Read a Scene
from A Yorkshire Fairie Tale

1. 

DULCIE
Princess Mary’s Gift Book? 
(laughing)
It’s full of fairy pictures for cut-outs!

FRANCIS
No laughing!

DULCIE
Sorry. Shouldn’t you be out playing football with your mates?

FRANCIS
I bruise easy.

DULCIE
I could teach you to play cricket.

FRANCIS
Not interested. 
(beat)
Did you know that if you place pictures of fairies in the woods, you can sometimes trick the real fairies out of hiding? 

DULCIE
You believe all this?

FRANCIS
I know when I’m feeling blue-like, and I look at my fairy book for a while, I start to feel better.

DULCIE
Wanting to trick some fairies out of hiding?

2. 

FRANCIS
Then these photos will have to do more than just cheer her up, won’t they? If we’re lucky, real fairies might show and make your mum forget all her cares. 

DULCIE
If your fairies actually appeared, I wouldn’t know what to say to them. 

FRANCIS
I’d say, “Hallo! I’m Francis and this is my good friend Dulcie. And we’d like to take your picture and join you in your fairy dance.”

DULCIE
No wonder they pick on you at school. You really need to learn to keep your mouth shut.

FRANCIS
Then I’d be somebody else, wouldn’t I?

DULCIE
Somebody who didn’t get picked on.

FRANCIS
If the fairy king offered you a lilac-daisy poesy, I’ll bet you’d join the fairy dance.

DULCIE
Don’t know the dance steps.

FRANCIS
He’d teach you. Maybe we should have prepared something for them to nibble on. Jamakey cream and crumpets.

DULCIE
Crumpet crumbs is more like it.

3. 

FRANCIS
Do you believe in fairies?

VIVIAN
Honestly? 
(very thoughtful)
I would love to believe that fairies fly among us. More than anything. Evidently, I’m not the only one. So little to hold onto these days. But. I can’t be sure if your fairies are malakin’ or not till I’ve seen one up close. Would that they’d show. Next time they do, how about you take me down to the beck for introductions?

FRANCIS
They only show for us bairn.

VIVIAN
Are you a liar, Francis?

FRANCIS
No, ma’am. And neither is Dulcie. The fairies came to help us.

VIVIAN
You really think they’re spirits of the dead?

FRANCIS
Messengers from angels.

VIVIAN
Did they give you any messages from anyone I might know?

FRANCIS
The minute they do, you’ll be the first I tell.

4. 

DULCIE
Let’s say there were some questions Francis and I could answer. And a bit of a caper came out – 

FRANCIS
It’s not!

DULCIE
- What then?

MR. BUTTERFIELD
The hardest part about letting the cat out of the bag is trying to get it back in. I might be able to help out. 

DULCIE
How forgiving do you think people will be? 

MR. BUTTERFIELD
If some very sweet children were only having a little fun, I think people would be very forgiving in the end. 

5. 

VIVIAN
Lost anybody in the way yet?

MR. BUTTERFIELD
Not in the immediate family.

VIVIAN
Then you don’t know first-hand what all we’ve been through.
(then) 
Do I think the photos proved the existence of fairies? I’ve never seen the little mannikins in person, but I acknowledge the possibility of spirits in the world. And if someday you should lose someone you dearly love, and you’ve given up every gram of hope, do stop in for a visit. I’ll have your tea waiting.

MR. BUTTERFIELD
So, if someone told you that fairies could carry messages from the dead, would that make you open to the idea?

VIVIAN
I am an honest, respectable woman – What if the photos are real? You’re not leaving room for the possibility for new discoveries.

MR. BUTTERFIELD
What else are you willing to believe? 

VIVIAN
That joy may someday be restored. Silly me.

MR. BUTTERFIELD
People in wartime are quite vulnerable, Mrs. Somerset. This business of fairies could play into something quite grand. Look how efficiently it’s spread so far. Seems harmless with fairies and children, but in the wrong hands, the political implications are frightful.

VIVIAN
Are you saying we shouldn’t trust our leaders?

MR. BUTTERFIELD
At your peril.

6. 

FRANCIS
The first fairy I noticed was standing on a willow leaf. Made it plop. I looked over and there was a tiny man the size of a field mouse dressed all in green. I was terrified. But he smiled at me. Made it alright. Then the rest of them started taking form. Real fairies. Some had wings, some not. Some were there to enjoy a patch of sunlight on a low-hanging branch. Some were just there for the shrapnel. They must have known what glorious music it would make. It all seemed so wondrous and friendly. Sometimes they would fly up within inches of my nose and tickle it. I don’t know why, but I never even thought to ask if I could run away with them and join their lovely little world. We felt so lucky that day.