Selma Lagerlöf

“ Olga. (Disturbed) No, my dear, we are not heartless. The sheaves shall be put out as soon as Torstein returns. Come, shall we have our punch and cakes? Children, are you hungry?
Oswald. I am.
Sigurd. I want a cookie from my plate.
Liljekrona. And there are no candles in the windows. Nothing is done as it used to be. (He seats himself on the wooden bench.)
Olga. Oh, why—why, I had intended to light the candles. (Goes to mantel.) Come, children, before you have your cookies will you help Mother? ”

“ The scene of the children with Ruster gives the actor an opportunity to show the battered, dissipated old man, afraid of the innocent eyes of the children, but gradually put at his ease by their complete unconsciousness and their real interest in the one thing he knows,—flute-playing. Ruster’s complete collapse when the children’s absorption in reading allows him to realize his own desolate situation, and Olga’s offer to make him their tutor, need only be played with entire simplicity and sincerity by both actors, to bring tears to the eyes of many people in the audience. ”

“ Don’t make such big flakes, Sigurd.
Sigurd. But I’m making it snow hard.
Oswald. Oh, look, that fell on a candle.
Olga. We need some more snow over here. Come down and make it snow on these branches.
Oswald. But, Mother, we need some most on this side—like this.
Sigurd. Where is Father?
Olga. He has gone out with Torstein in the sledge to gather green boughs to make the house look like Christmas.
Sigurd. It’ll soon be Christmas, Mother. When can we light the candles?
Olga. When Father comes home. Have we used up all the snow, Oswald?
Oswald. Yes, I will get some more. (Starts upstairs.) Oh! ”

“ Liljekrona. Ruster! (With amazement) You have asked him to teach——?
Olga. Yes, Oswald and Sigurd. He has been helping them this afternoon.
Liljekrona. But—has he promised to give up——?
Olga. He has promised nothing. But there is much about which he must be careful when he has to look little children in the eyes every day.
Liljekrona. You’re sure he can do it?
Olga. (Not heeding) If it had not been Christmas, perhaps I should not have ventured; but if our Lord dared to place His own son among us sinners, [29] surely we can dare to let our children try to save a human soul. ”

“ Liljekrona. There has been a fine flurry all [14] morning. (Olga helps him off with his coat.) But the fire feels good!
Ruster. This is the warmest place in the house.
Liljekrona. How is it going? (Looking over Ruster’s shoulder.) You haven’t forgotten how a page ought to look, have you, Ruster?
Ruster. No, I can copy, but I cannot play. I have almost forgotten the sound of my flute. Nobody wants a flute-player nowadays! They do not care for music any more in Varmland and they do not want to learn.
Liljekrona. Yes, Varmland is not like Ekeby when we knew it. ”

“ A heavy, iron-hinged door opens outdoors at the center back. On either side are windows. At the left a door leads into the kitchen, and at the right a flight of stairs leads to the bedrooms. By the stairs stands a Christmas tree as yet unlighted. There is a music cabinet against the back wall, left; and an oblong table at the right; a carved wooden chest stands beside the fireplace.
Time: about 1890.
Olga is discovered arranging candles on the tree. She is slender and moderately tall, with large eyes and rich dark hair braided about her head. She wears Swedish holiday dress. ”

“ Your candles are too late. The door is closed. The voice is gone. (Rises and exits slowly to his room.)
Oswald. (After a pause) Why did Father go away, Mother?
Halla. Is it anything the matter with the punch, Ma’am?
Olga. (Hesitating) No, Halla, it’s not the punch—I think he’s not—very happy——
Sigurd. Won’t he come back, Mother? Who will tell us stories?
(Wild music is heard from Liljekrona’s room. It rises and falls in passionate rushes and casts a spell over those who listen.)
Olga. (Rising suddenly at the sound) He is playing. Why—he has not played like that since he came home. ”

“ As soon as he has filled the sledge with boughs, for he knows we need him here on Christmas Eve. (She goes to the window. Sleighbells are heard.) There they are, coming up the drive. We must have some place to put the branches. (She spreads a cloth on the floor. Ruster steals a drink from his flask. The door opens. Enter Liljekrona. He is a tall, finely erect man, clad in a heavy fur coat that is covered with snow. As he takes off his cap, he discloses a mass of light hair brushed back from an unusually high forehead. His face is at once sensitive and strong. He carries a load of boughs.) ”

“ Ruster. And bring it at once. I have only to get my treasures and I am ready. (Picks up his music pen and exits upstairs.)
Torstein. He’s not going to stay over Christmas?
Olga. You must hurry back, Torstein. The snow is getting deep.
(Exit Torstein. Liljekrona looks over the music sheets on table, and takes money from his pocket.)
Olga. You will slip in something for Christmas?
Liljekrona. Of course.
Olga. (Taking down fur coat and warming it) Will you lend him your big coat? Torstein can bring it back. (After a pause.) As long as he wishes to go himself, it is as well to let him. ”

“ Olga. (Stung by Liljekrona’s remark) It is a good thought, Oswald. Take them out to Halla now, so she can bake them before to-morrow.
Sigurd. I can’t make a Christ-Child, Mother. (With a sob.) It doesn’t look like anything.
Oswald. (With a laugh) It looks like a star.
Olga. (Rising) Let me see, dear. I think Mother would know what that was. Take it to Halla and she will bake it. Then wash those sticky hands. It is time to light the tree. (Exeunt Oswald and Sigurd. Takes violin from the cabinet and gives it to Liljekrona.) ”

“ Sigurd. Blow another.
Ruster. (Blows another. Then both over again) This is A and this is B.
Oswald. A and B. You can’t play them. They’re letters.
Ruster. Yes, and in music they are the names of the notes. (Takes out a score and with a crayon makes a few notes.) This is the way they look.
Sigurd. Let me see.
Oswald. No! That’s not right! That’s not what’s in our storybook! See—I’ll show you. (He runs to music cabinet, and from lower cupboard pulls out a battered cloth book.)
Ruster. (To Sigurd) Can this boy spell his name?
Sigurd. Yes—S I G U R D!
Oswald. See—look at our book. ”

“ Any good reference book on the costumes of various nations and many books about travel in Sweden will furnish illustrations that may be copied, varying the colors when necessary to produce a harmonious relation with one another. ”

“ Halla, is the punch still hot?
Halla. Yes, Ma’am.
Olga. Then pour out a glass. It will warm him.
(Halla pours out two glasses. One she gives to Torstein, the other Olga holds to Ruster’s lips.)
Torstein. (Smacking his lips) Um! That puts life into you! (Sets down his glass.) Well, I must [25] drive the horses around, or they’ll be drifted in.
(Exit by front door. Oswald and Sigurd watch from the window.)
Ruster. (Gaining consciousness and looking about with a sad, puzzled expression) How did I come here again? It is strange, all strange to be in Liljekrona’s house—I thought—— (Abruptly.) ”

“ Whenever this play is produced the following notice must appear on all programs, printing and advertising for the play: Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French of New York.
[3]
THE VASSAR SERIES OF PLAYS
Every play in this series has been written by a member of the Play-Writing Class at Vassar College. But each play as printed is the product of a group-activity. Not merely an individual seated at a desk, but a community working together in a theater, is responsible for it in its final form. ”