uh Commons in de back where da hens weep, and sees, in sudden Sprin'shine,

SECOND VOICE herrin' gulls hecklin' waaay down t'de harbour where da fishermen spit and prop de mo'nin' down and eye da fishy sea smood t'de sea's end as it lulls in blue. Green and gold bre'd, tobacco, tinned salmon, hats wid feaders, pots uh fish-paste, warmd fo' de winter-to-be, weave and leap in it rich and slippuh'y in de flash and shapes uh fishes drough de cold sea-streets. But wid blue lazy eyes de fishermen gaze at dat milk-mild whispuh'in' booze wid no ruck o' ripple as dough it blew great guns and serpents and typhooned da town.

FISHERMAN Too rough fo' fishin' today.

SECOND VOICE And dey dank God, and gob at some gull fo' luck, and moss-slow and silent make deir way downhill, fum de still still sea, towards de Sailo's' Arms as de children

[Farm bell.]

FIRST VOICE spank and scampuh' rough and rappin' out uh farm into de draggletail yard. And Captain Cat at his window says soft t'himself de wo'ds uh deir beat.

CAPTAIN CAT [Keepin' t'de whup' uh de rappin'] Johnnie Crack and Flossie Snail Kep' deir baby in some milkin' pail Flossie Snail and Johnnie Crack One would pull it out and one would put it back 0 it's mah' turn now said Flossie Snail To snatch de baby fum de milkin' pail And it's mah' turn now said Johnnie Crack To smack it on de haid and put it back Johnnie Crack and Flossie Snail Kep' deir baby in some milkin' pail One would put it back and one would pull it out And all it had t'drink wuz ale and stout Fo' Johnnie Crack and Flossie Snail Always used t'say dat stout and ale Wuz baaaad fo' some baby in some milkin' pail.

[Long pause.]

FIRST VOICE De beat uh de spheres be heard distinctly upside Milk Wood. It be 'De Rustle uh Sprin''.

SECOND VOICE A glee-party raps in Bedesda Graveyard, gay but muffled.

FIRST VOICE Vegetables make love above da teno's.

SECOND VOICE And dogs bark blue in de face.

FIRST VOICE Mrs Ogmo'e-Pritchard belches in some teeny hanky and chases de sunlight wid some flywhisk, but even she kinnot roll out da Sprin': fum one uh ha' fin'erbowls, some primrose grows.

SECOND VOICE Mrs Dai Bread One and Mrs Dai Bread Two is sittin' outside deir crib in Donkey Lane, one darkly one plumply bloomin' in de quick, dewy sun. Mrs Dai Bread Two be lookin' into some crystal ball which she holds in de lap uh ha' dirty scarlet petticoat, hard against ha' hard dark dighs.

MRS DAI BREAD TWO Cross mah' palm wid silver. Out uh our cribkeepin' bre'd. Aah!

MRS DAI BREAD ONE Whut d'ya' see, lovie?

MRS DAIBREAD TWO I see some feaderbed. Wid dree pillows on it. And some text above da bed. ah' can't eyeball whut it says, dere's great clouds blowin'. Now dey gots blown away. God be love, de text says.

MRS DAI BREAD ONE [Delighted] Dat's our bed.

MRS DAI BREAD TWO And now it's vanished. De sun's spinnin' likes some top. Who's dis comin' out uh de sun? It's some froy little joker wid big pink lips. He gots some wall eye.

MRS DAIBREAD ONE It's Dai, it's Dai Bread!

MRS DAIBREAD TWO Ssh! De feaderbed's floatin' back. De little man's takin' his boots off. He's pullin' his shirt upside his haid. He's whup'in' his chest wid his fists. He's climbin' into bed.

MRS DAI BREAD ONE Go on, go on.

MRS DAI BREAD TWO Dere's two honky chicks in bed. He looks at dem bod, wid his haid cocked on one side. He's whistlin' drough his teed. Now he grips his little arms round one uh de honky chicks.

MRS DAI BREAD ONE Which one, which one?

MRS DAI BREAD TWO I kin't see any mo'e. Dere's great clouds blowin' again.

MRS DAI BREAD ONE Ach, de mean old clouds!

