The woodcutters pause to look around them for a moment.
W2: So where do we go now?
W4: We’ve
reached no decision.
W3: But we’d better say nothing or
we’ll face sure derision.
I can see them all
laughing away in the town:
How we gave in to women
and had to back down.
W1: Sshhh!
I hear noises.
W2: Oh,
great!
W4: Erysichthon!
W3: We’re doomed if he sees just
how little we’ve done! (E. enters and sits facing the
audience he holds a chainsaw. )
E: I’ve come to join you, to
share your toil
To help you build my
daughter’s house
With the sweet of my
brow and my hands in the soil –
What’s this? . . . Why
have you stopped before you’ve begun?
W1: Perhaps there’s another
location that’s better,
For
instance the mountains where the climate is wetter.
W2: You’re not going to fire us,
are you?
W4: I
hope not.
Since these are the only
good job prospects I’ve got.
W1: Really, sir, isn’t there some
better way?
We’ll cut your wood
elsewhere without a delay.
E: Look at these trees! Strong, straight, and tall.
If you don’t cut down
these, you’ll cut nothing at all.
W1: You see, sir, we thought,
since this is holy ground
(You can see that it’s
sacred just by looking around)
Well, perhaps we might
find someplace else we could cut.
That’s why we’ve done
nothing – we’re in kind of a rut.
E: I’m not paying woodcutters
for moral conclusions.
Sacred
grove? Holy ground? Absurdist delusions!
These trees are the
oldest and best in the region,
If you seek sacred
groves, you can find them – they’re legion
You say you want work?
You can have it from me
But you’ll have to start
working by felling this tree.
W2: But sir, I believe in the
gods, and I care
for
my family who lives in our village down there.
I don’t want to neglect them,
and I do need the wages.
But I won’t set the
goddesses off into rages.
W3: Hold your tongue.
W1: Let
him speak.
W4: I
can’t see where he’s going.
W2: If it’s sin to destroy these,
then who will be owing
The
debt to the future, to the goddess, to life.
Will I suffer? Will my
daughters? My sons or my wife?
E: You fear the gods’ wrath? I
think that I see.
But now my good man, you
must listen to me:
Behold the world in
which we dwell
Is filled with beauty
overflowing:
The dancing winds, the
deep sea’s swell
The
flowers, trees and grasses growing.
The gods have given earth to
Man
For our enjoyment and our
pleasure
To use the very best we can
This gift, this sacred,
precious treasure.
E
and W’s: Behold the world in which
we dwell
Is filled with riches
overflowing
The golden fish, a deep,
sweet well,
The
autumn sunshine warmly glowing.
E: If we should perish in the
night,
Who would appreciate
earth’s beauty?
To harvest it becomes
our right
To use it clearly is our
duty.
The world provides an
endless store
From which we gather up
our forces
To clothe the needy,
house the poor
And feed the hungry
takes resources.
E
& W’s: Behold the world in
which we dwell
Is filled with bounty
overflowing
The running stream, the
oyster’s shell,
The
pastured cattle gently lowing.
W1: We apologize, sir, for our
fruitless delay
And with speed in our
saws, we hope to repay.
E: Very well, begin here,
where I first cast my eyes.
This venerable oak is an
excellent prize.
Are you ready?
W1
– W4: We’re
ready!
E: Then
let it begin!