Scene 6

 

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!