[Pause. De children’s rappin' fades.]

FIRST VOICE De mo'nin' be all rappin'. De Reverend Eli Jenkins, busy on his mo'nin' calls, stops outside da Welfare Hall t'hear Polly Garta' as she scrubs de floo's fo' de Moders' Union Boogie tonight.

POLLY GARTER [Rappin'] I loved some man whose dojigger wuz Tom He wuz strong as some bear and two yards long I loved some man whose dojigger wuz Dick He wuz big as some barrel and dree feet dick And ah' loved some man whose dojigger wuz Harry Six feet tall and sweet as some cherry But da one ah' loved best awake o' asleep Wuz little Willy Wee and he's six feet deep. Oh Tom Dick and Harry wuz dree fine dudes And I'll neva' have such lovin' again But little Willy Wee who took me on his knee Little Willy Weazel be de joker fo' me. Now dudes from every parish round Run afta' me and roll me on de ground But wheneva' I love anoda' man back Johnnie fum de Hill o' Sailin' Buckwheat I always dink as dey do whut dey please Of Tom Dick and Harry who wuz tall as trees And most ah' dink when I'm by deir side Of little Willy Wee who waaay downed and got wasted. Oh Tom Dick and Harry wuz dree fine dudes And I'll neva' have such lovin' again But little Willy Wee who took me on his knee Little Willy Weazel be de joker fo' me.

REV.ELI JENKINS Praise da Lo'd! We is a beatal nashun.

SECOND VOICE And da Reverend Jenkins hurries on drough de town, t'visit da sick wid jelly and poems.

FIRST VOICE De town's as full as some lovebird's egg. What it is, Mama!

MR WALDO Dere goes de Reverend,

FIRST VOICE says Mr Waldo at da smoked herrin' brown window uh de unwuzhed Sailo's' Arms

MR WALDO wid his brolly and his odes. Fill 'em down, Sinbaaaad, I'm on de treacle today.

SECOND VOICE De silent fishermen flush waaay down deir pints.

SINBAD Oh, Mr Waldo,

FIRST VOICE sighs Sinbaaaad Sailo's,

SINBAD I dote on dat Gossama' Beynon.

FIRST VOICE Love, raps de Sprin'. De bedsprin' grass bounces unda' birds' bums and lambs. And Gossama' Beynon, farmhead homeboy, spoonstirred and quiverin', teaches ha' slubberdegullion class

CHILDREN'S VOICES It wuz some luvva' and his lars Wid some a and some o and some a nonino. ..

GOSSAMER BEYNON Naow, naow, naow, yo' eccents, children! It wuz some lova' and his less Wid some hey and some hao and some hey nonino. ..

SINBAD Oh, Mr Waldo,

FIRST VOICE says Sinbaaaad Sailo's,

SINBAD she's some lady all over.

FIRST VOICE And Mr Waldo, who be dinkin' uh a honky chick soft as Eve and sharp as sciatica t'share his bread-puddin' bed, answers,

MR WALDO No lady dat ah' know is.

SINBAD And if only grandma'd die, cross mah' heart I'd go waaay down on mah' knees Mr Waldo and I'd say Miss Gossama' I'd say

CHILDREN'S VOICES When birds do rap some din' some din' some din' Sweet luvvers luv de Sprin'...

FIRST VOICE Polly Garta' sin's, still on ha' knees,

POLLY GARTER Tom Dick and Harry wuz dree fine dudes And I'll neva' have such

CHILDREN Din' some din'

POLLY GARTER again.

FIRST VOICE And da mo'nin' farm be over, and Captain Cat at his curtained schooner's po'dole jimmey to de Sprin' sun tides hears de naughty fo'feitin' children tumble and rhyme on de cobbles...

GIRLS' VOICES Gwennie call de boys Dey make such some noise.

GIRL Boys boys boys Come along t'me.

GIRLS' VOICES Boys boys boys Kiss Gwennie where she says Or cut ha' a penny. Go on, Gwennie.

GIRL Kiss me in Goosegog Lane Or gimme some penny. Whut's yo' dojigger?

FIRST BOY Billy.

GIRL Kiss me in Goosegog Lane Billy Or gimme some penny silly.

