CHARACTERS
SEELCHEN，amountaingirlLAMOND，aclimberFELSMAN，aglideCHARACTERSINTHEDREAM
THEGREATHORN
THECOWHORNmountainsTHEWINEHORN
THEEDELWEISS
THEALPENROSEflowersTHEGENTIAN
THEMOUNTAINDANDELION
VOICESANDFIGURESINTHEDREAM
COWBELLS
MOUNTAINAIR
FARVIEWOFITALY
DISTANTFLUMEOFSTEAM
THINGSINBOOKS
MOTHCHILDREN
THREEDANCINGYOUTHS
THREEDANCINGGIRLS
THEFORMSOFWORKERS
THEFORMSOFWHATISMADEBYWORK
DEATHBYSLUMBER
DEATHBYDROWNING
FLOWERCHILDREN
GOATHERD
GOATBOYS
GOATGOD
THEFORMSOFSLEEP
SCENEI
ItisjustaftersunsetofanAugustevening。Thesceneisaroominamountainhut，furnishedonlywithatable，benches。
andalowbroadwindowseat。Throughthiswindowthreerockypeaksareseenbythelightofamoonwhichisslowlywhiteningthelasthuesofsunset。Anoillampisburning。SEELCHEN，amountaingirl，eighteenyearsold，ishummingafolk—song，andputtingawayinacupboardfreshlywashedsoup—bowlsandglasses。Sheisdressedinatight—fittingblackvelvetbodice。
square—cutattheneckandpartlyfilledinwithagayhandkerchief，colouredrose—pink，blue，andgolden，likethealpen—rose，thegentian，andthemountaindandelion;alabasterbeads，paleasedelweiss，areroundherthroat;herstiffened。
whitelinensleevesfinishattheelbow;andherfullwell—wornskirtisofgentianblue。Thetwothickplaitsofherhairarecrossed，andturnedroundherhead。Assheputsawaythelastbowl，thereisaknock;andLAMONDopenstheouterdoor。Heisyoung，tanned，andgood—looking，dressedlikeaclimber，andcarriesaplaid，aruck—sack，andanice—axe。
LAMOND。Goodevening！
SEELCHEN。Goodevening，gentleSir！
LAMOND。MynameisLamond。I’mverylateIfear。
SEELCHEN。Doyouwishtosleephere？
LAMOND。Please。
SEELCHEN。Allthebedsarefull——itisapity。IwillcallMother。
LAMOND。I’vecometogouptheGreatHornatsunrise。
SEELCHEN。[Awed]TheGreatHorn！Butheisimpossible。
LAMOND。Iamgoingtotrythat。
SEELCHEN。ThereistheWineHorn，andtheCowHorn。
LAMOND。Ihaveclimbedthem。
SEELCHEN。Butheissodangerous——itisperhaps——death。
LAMOND。Oh！that’sallright！Onemusttakeone’schance。
SEELCHEN。Andfatherhashurthisfoot。Forguide，thereisonlyMansFelsman。
LAMOND。ThecelebratedFelsman？
SEELCHEN。[Nodding;thenlookingathimwithadmiration]AreyouthatHerrLamondwhohasclimbedallourlittlemountainsthisyear？
LAMOND。Allbutthatbigfellow。
SEELCHEN。Wehaveheardofyou。Willyounotwaitadayforfather’sfoot？
LAMOND。Ah！no。Imustgobackhometo—morrow。
SEELCHEN。ThegraciousSirisinahurry。
LAMOND。[Lookingatherintently]Alas！
SEELCHEN。AreyoufromLondon？Isitverybig？
LAMOND。Sixmillionsouls。
SEELCHEN。Oh！[Afteralittlepause]IhaveseenCortinatwice。
LAMOND。Doyouliveherealltheyear？
SEELCHEN。Inwinterinthevalley。
LAMOND。Anddon’tyouwanttoseetheworld？
SEELCHEN。Sometimes。[Goingtoadoor，shecallssoftly]Hans！
[Thenpointingtoanotherdoor]TherearesevenGermangentlemenasleepinthere！
LAMOND。OhGod！
SEELCHEN。Please？Theyareheretoseethesunrise。[ShepicksupalittlebookthathasdroppedfromLAMOND’SpocketIhavereadseveralbooks。
LAMOND。ThisisbythegreatEnglishpoet。Doyounevermakepoetryhere，anddreamdreams，amongyourmountains？
SEELCHEN。[Slowlyshakingherhead]See！Itisthefullmoon。
Whiletheystandatthewindowlookingatthemoon，thereentersalean，well—built，taciturnyoungmandressedinLoden。
SEELCHEN。Hans！
FELSMAN。[Inadeepvoice]Thegentlemanwishesme？
SEELCHEN。[Awed]TheGreatHornforto—morrow！[Whisperingtohim]
ItisthecelebratedLondonone。
