Prologue: Into The Woods


Once upon a time

I wish

In a far-off kingdom

More than anything

Lived a fair maiden

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

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 you 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
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 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"

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 though 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!
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

And 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 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 closely 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
You 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 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!
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!
Our carriage is waiting
We must be gone

Good night, 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
We must lift the spell
No. You are not to come and that is final
Now 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 slipper as pure as gold
The cow as white as milk
The cape as red as blood
And so the Baker, reluctantly, set off to meet the
Enchantress' demands
As for Cinderella
I still wish to go to the Festival
The cow as white as milk
But how am I ever to get to the Festival?
The cape as red as blood
The hair as yellow as corn
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
Into the woods
It's time to go
It may be all
In vain, you/I know
Into the woods
But even so
I have to take the journey
Into the woods
The path is straight
You know it well
But who can tell
Into the woods to lift the spell
Into the woods to visit Mother
Into the woods to fetch the things
To make the potion
To got to the Festival
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
Into the woods
To get my wish
I don't care how
The time is now
Into the woods to sell the cow
Into the woods to get the money
Into the woods to lift the spell
To make the potion
To go to the Festival
Into the woods to Grandmother's house
Into the woods to Grandmother's house
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
There's something in the glade there
Into the woods
Without delay
But careful not
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
To see the King
To sell the cow
To make the potion
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!


Autor(es): STEPHEN SONDHEIM