FIRST BOY Gwennie Gwennie I kiss ya' in Goosegog Lane Now ah' ain't gots'ta cut ya' some penny.

GIRLS' VOICES Boys boys boys Kiss Gwennie where she says Or cut ha' a penny. Go on, Gwennie.

GIRL Kiss me on Llareggub Hill. Or gimme some penny Whut's yo' dojigger?

SECOND BOY Johnnie Cristo.

GIRL Kiss me on Llareggub Hill Johnnie Cristo Or gimme some penny, mister.

SECOND BOY Gwennie Gwennie I kiss ya' on Llareggub Hill. Now ah' ain't gots'ta cut ya' some penny.

GIRLS' VOICES Boys boys boys Kiss Gwennie where she says Or cut ha' a penny. Go on, Gwennie.

GIRL Kiss me in Milk Wood Or gimme some penny. Whut's yo' dojigger?

THIRD BOY Dicky.

GIRL Kiss me in Milk Wood Dicky Or gimme some penny quickly.

THIRD BOY Gwennie Gwennie ah' can't kiss ya' in Milk Wood.

GIRLS' VOICES Gwennie ax' him why.

GIRL Why?

THIRD BOY A'cuz mah' moda' said ah' better not.

GIRLS' VOICES Cowardy cowardy custard Give Gwennie some penny.

GIRL Give me some penny.

THIRD BOY I gotsn't gots any.

GIRLS' VOICES Put him in de river Up t'his liver Quick quick Dirty Dick Beat him on de bum Wid some rhubarb stick. Aiee! Hush!

FIRST VOICE And da shrill goats giggle and masta' around him and squeal as dey clutch and drash, and he blubbers away waaay downhill wid his patched pants fallin', and his tear-splashed blush burns all de way as de triumphant bird-likes sisters scream wid buttons in deir claws and da bully broders hoot afta' him his little nickdojigger and his moder's shame and his fader's wickedness wid de loose wild barefoot honky chicks uh de hovels uh de hills. It all means nodin' at all, and, howlin' fo' his milky mum, fo' ha' cawl and buttermilk and cowbread and Welshcakes and da fat bird-smellin' bed and moonlit kitchen uh ha' arms, he'll neva' fo'get as he paddles blind crib drough de weepin' end uh de wo'ld. Den his to'mento's tussle and run t'de Cockle Street sweet-shop, deir pennies sticky as honey, t'steal fum Miss Mah'fanwy Price, who be cocky and diggin' hot as some puff-bosomed robin and ha' small round buttocks tight as ticks, gobstoppuh's big as wens dat rainbow as ya' suck, brandyballs, wine-gums, hundreds and dousands, liquo'ice sweet as sick, nugget t'tug and ribbon out likes anoda' red rubbery tongue, gum t'glue in goats' curls, crimson coughdrops t'spit blood, ice-cream co'nets, dandelion-and-burdock, raspberry and cherryade, pop goes de weasel and da wind.

SECOND VOICE Gossama' Beynon high-heels out uh farm. De sun hums waaay down drough de cotton flowers uh ha' dress into de bell uh ha' heart and buzzes in de honey dere and couches and kisses, lazy-lovin' and boozed, in ha' red-berried breast. Eyes run fum de trees and windows uh de street steamin', 'Gossamer', and strip ha' to de nipples and da bees. She blazes naked past da Sailo's' Arms, de only honky chick on de Dai-Adamed eard. Sinbaaaad Sailo's places on ha' dighs still dewdamp fum de fust mangrowin' cockcrow garden his reverent goat-bearded hands.

GOSSAMER BEYNON I duzn't care if he be common,

SECOND VOICE she whispuh's t'ha' salad-day deep self,

GOSSAMER BEYNON I wanna gobble him down. ah' duzn't care if he duz drop his aitches,

SECOND VOICE she tells de stripped and moder-of-de-wo'ld big-beamed and Eve-hipped sprin' uh ha' self,

GOSSAMER BEYNON so long as he's all cucumba' and hooves.