FELSMAN。TheGreatHornisnotpossible。
LAMOND。Yousaythat？Andyou’rethefamousFelsman？
FELSMAN。[Grimly]Westartatdawn。
SEELCHEN。Itisthefirsttimeforyears！
LAMOND。[Placinghisplaidandrucksackonthewindowbench]CanI
sleephere？
SEELCHEN。Iwillsee;perhaps——
[Sherunsoutupsomestairs]
FELSMAN。[Takingblanketsfromthecupboardandspreadingthemonthewindowseat]So！
Ashegoesoutintotheair。SEELCHENcomesslippinginagainwithalightedcandle。
SEELCHEN。Thereisstillonebed。Thisistoohardforyou。
LAMOND。Oh！thanks;butthat’sallright。
SEELCHEN。Topleaseme！
LAMOND。MayIaskyourname？
SEELCHEN。Seelchen。
LAMOND。Littlesoul，thatmeans——doesn’tit？TopleaseyouIwouldsleepwithsevenGermangentlemen。
SEELCHEN。Oh！no;itisnotnecessary。
LAMOND。[With。agravebow]Atyourservice，then。
[Hepreparestogo]
SEELCHEN。Isitveryniceintowns，intheWorld，whereyoucomefrom？
LAMOND。WhenI’mthereIwouldbehere;butwhenI’mhereIwouldbethere。
SEELCHEN。[Claspingherhands]ThatislikemebutIamalwayshere。
LAMOND。Ah！yes;thereisnoonelikeyouintowns。
SEELCHEN。Intwoplacesonecannotbe。[Suddenly]Inthetownstherearetheatres，andthereisbeautifulfinework，and——dancing，and——churches——andtrains——andallthethingsinbooks——and——
LAMOND。Misery。
SEELCHEN。Butthereislife。
LAMOND。Andthereisdeath。
SEELCHEN。To—morrow，whenyouhaveclimbed——willyounotcomeback？
LAMOND。No。
SEELCHEN。Youhavealltheworld;andIhavenothing。
LAMOND。ExceptFelsman，andthemountains。
SEELCHEN。Itisnotgoodtoeatonlybread。
LAMOND。[Lookingatherhard]Iwouldliketoeatyou！
SEELCHEN。ButIamnotnice;Iamfullofbigwants——likethecheesewithholes。
LAMOND。Ishallcomeagain。
SEELCHEN。Therewillbenomorehardmountainslefttoclimb。Andifitisnotexciting，youdonotcare。
LAMOND。Owiselittlesoul！
SEELCHEN。No。Iamnotwise。Inhereitisalwaysaching。
LAMOND。Forthemoon？
SEELCHEN。Yes。[Thensuddenly]Fromthebigworldyouwillremember？
LAMOND。[Takingherhand]Thereisnothinginthebigworldsosweetasthis。
SEELCHEN。[Wisely]Butthereisthebigworlditself。
LAMOND。MayIkissyou，forgood—night？
Sheputsherfaceforward;andhekisseshercheek，and，suddenly，herlips。Thenasshedrawsaway。
LAMOND。Iamsorry，littlesoul。
SEELCHEN。That’sallright！
LAMOND。[Takingthecandle]Dreamwell！Goodnight！
SEELCHEN。[Softly]Good—night！
FELSMAN。[Cominginfromtheair，andeyeingthem]Itiscold——itwillbefine。
LAMONDstilllookingbackgoesupthestairs;andFELSMANwaitsforhimtopass。
SEELCHEN。[Fromthewindowseat]Itwashardforhimhere。I
thought。
Hegoesuptoher，staysamomentlookingdownthenbendsandkissesherhungrily。
SEELCHEN。Artthouangry？
Hedoesnotanswer，butturningoutthelamp，goesintoaninnerroom。
SEELCHENsitsgazingthroughthewindowatthepeaksbathedinfullmoonlight。Then，drawingtheblanketsabouther，shesnugglesdoomonthewindowseat。
SEELCHEN。[Inasleepyvoice]Theykissedme——both。[Shesleeps]
ThescenefallsquitedarkSCENEII
Thesceneisslowlyilluminedasbydawn。SEELCHENisstilllyingonthewindowseat。Shesitsup，freeingherfaceandhandsfromtheblankets，changingtheswathingsofdeepsleepforthefilmycoveringsofadream。Thewallofthehuthasvanished;thereisnothingbetweenherandthethreemountainsveiledinmist，saveathroughofdarkness。There，asthepeaksofthemountainsbrighten，theyareseentohavegreatfaces。
SEELCHEN。Oh！Theyhavefaces！
ThefaceofTHEWINEHORNistheprofileofabeardlessyouth。
ThefaceofTHECOWHORNisthatofamountainshepherd。
