NARRATOR   Once upon a time      CINDERELLA   I wish...      NARRARATOR   in a far-off kingdom      CIDERELLA   More than anything...      NARRARATOR   lived a fair maiden,       CINDERELLA   More than jewels...      NARRARATOR   a sad young lad      JACK   I wish...      NARRATOR   and a childless baker      JACK   More than life...      CINDERELLA & BAKER   I wish...      NARRARATOR   with his wife.      JACK   More than anything...      CINDERELLA, BAKER & JACK   More than the moon...      BAKER'S WIFE   I wish...      CINDERELLA    The King is giving a Festival. BAKER & WIFE      BAKER   More than life...       JACK    I wish...      CIDERELLA   I wish to go to the Festival.       BAKER   More than riches...       JACK   I wish my cow would   give us some milk.      CINDERELLA   And the Ball...       BAKER'S WIFE   More than anything...      JACK   Please, pal-      BAKER   I wish we had a child.      BAKER'S WIFE    I want a child...      JACK   Squeeze, pal...      CINDERELLA   I wish to go to the Festival.      JACK   I wish you'd give us some    milk or even cheese...      CINDERELLA   I wish...      BAKER'S WIFE   I wish we might have a child.   I wish...   I wish...      STEPMOTHER   You wish to go to the Festival?      NARRATOR   The poor girl's mother had died,      STEPMOTHER   You Cinderella, you wish to go to the festival?      FLORINDA   What, you, Cinderella, the Festival?   The Festival?!      LUCINDA   What, you wish to go to the Festival?      ALL THREE   The Festival?   The King's Festival?      NARRATOR   And her father had taken for his new wife      STEPMOTHER   The Festival...       NARRARATOR   a woman with two daughters of her own.      FLORINDA   Look at your nails!      LUCINDA   Look at your dress!      STEPMOTHER   People would laugh at you-      CINDERELLA, STEPMOTHER, & STEPSISTERS   Nevertheless,   I/she still want/s to go to the Festival   And dance before the Prince.      NARRATOR   All three were beautiful of face, but vile and black of heart.   Jack, on the other hand, had no father, and his mother-      JACK'S MOTHER   I wish...      NARRATOR   Well, she was not quite beautiful-      JACK'S MOTHER   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 house was full of gold-   I wish a lot of things...      You foolish child!    What are you doing with a cow inside the house?      JACK   A warm enviroment might just be    what Milky White needs to produce   his milk.      JACK'S MOTHER   It's a she!   How many times must I tell you?   Only shes can give milk!      BAKER'S WIFE   Why, come in, little girl.      LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD   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...      NARRATOR   Cinderella's Stepmother had a surprise for her.      STEPMOTHER   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.      LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD   And perhaps a sticky bun?...   Or four?...      CINDERELLA   Birds in the sky,   Birds in the eaves,    I the leaves,   In the fields,   In the castles and ponds...      LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD   And a few of those pies... please...      CINDERELLA   Come, little birds,   Down from the eaves    And the leaves,   Over fields,   Out of castles and ponds...      JACK   Now, squeeze, pal...      CINDERELLA   Ahhh...   Quick, little birds,   Flick through the ashes.   Pick and peck, but swiftly,   Sift through the ashes,   Into the pot...      JACK'S MOTHER   Listen well, son. Milky-White must be taken to market.      JACK   But, mother, no- he's the best cow-      JACK'S MOTHER   Was! Was! SHEEEEE'S been dry for a week.   We've no food, no money,   and no choice but to sell her.      JACK   But mother...      JACK'S MOTHER   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-      JACK   But-      JACK'S MOTHER   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 you're touched.      LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD   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-      BAKER'S WIFE   You're certain of your way?      LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD   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.      CINDERELLA   Fly, birds,   Back to the sky,   Back to the eaves   And the leaves   And the fields   And the-      FLORINDA   Hurry up and do my hair, Cinderella!      Are you really wearing that?      LUCINDA   Here, I found a little tear, Cinderella.      Can't you hide it with a hat?      CINDERELLA   You look beautiful.      FLORINDA   I know.      LUCINDA   She means me.      FLORINDA   Put it in a twist.      LUCINDA   Who will be there?...      CINDERELLA   Mother said be good,   Father said be nice,   That was always their advice.   So be nice, Cinderella,   Good, Cinderella,   Nice good good nice-      FLORINDA   Tighter!      CINDERELLA   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-      (Florinda slaps Cinderella hard across the face.)      FLORINDA   Not that tight!      CINDERELLA   I'm sorry.      FLORINDA   Clod.      NARRATOR   Because the Baker had lost his Father   and his Mother in a baking accident...   Well, at least that's what he believed,   he was eager to have a family of his own, and was concerned   that all efforts until now had failed.      BAKER   Who might that be?      BAKER'S WIFE   We've sold our last loaf of bread.      BAKER   It's the witch from next door!      BAKER & BAKER'S WIFE   We have no bread.      WITCH   Of course you've got no bread!      BAKER   Then what is it you wish?      WITCH   It's not what I wish! It's what you wish!      (points to Baker's Wife)   Nothing cooking in there now is there?      NARRATOR   The old enchantress told the couple she had   placed a spell on their house.      BAKER   What spell?      WITCH   In the past, when you were no more than a babe,    your Father brought his young wife and you here to this cottage.   They were a handsome couple,   but not handsome neighbours!   