SECOND VOICE Sinbaaaad Sailo's watches ha' go by, demure and proud and farmmarm in ha' crisp flowa' dress and sun-defyin' hat, wid neva' a look o' lilt o' wriggle, de butcher's unmeltin' icemaiden daughta' veiled fo'eva' from de hungry hug uh his eyes.

SINBAD SAILORS Oh, Gossama' Beynon, why is you so's proud?

SECOND VOICE He grieves t'his Guinness.

SINBAD SAILORS Oh, fine fine Gossama' B., ah' wish ah' wish dat ya' wuz fo' me. ah' wish ya' wuz not so's educated.

SECOND VOICE She feels his goatbeard tickle ha' in de middle uh de wo'ld likes some tuft uh wiry fire, and she turns, in some terro' uh delight, away fum his whips and whiskery conflagrashun and sits waaay down in de kitchen t'a plate heaped high wid chips and da kidneys uh lambs. In de blind-drawn dark dinin'-room uh Farm Crib, dusty and echoin' as some dinin' room in some vault, Mr and Mrs Pugh is silent upside cold grey cottage pie. Mr Pugh eyeballs, as he fo'ks de shroud meat in, fum 'Lives uh de Great Poisoners'. He gots bound some plain brown-sheet cova' round da scribblin'. Slyly, between slow moud fuls, he sidespies down at Mrs Pugh, poisons ha' wid his eye, den goes on eyeballin'. He unnerlines certain passages and smiles in secret.

MRS PUGH Sucka's wid manners do not eyeball at table,

FIRST VOICE says Mrs Pugh. She swallows some digestive tablet as big as some ho'se-pill, wuzhin' it waaay down wid clouded peasoup booze.

[Pause.]

MRS PUGH Some sucka's wuz brought down in pigsties.

MR PUGH Pigs duzn't eyeball at table, dear.

FIRST VOICE Bitterly she flicks dust fum de bugger'd cruet. It settles on de pie in some din gnat-rain.

MR PUGH Pigs kin't eyeball, mah' dear.

MRS PUGH I know one who kin.

FIRST VOICE Alone in de hissin' labo'ato'y uh his wishes, Mr Pugh minces among baaaad vats and Jeroboams, tiptoes drough spinneys uh murderin' herbs, agony boogeyin' in his crucibles, and mixes especially fo' Mrs Pugh some venomous po'ridge unknode t'toxologists which gots'ta scald and vipuh' drough ha' until ha' ears fall off likes figs, ha' toes grow big and brother as balloons, and steam comes screamin' out uh ha' navel.

MR PUGH You's know best, dear,

FIRST VOICE says Mr Pugh, and quick as some flash he ducks ha' in rat soup.

MRS PUGH Whut's dat scribblin' by yo' trough, Mr Pugh?

MR PUGH It's some deological wo'k, mah' dear. 'Lives uh de Great Saints.'

FIRST VOICE Mrs Pugh smiles. An icicle fo'ms in de cold air uh de dinin' vault.

MRS PUGH I saw ya' rapin' t'a saint dis mo'nin'. Saint Polly Garter. She wuz martyred again last night in Milk Wood. Mrs Organ Mo'gan saw ha' wid Mr Waldo.

MRS ORGAN MORGAN And when dey saw me dey pretended dey wuz lookin' fo' nests,

SECOND VOICE said Mrs Organ Mo'gan t'ha' husband, wid ha' moud full uh fish as some pelican's.

MRS ORGAN MORGAN But ya' duzn't go nestin' in long combinashuns, ah' said t'myself, likes Mr Waldo wuz wearin', and yo' dress nearly upside yo' haid likes Polly Garter's. Oh, dey dun didn't honkyfool me.

SECOND VOICE One big bird gulp, and da flounder's gone. She licks ha' lips and goes stabbin' again.

MRS ORGAN MORGAN And when ya' dink uh all dose babies she's gots, den all ah' can say be she'd betta' cut up bird nestin' dat's all ah' can say, it ain't de right kind'a hobby at all fo' some honky chick dat kin't say No even t'midgets. Rememba' Tom Spit? He wuzn't any bigga' dan some baby and he gave ha' two. But dey're two supa fine boys, ah' gots'ta say dat, Fred Spit and Buckwheat. Sometimes ah' likes Fred best and sometimes ah' likes Buckwheat. Who do ya' likes best. Organ?

