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[A village. Sound of chanting of Latin canon, punctuated by short, sharp cracks. It comes nearer. We see it is a line of MONKS ala SEVENTH SEAL flagellation scene, chanting and banging themselves on the foreheads with wooden boards. They pass a group of villagers who are dragging a beautiful YOUNG WOMAN dressed as a witch through the streets. They drag her to a strange house/ruin standing on a hill outside the village. A strange-looking knight stands outside, SIR BEDEVERE.]
FIRST VILLAGER: We have found a witch. May we burn her?
ALL VILLAGERS: Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her!
BEDEVERE: How do you know she is a witch?
FIRST VILLAGER: She looks like one!
ALL VILLAGERS: Yeah! Yeah! Burn her! Yeah!
BEDEVERE: Bring her forward.
[They bring her forward - a beautiful YOUNG GIRL (MISS ISLINGTON) dressed up as a witch.]
WITCH: I'm not a witch. I'm not a witch.
BEDEVERE: Uh, but you are dressed as one.
WITCH: They dressed me up like this.
ALL VILLAGERS: We didn't, we didn't!
WITCH: And this isn't my nose, it's a false one.
[BEDEVERE takes her nose off.]
BEDEVERE: Well?
FIRST VILLAGER: ... Well, we did do the nose.
BEDEVERE: The nose?
FIRST VILLAGER: And the hat. But she is a witch.
ALL VILLAGERS: Yeah! We burn her! Yeah! Burn her!
BEDEVERE: Did you dress her up like this?
FIRST VILLAGER: No! No! No! No! No!... Yes .. Yes ... A bit. A bit. She has got a wart!
BEDEVERE: What makes you think she is a witch?
SECOND VILLAGER: Well, she turned me into a newt!
BEDEVERE: [after a pause] A newt?
[Others stare and look at SECOND VILLAGER, who is plainly a human, not a newt.]
SECOND VILLAGER: [Notices the stares. After a pause:] I got better.
ALL VILLAGERS: Burn her anyway! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her!
BEDEVERE: Quiet! Quiet! There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.
[ARTHUR and PATSY ride up at this point and watch what follows with interest]
ALL VILLAGERS: Are there? There are? What are they? Tell us! Do they hurt?
BEDEVERE: Tell me ... What do you do with witches?
ALL VILLAGERS: Burn them! Burn them! Burn them up!
BEDEVERE: And what do you burn apart from witches?
FIRST VILLAGER: More witches!
SECOND VILLAGER: Sh!
THIRD VILLAGER: Wood!
BEDEVERE: So why do witches burn?
FOURTH VILLAGER: [pianissimo] ... Because they're made of wood...?
BEDEVERE: Good.
[PEASANTS stir uneasily then come round to this conclusion.]
ALL VILLAGERS: Oh! Oh yeah!
BEDEVERE: So. How do we tell whether she is made of wood?
FIRST VILLAGER: Build a bridge out of her!
BEDEVERE: Ah ... but can you not also make bridges out of stone?
ALL VILLAGERS: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Uhh...
BEDEVERE: Uh, does wood sink in water?
ALL VILLAGERS: No! No! No! It floats! It floats! Throw her into the pond! The pond!
BEDEVERE: What also floats in water?
ALL VILLAGERS: ... Bread! ...Apples! ... Uh, very small rocks! Cider! Gra- Gravy! Cherries! Mud! Churches! Churches! Lead! Lead!
ARTHUR: A duck!
[They all turn and look at ARTHUR. BEDEVERE looks up very impressed.]
BEDEVERE: Exactly. So... logically ...
FIRST VILLAGER: [beginning to pick up the thread] If... she ... weighs.. the same.. as a duck ... she's made of wood.
BEDEVERE: And therefore?
ALL VILLAGERS: A witch! A witch! A witch!
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(b] cheap hmtl programer for hire (/b)
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