You see, your mother was with child,    and she had 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      (rapping)   Greens, greens and nothing but greens:   Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery,   Asparagus and watercress and   Fiddleferns, 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 have changed 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."      BAKER   I had a brother?      WITCH   No! But you had a sister.      NARRATOR   But the witch refused to tell him anymore of his sister.   Not even that her name was Rapunzel.      WITCH   I though I had been more than reasonable.   And that we all might live happily there after.   But how was I to know what your father   had also hidden in his pocket?   You see, when I had inheireted that garden,   my mother warned me that I would be punished   if I were to ever loose any of the BEANS!      BAKER & WIFE   Beans?      WITCH   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!   And the lightning flash!   And- well, that's another story,   Never mind-   Anyway, at last   The big day came,   And 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,   your mother died.   And for extra measure-   I admit it was a pleasure-   I said, "Sorry,   I'm still not mollified."      And I laid little spell on them-   You, too, son-   That your family tree   Would always be a barren one...      BAKER'S WIFE   No!!      WITCH   So there's no more fuss   And there's no more scenes   And my garden thrives-   You should see my nectarines!   But I'm tellling you the same    I tell kings and queens:   Don't ever never ever   Mess around with my greens!   Especially the beans.      JACK'S MOTHER   Now closely to me, Jack. Lead Milky-White to market and   fetch the best price you can.   Take no less than five pounds.   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-      JACK   Into the woods to sell a friend-      JACK'S MOTHER   Someday you'll have a real pet, Jack.      JACK   A piggy?!      JACK'S MOTHER   (groan)      NARRATOR   Meanwhile, the Witch, for purposes of her own,   explained how the Baker might lift the spell;      WITCH   You wish to have    The curse reversed?   I'll need a certain   Potion first.   Go to the woods 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!      STEPMOTHER   Ladies.   Our carriage waits.      CINDERELLA   Now may I go to the Festival?      STEPMPTHER   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!      CINDERELLA'S FATHER   Our carriage is waiting.      STEPMOTHER   We must be gone.      CINDERELLA   Good night, Father.   I wish...      BAKER   Look what I found in father's hunting jacket.      BAKER'S WIFE   Six beans.       BAKER   I wonder if they are-      BAKER'S WIFE   The Witch's beans! We'll take them with us!      BAKER    No! You are not to come.      BAKER'S WIFE   I know you are fearful of the woods at night.      BAKER   No! The spell is on my house.   Only I can lift the spell,    The spell is on my house.      BAKER'S WIFE   No, no, the spell is on our house.   We must lift the spell.      BAKER   No. You are not to come and that is final.   Now what am I to return with?      BAKER'S WIFE   You don't remember?      The cow as white as milk,   The cape as red as blood,   The hair as yellow as corn,   The slipper as pure as gold-      BAKER   The cow as white as milk,   The cape as red as blood,   The hair as yellow as corn,   The slipper as pure as gold...      NARRATOR   And so the Baker, reluctantly, set off to meet the   enchantress' demands.   And as for Cinderella:      CINDERELLA   I still wish to go to the Festival,   But how am I ever to get to the Festival?      BAKER   The cow as white as milk,   The cape as red as blood,   The hair as yellow as corn-      CINDERELLA   I know!   I'll visit Mother's grave,   The grave at the hazel tree,   And tell her I just want to   Go to the King's Festival...      BAKER   The slipper as pure as gold...   The cow, the cape,   The slipper as pure as gold-      BAKER'S WIFE   The hair-!      CINDERELLA & BAKER   Into the woods,    It's time to go,   It may be all   In vain, I know.   Into the woods-   But even so,   I have to take the journey.      CINDERELLA, BAKER & WIFE   Into the woods,   The path is straight,   You know it well,   But who can tell-      BAKER    Into the woods to lift the spell-      CINDERELLA   Into the woods to visit Mother-      BAKER'S WIFE   Into the woods to fetch the things-      BAKER   To make the potion-      CINDERELLA   To got to the Festival-      CINDERELLA, JACK, JACK'S MOTHER, BAKER, WIFE   Into the woods    Without regret,   The choice is made,   The task is set.   Into the woods,   But not forget-   Ting why I'm on the journey.   (Little Red Riding hood Joins)   Into the woods   to get my wish,   I don't care how,   The time is now.      JACK'S MOTHER   Into the woods to sell the cow-      JACK   Into the woods to get the money-      BAKER'S WIFE   Into the woods to lift the spell-      BAKER   To make the potion-      CINDERELLA   To go to the Festival-      LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD   Into the woods to Grandmother's house...   Into the woods to Grandmother's house...      ALL   The way is clear,   The light is good,   I have no fear,   No no one should.   The woods are just trees,   The trees are just wood.   No need to be afraid there-      CINDERELLA & BAKER   There's something in the glade there...      ALL   Into the woods,   Without delay,   But careful no    To lose the way.   Into the woods,   Who knows what may   Be lurking on the journey?      Into the woods   To get the thing   That makes it worth   The journeying.   into the woods-      STEMOTHER & STEPSISTERS   To see the King-      JACK & MOTHER   To sell the cow-      BAKER & WIFE   To make the potion-      ALL   To see-   To sell-   To get-   To bring-   To make-   To lift-   To go to the Festival-!      Into the woods!   Into the woods!   Into the woods,   Then out of the woods,   And home before dark!