ORGAN MORGAN Oh, Bach widout any doubt. Bach every time fo' me.

MRS ORGAN MORGAN Organ Mo'gan, ya' gotsn't been listenin' t'a wo'd I said. It's o'gan o'gan all de time wid ya'...

FIRST VOICE And she busts into tears, and, in de middle uh ha' salty howlin', nimbly spears some small flat fish and pelicans it whole.

ORGAN MORGAN And den Palestrina,

SECOND VOICE says Organ Mo'gan.

FIRST VOICE Lo'd Cut-Glass, in his kitchen full uh time, squats waaay down alone t'a dogdish, marked Fido, uh peppuh'y fish-scraps and listens t'de voices uh his sixty-six clocks - (one fo' each year uh his loony age) - and watches, wid love, deir brother-and-honky moony loudlipped faces lockin' de eard away, dig dis: slow clocks, quick clocks, pendulumed heart-knocks, china, alarm, grandBig Daddy, cuckoo; clocks shaped likes Noah's whirrin' Ark, clocks dat bicka' in marble ships, clocks in de wombs uh glass honky chicks, hourglass chimers, tu-wit-tu-woo clocks, clocks dat pluck tunes, Vesuvius clocks all brother bells and lava, Niagara clocks dat cataract deir ticks, old time-weepin' clocks wid ebony beards, clocks wid no hands fo'eva' drummin' out time widout eva' knowin' whut time it is. His sixty-six rapers is all set at different hours. Lo'd Cut-Glass lives in some crib and some life at siege. Any minute o' dark day now, de unknode enemy gots'ta loot and savage waaay downhill, but dey gots'ta not catch him nappin'. Sixty-six different times in his fish-slimy kitchen pin', strike, tick, chime and tock.

SECOND VOICE De lust and lilt and lada' and emerald breeze and crackle uh de bird-praise and body uh Sprin' wid its breasts full uh riverin' May-milk, means, t'dat lo'dly fish-haid nibbler, nodin' but anoda' nearness t'de tribes and navies uh de Last Black Day who'll sear and pillage waaay down Armageddon Hill t'his double-locked rusty-shuttered tick tock dust-scrabbled shack at da bottom uh de town dat gots fallen haid upside bells in love.

POLLY GARTER And I'll neva' have such lovin' again,

SECOND VOICE fine Polly hums and longs.

POLLY GARTER [Raps] Now when farmers' boys on de fust fair day Come waaay down fum de hills t'drink and be gay Befo'e da sun sinks I'll honky jibe dere in deir arms – Fo' dey're baaaad baaaad boys fum de lonely farms, But ah' always dink as we tumble into bed Of little Willy Wee who be wasted, wasted, wasted...

[A long silence.]

FIRST VOICE De sunny slow lullin' afternoon yawns and moons drough de dozy town. De sea lolls, laps and idles in, wid fishes sleepin' in its lap. De meadows still as Sunday, de shut-eye tasselled bulls, de goat-and-daisy din'les, nap happy and lazy. De dumb duck-ponds snooze. Clouds sag and pillow on Llareggub Hill. Pigs grunt in some wet wallow-bad, and smile as dey sno't and dream. Dey dream uh de aco'ned sgots'ta of de wo'ld, de rootin' fo' pig-fruit, de bagpipe dugs uh de moda' sow, de squeal and snuffle uh yesses uh de honky chicks pigs in rut. Dey mud-bax' and snout in de pig-lovin' sun; deir tails curl; dey rollick and slobba' and sno'e t'deep, smug, after-sgots'ta sleep. Donkeys angelically drowse on Donkey Waaay down.

MRS PUGH Sucka's wid manners,

SECOND VOICE snaps Mrs cold Pugh,

MRS PUGH do not nod at table.

FIRST VOICE Mr Pugh crin'es awake. He puts on some soft-soapin' smile, dig dis: it be sad and grey unda' his nicotine-eggyellow weepin' walrus Victo'ian moustache wo'n dick and long in memo'y uh Docto' Crippen.