solemn，andbroom，withfierceblackeyes，andablackbeard。
BetweenthemTHEGREATHORN，whosehairisofsnow，hasahigh。
beardlessvisage，asofcarvedbronze，likeamalesphinx，serene，withoutcruelty。Fardownbelowthefacesofthepeaks。
abovethetroughofdarkness，arepeepingoutthefourlittleheadsoftheflowersofEDELWEISS，andGENTIAN，MOUNTAIN
DANDELION，andALPENROSE;ontheirheadsarecrownsmadeoftheirseveralflowers，allpowderedwithdewdrops;andwhenTHE
FLOWERSlifttheirchild—faceslittletinklingbellsring。
Allaroundthepeaksthereisnothingbutbluesky。
EDELWEISS。[Inatinyvoice]Wouldyou？Wouldyou？Wouldyou？
Ah！ha！
GENTIAN，M。DANDELION，ALPENROSE[Withtheirbellsrangingenviously]Oo—oo—oo！
FrombehindtheCowHORNareheardthevoicesofCOWBELLS
andMOUNTAINAIR:
\"Clinkel—clink！Clinkel—clink！\"
\"Mountainair！Mountainair！\"
FrombehindTHEWINEHORNrisetherivalvoicesOfVIEWOF
ITALY，FLUMEOFSTEAM，andTHINGSINBOOKS:
\"IamItaly！Italy！\"
\"Seeme——steaminthedistance！\"
\"Orememberthethingsinbooks！\"
Andallcallouttogether，verysoftly，withTHEFLOWERS
ringingtheirbells。Thenfarawaylikeanechocomesasighing:
\"Mountainair！Mountainair！\"
AndsuddenlythePeakofTHECOWHORNspeaksinavoiceasofoneunaccustomed。
THECOWHORN。Amongstkineandmyblack—brownsheepILive;Iamsilence，andmonotony;Iamthesolemnhills。Iamfierceness，andthemountainwind;cleanpasture，andwildrest。Lookinmyeyes。
lovemealone！
SEELCHEN。[Breathless]TheCowHorn！HeisspeakingforFelsmanandthemountains。Itisthehalfofmyheart！
THEFLOWERSlaughhappily。
THECOWHORN。Istalktheeternalhills——Idrinkthemountainsnows。
Myeyesarethecolourofburnedwine;inthemlivesmelancholy。Thelowingofthekine，thewind，thesoundoffallingrocks，therunningofthetorrents;noothertalkknowI。Thoughtssimple，andbloodhot，strengthhuge——thecloakofgravity。
SEELCHEN。Yes。yes！Iwanthim。Heisstrong！
ThevoicesofCOWBELLSandMOUNTAINAIRcryouttogether:
\"Clinkel—clink！Clinkel—clink！\"
\"Mountainair！Mountainair！\"
THECOWHORN。Littlesoul！Holdtome！Loveme！Livewithmeunderthestars！
SEELCHEN。[Belowherbreath]Iamafraid。
AndsuddenlythePeakofTHEWINEHORNspeaksinayouth’svoice。
THEWINEHORN。Iamthewillo’thewispthatdancesthro’thestreets;IamthecooingdoveofTowns，fromtheplanetreesandthechestnuts’shade。Fromdaytodayallchanges，whereIburnmyincensetomythousandlittlegods。InwhitepalacesIdwell，andpassionatedarkalleys。Thelifeofmenincrowdsismine——oflamplightinthestreetsatdawn。[Softly]Ihaveathousandloves。
andneveronetoolong;forIamnimblerthanyourheifersplayinginthesunshine。
THEFLOWERS，ringinginalarm，cry:
\"Weknowthem！\"
THEWINEHORN。Iheartherustlingsofthebirthanddeathofpleasure;andtherattlingofswiftwheels。Ihearthehungryoathsofmen;andlovekissesintheairlessnight。Withoutme，littlesoul，youstarveanddie，SEELCHEN。HeisspeakingforthegentleSir，andthebigworldoftheTown。Itpullsmyheart。
THEWINEHORN。Mythoughtssurpassinnumbertheflowersinyourmeadows;theyflymoreswiftlythanyoureaglesonthewind。Idrinkthewineofaspiration，andthedrugofdisillusion。ThusamIneverdull！
ThevoicesofVIEWOFITALY，FLUMEOFSTEAM，andTHINGSIN
BOOKSareheardcallingouttogether:
\"IamItaly，Italy！\"
\"Seeme——steaminthedistance！\"
\"Oremember，remember！\"
THEWINEHORN。Loveme，littlesoul！Ipaintlifefiftycolours。
Imakeathousandprettythings！Itwineaboutyourheart！
SEELCHEN。Heishoney！
THEFLOWERSringtheirbellsjealouslyandcry:
\"Bitter！Bitter！\"
THECOWHORN。Staywithme，Seelchen！Iwaketheewiththecrystalair。
ThevoicesofCOWBELLSandMOUNTAINAIRtinyoutfaraway:
\"Clinkel—clink！Clinkel—clink！\"
\"Mountainair！Mountainair！\"
AndTHEFLOWERSlaughhappily。
THEWINEHORN。Comewithme，Seelchen！Myfan，Variety，shallwakeyou！
ThevoicesofVIEWOFITALY，FLUMEOFSTEAMandTHINGSIN
BOOKSchantsoftly:
\"IamItaly！Italy！\"
\"Seeme——steaminthedistance！\"
\"Oremember，remember！\"
AndTHEFLOWERSmoan。
SEELCHEN。[Ingrief]Myheart！Itistorn！
THEWINEHORN。Withme，littlesoul，youshallraceinthestreets。
andpeepatallsecrets。Wewillholdhands，andflylikethethistle—down。
M。DANDELION。Mypuff—ballsflyfaster！
THEWINEHORN。Iwillshowyouthesea。
GENTIAN。Myblueisdeeper！
THEWINEHORN。Iwillshoweronyoublushes。
ALPENROSE。Icanblushredder！
THEWINEHORN。Littlesoul，listen！MyJewels！Silk！Velvet！
EDELWEISS。Iamsofterthanvelvet！
THEWINEHORN。[Proudly]Mywonderfulrags！
THEFLOWERS。[Moaning]Ofthosewehavenone。
SEELCHEN。Hehasallthings。
THECOWHORN。Minearethecloudswiththedarksilveredwings;minearetherocksonfirewiththesun;andthedewdropscoolerthanpearls。Awayfrommybreathofsnowandsweetgrass，thouwiltdroop，littlesoul。
THEWINEHORN。ThedarkCloveismyfragrance！
THEFLOWERSringeagerly，andturninguptheirfaces，cry:
\"Wetoo，smellsweet。\"
ButthevoicesofVIEWOFITALY，FLUMEOFSTEAM，andTHINGS
INBOOKScryout:
\"IamItaly！Italy！\"
\"Seeme——steaminthedistance！\"
\"Oremember！remember！\"
SEELCHEN。[Distracted]Oh！itishard！
THECOWHORN。Iwillneverdesertthee。
THEWINEHORN。AhundredtimesIwilldesertyou，ahundredtimescomeback，andkissyou。
SEELCHEN。[Whispering]Peaceformyheart！
THECOWHORN。Withmethoushaltlieonthewarmwildthyme。
THEFLOWERSlaughhappily。
THEWINEHORN。Withmeyoushalllieonabedofdove’sfeathers。
THEFLOWERSmoan。
THEWINEHORN。Iwillgiveyouoldwine。
THECOWHORN。Iwillgivetheenewmilk。
THEWINEHORN。Hearmysong！
Fromfarawaycomesthesoundasofmandolins。
SEELCHEN。[Claspingherbreast]Myheart——itisleavingme！
THECOWHORN。Hearmysong！
FromthedistancefloatsthepipingofaShepherd’sreed。
SEELCHEN。[Curvingherhandatherears]Thepiping！Ah！
THECOWHORN。Staywithme，Seelchen！
THEWINEHORN。Comewithme，Seelchen！
THECOWHORN。Igivetheecertainty！
THEWINEHORN。Igiveyouchance！
THECOWHORN。Igivetheepeace。
THEWINEHORN。Igiveyouchange。
THECOWHORN。Igivetheestillness。
THEWINEHORN。Igiveyouvoice。
THECOWHORN。Igivetheeonelove。
THEWINEHORN。Igiveyoumany。
SEELCHEN。[Asifthewordsweretornfromherheart]Both，both——I
willlove！
AndsuddenlythePeakofTHEGREATHORNspeaks。
THEGREATHORN。Andboththoushaltlove，littlesoul！ThoushaltlieonthehillswithSilence;anddanceinthecitieswithKnowledge。Bothshallpossessthee！Thesunandthemoononthemountainsshallburnthee;thelampsofthetownsingethywings。
smallMoth！Eachshallseemalltheworldtothee，eachshallseemasthygrave！Thyheartisafeatherblownfromonemouthtotheother。Butbenotafraid！Forthelifeofamanisforalllovesinturn。’Tisalittleraftmoored，thensailingoutintotheblue;atunecaughtinahush，thenwhisperingon;anew—bornbabe，halfcourageandhalfsleep。Thereisahiddenrhythm。Change。
Quietude。Chance。Certainty。TheOne。TheMany。Burnon——thouprettyflame，tryingtoeattheworld！Thoushaftcometomeatlast，mylittlesoul！
THEVOICESandTHEFLOWER—BELLSpealout。
SEELCHEN，enraptured，stretchesherarmstoembracethesightandsound，butallfadesslowlyintodarksleep。