Into the Woods (Prologue)

Once upon a time I wish In a far-off kingdom More than anything Lived a fair maiden (more than mine) A sad young lad I wish And a childless baker More than life I wish With his wife More than anything More than the moon I wish The King is giving a Festival More than life I wish I wish to go to the Festival More than riches And the ball I wish my cow would give us some milk More than anything I wish we had a child I want a child I wish to go to the Festival I wish you'd give us some milk or even cheese (I wish we might have a child) I wish You wish to go to the Festival? The poor girl's mother had died You, Cinderella, the Festival? You wish to go to the Festival? The Festival! The King's Festival? And her father had taken for his new wife The Festival A woman with two daughters of her own Look at your nails, look at your dress! People would laugh at you nevertheless I still want to go to the Festival And dance before the Prince All three were beautiful of face, but vile and black of heart Jack, on the other hand, had no father, and his mother I wish Well, she was not quite beautiful I wish my son were not a fool I wish my house was not a mess I wish the cow was full of milk I wish the walls was full of gold I wish a lot of things Why, come in, little girl I wish It's not for me It's for my Granny in the woods A loaf of bread, please To bring my poor old hungry granny in the woods Just a loaf of bread, please Cinderella's Stepmother had a surprise for her I have emptied a pot of lentils into the ashes for you If you have picked them out again in two hours' time You shall go to the ball with us And perhaps a sticky bun? Or four? Birds in the sky Birds in the eaves, in the leaves, in the fields In the castles and ponds And a few of those pies please Come, little birds Down from the eaves and the leaves Over fields out of castles and ponds No, squeeze, pal (ahh) Quick, little birds, flick through the ashes Pick and peck, but swiftly sift through the ashes into the pot Listen well, son, Milky-White must be taken to market But, mother, no, he's the best cow Look at her There are bugs on her dugs There are flies in her eyes There's a lump on her rump Big enough to be a hump But (Son) We've no time to sit and dither While her wither's wither with her And no one keeps a cow for a friend! Sometimes I fear your touched Into the woods, it's time to go I hate to leave, I have to, though Into the woods, it's time, and so I must begin my journey Into the woods and through the trees To where I am expected ma'am Into the woods, to Grandmother's house Into the woods, to Grandmother's house You're certain of your way? The way is clear The light is good I have no fear Nor no one should The woods are just trees The trees are just wood I sort of hate to ask it But do you have a basket? Into the woods and down the dell The path is straight, I know it well Into the woods and who can tell What's waiting on the journey? Into the woods to bring some bread To Granny who is sick in bed Never can tell what lies ahead For all that I know she's already dead But into the woods Into the woods Into the woods, to Grandmother's house And home before dark Fly, birds Back to the sky Back to the eaves and the leaves And the fields and the Hurry up and do my hair, Cinderella! Are you really wearing that? Here, I found a little tear, Cinderella Can't you hide it with a hat? You look beautiful I know She means me Put it in a twist Who will be there? Mother said be good, father said be nice That was always their advice So be nice, Cinderella Good, Cinderella Nice, good, good, nice (tighter!) What's the good of being good if everyone is blind And you're always left behind? Never mind, Cinderella, kind Cinderella Nice, good, nice, kind, good, nice Ow, not that tight! Sorry Clod Who might that be? It's the witch from next door The old enchantress told the couple she had placed a spell on their house What spell? In the past When your mother was with child She developed an unusual appetite She took one look at my beautiful garden And told your father that what she wanted More than anything in the world was Greens, greens and nothing but greens Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery Asparagus and watercress and fiddleferns and lettuce He said, "All right", but it wasn't, quite 'Cause I caught him in the autumn in my garden one night! He was robbing me Raping me Rooting through my rutabaga Raiding my arugula and Ripping up my rampion My champion! My favorite! I should have laid a spell on him right there Could've turned him into stone or a dog or a chair But I let him have the rampion, I'd lots to spare In return, however, I said, "Fair is fair You can let me have the baby that your wife will bear And we'll call it square" I had a brother? No, but you had a sister But the witch refused to tell him anymore of his sister Not even that her name was „Rapunzel“ I thought I had been more than reasonable But how was I to know What your father had also hidden in his pocket? What? Beans (beans?) the special beans I let him go, I didn't know he'd stolen my beans! I was watching him crawl back over the wall! Then bang! Crash! The lightning flash! And well, that's another story, never mind Anyway, at last the big day came I made my claim "Oh, don't take away the baby", they shrieked and screeched But I did and I hid her where she'll never be reached Your father cried and your mother died When for extra measure I admit it was a pleasure I said, "Sorry, I'm still not mollified" And I laid a little spell on them You, too, son That your family tree would always be a barren one So there's no more fuss and there's no more scenes And my garden thrives, you should see my nectarines! But I'm telling you the same I tell kings and queens „Don't ever never ever mess around with my greens!“ Especially the beans Now listen to me, Jack Lead Milky-White to market and fetch the best price you can Are you listening to me? Jack, Jack, Jack Head in a sack The house is getting colder This is not the time for dreaming Chimney stack Starting to crack The mice are getting bolder The floor's gone slack Your mother's getting older Your father's not back And you can't just sit here dreaming pretty dreams To wish and wait from day to day Will never keep the wolves away So into the woods, the time is now We have to live, I don't care how Into the woods to sell the cow You must begin the journey Straight to the woods and don't delay We have to face the marketplace Into the woods to journey's end Into the woods to sell a friend Meanwhile, the Witch, for purposes of her own Explained how the Baker might lift the spell You wish to have the curse reversed? I'll need a certain potion first Go to the wood and bring me back One, the cow as white as milk Two, the cape as red as blood Three, the hair as yellow as corn Four, the slipper as pure as gold Bring me these before the chime of midnight In three day's time And you shall have, I guarantee A child as perfect as child can be Go to the wood! Ladies Our carriage waits Now may I go to the Festival? The Festival! Darling, those nails! Darling, those clothes! Lentils are one thing but, darling, with those You'd make us the fools of the Festival And mortify the Prince! (Your carriage is waiting) we must be gone! Goodnight, Father I wish Look what I found in father's hunting jacket Six beans, we'll take them with us No, the spell is on my house Only I can lift the spell The spell is on my house (no, no, the spell is on our house) No (we must lift the spell) You are not to come and that is final, no What am I to return with? You don't remember? The cow as white as milk The cape as red as blood The hair as yellow as corn The s