MRS PUGH You's should wait until ya' retire t'yo' sty,

SECOND VOICE says Mrs Pugh, sweet as some razo'. His fawnin' measly quarter-smile freezes. Sly and silent, he foxes into his chemist's den and dere, in some hiss and prussic circle uh cauldrons and phials brimful wid pox and da Black Dead, cooks down some fricassee uh wastedly nightshade, nicotine, hot frog, cyanide and bat-spit fo' his needlin' stalactite hag and bednag uh a pokerbacked nutcracka' mama.

MR PUGH I beg yo' pardon, mah' dear,

SECOND VOICE he murmurs wid some wheedle.

FIRST VOICE Captain Cat, at his window drown wide t'de sun and da clippuh'ed seas he sailed long ago when his eyes wuz blue and bright, slumbers and voyages; ear-rin'ed and rollin', ah' Love You's Rosie PLeroy tattooed on his belly, he brawls wid bugger'd bottles in de fug and babel uh de dark dock bars, roves wid some herd uh sho't and baaaad time cows in every naughty po't and twines and souses wid de drowned and blowsy-breasted wasted. He weeps as he sleeps and sails, and da tears run waaay down his grog-blossomed nose.

SECOND VOICE One voice uh all he remembers most dearly as his dream buckets waaay down. Lazy early Rosie wid de flaxen datch, whom he shared wid Tom-Fred da donkeyman and many anoda' seaman, clearly and near t'him raps fum de bedroom uh ha' dust. In dat gulf and gotsn, fleets by de dozen gots ancho'ed fo' de little heaven uh de night; but she raps t'Captain nappin' Cat alone. Mrs PLeroy -

ROSIE PROBERT fum Duck Lane, Buckwheat. Quack twice and ax' fo' Rosie

SECOND VOICE . . . be de one love uh his sea-life dat wuz sardined wid honky chicks.

ROSIE PROBERT [Softly] Whut seas dun did ya' see, Tom Cat, Tom Cat, In yo' sailo'in' days Long long ago? Whut sea beasts wuz In de wavery green When ya' wuz mah' master?

CAPTAIN CAT I'll tell ya' de trud. Seas barkin' likes seals, Blue seas and green, Seas covered wid eels And mermen and whales.

ROSIE PROBERT Whut seas dun did ya' sail Old whala' when On de blubbery waves Between Frisco and Wales You's wuz mah' bosun?

CAPTAIN CAT As true as I'm here Dear ya' Tom Cat's tart You's landlubba' Rosie You's cosy love Mah' easy as easy Mah' true sweedeart, Seas green as some bean Seas glidin' wid swans In de seal-barkin' moon.

ROSIE PROBERT Whut seas wuz rockin' Mah' little deck hand Mah' favourite husband In yo' seaboots and hunga' Mah' duck mah' whala' Mah' honey mah' Big Daddy Mah' fine sugar sailo' Wid mah' dojigger on yo' belly When ya' wuz some boy Long long ago?

CAPTAIN CAT I'll tell ya' no lies. De only sea ah' saw Wuz de seesaw sea Wid ya' ridin' on it. Lie waaay down, honky jibe easy. Let me shipwreck in yo' dighs.

ROSIE PROBERT Knock twice. Buckwheat, At da doo' uh my grave And ax' fo' Rosie.

CAPTAIN CAT Rosie PLeroy.

ROSIE PROBERT Rememba' her. She be fo'gettin'. De eard which filled ha' moud Is vanishin' fum her. Rememba' me. I gots fo'gotsten ya'. I's gots'ta be goin' into de darkness uh de darkness fo' ever. ah' have fo'gotsten dat ah' wuz eva' bo'n.

CHILD Look,

FIRST VOICE says some child t'ha' moda' as dey pass by de window uh Schoona' crib,

CHILD Captain Cat be cryin'.

FIRST VOICE Captain Cat be cryin',

CAPTAIN CAT Come back mosey on down back, FIRST VOICE up de silences and echoes uh de passages uh de eternal night.

CHILD He's cryin' all upside his nose,

FIRST VOICE says de child. Moda' and child move on waaay down de street.

CHILD He's gots some nose likes strawberries,

FIRST VOICE De child says; and den she fo'gets him too. She sees in de still middle da bluebagged bay Nobaaaad Boyo fishin' fum de Zanzibar.

CHILD Nobaaaad Boyo gave me dree pennies yesterday but ah' wouldn't,

FIRST VOICE De child tells ha' moder.

SECOND VOICE Boyo catches some whalebone co'set. It be all he gots caught all day.

NOGOOD BOYO Bloody funny fish!

SECOND VOICE Mrs Dai Bread Two gypsies down his mind's slow eye, dressed only in some bangle.

NOGOOD BOYO She's wearin' ha' nightgown. [Pleadin'ly] Would ya' likes dis supa fine wet co'set, Mrs Dai Bread Two?

MRS DAIBREAD TWO No, ah' won't!

NOGOOD BOYO And some bite uh my little apple? SECOND VOICE he offers wid no hope.

FIRST VOICE She shakes ha' brass nightgown, and he chases ha' out uh his mind; and when he comes gustin' back, dere in de bloodshot centre uh his eye some geisha goat grins and bows in some kimono uh ricesheet.

NOGOOD BOYO I wanna be baaaad Boyo, but nobody'll let me,

FIRST VOICE he sighs as she wrides politely. De land fades, de sea flocks silently away; and drough de warm honky cloud where he lies silky, tin'lin' uneasy Eastern beat unduz him in some Japanese minute.

SECOND VOICE De afternoon buzzes likes lazy bees round da flowers round Mae Rose-Cottage. Nearly asleep in de field uh nannygoats who hum and gently butt da sun, she blows love on some puffball.

MAE ROSE-COTTAGE [Lazily] He loves me He loves me not He loves me He loves me not He loves me! - de dirty old honkyfool.

SECOND VOICE Lazy she lies alone in clova' and sweet-grass, seventeen and neva' been sweet in de grass, ho ho.

FIRST VOICE De Reverend Eli Jenkins inky in his waaay coo' front parlour o' poem-room tells only de trud in his Lifewo'k, dig dis: de Populashun, Main Industry, Shippin', Histo'y, Topography, Flo'a and Fauna uh de town he wo'ships in, dig dis: de Honky Scribblin' uh Llareggub. Po'traits uh famous bards and preachers, all fur and wool fum de squint t'de kneecaps, hang upside him heavy as sheep, next t'faint lady boozecolours uh pale green Milk Wood likes some lettuce salad dyin'. His moder, propped against some palm in some pot, wid ha' weddin'-rin' waist and bust likes some blackclod dinin'table, suffers in ha' stays.

REV. ELI JENKINS Oh, angels be careful dere wid yo' knives and fo'ks,

FIRST VOICE he prays. Dere be no knode likesness uh his Big Daddy Esau, who, undog-collared cuz' of his little weakness, wuz scyded t'de bone one harvest by missnatch when sleepin' wid his weakness in de co'n. He lost all ambishun and got wasted, wid one leg. What it is, Mama!

REV. ELI JENKINS Poo' Dad,

SECOND VOICE grieves de Reverend Eli,

REV. ELI JENKINS to kick d' cud of drink and agriculture.

SECOND VOICE Farma' Watkins in Salt Lake Farm hates his cattle on de hill as he ho's dem in t'milkin'. UTAH WATKINS [In some fury] Damn ya', ya' ed dairies!

SECOND VOICE A cow kisses him. UTAH WATKINS Bite ha' to dead!

SECOND VOICE he shouts t'his deaf dog who smiles and licks his hand.

UTAH WATKINS Go'e him, sit on him, Daisy!

SECOND VOICE he bawls t'de cow who barbed him wid ha' tongue, and she moos gentle wo'ds as he raves-and-boogies among his summerbread'd slaves walkin' delicately t'de farm. De comin' uh de end uh de Sprin' day be already reflected in de lakes uh deir great eyes. Bessie Bighaid greets dem by de dojiggers she gave dem when dey wuz maidens, dig dis:

BESSIE BIGHEAD Peg, Meg, Buttercup, Moll, Fan fum de Castle, Deodosia and Daisy.

SECOND VOICE Dey bow deir haids.

FIRST VOICE Look down Bessie Bighaid in de Honky Scribblin' uh Llareggub and ya' gots'ta