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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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[Takes the smallest from the nurse and dances with her.] Yes, yes; mother will dance with Bob too. What! Did you have a game of snowballs? Oh, I wish I’d been there. No; leave them, Anna; I’ll take their things off. Oh, yes, let me do it; it’s such fun. Go to the nursery; you look frozen. You’ll find some hot coffee on the stove. [The NURSE goes into the room on the left. NORA takes off the children’s things and throws them down anywhere, while the children talk all together. Really! A big dog ran after you? But he didn’t bite you? No; dogs don’t bite dear little dolly children. Don’t peep into those parcels, Ivar. What is it? Wouldn’t you like to know? Take careit’ll bite! What? Shall we have a game? What shall we play at? Hide- and-seek? Yes, let’s play hide-and-seek. Bob shall hide first. Am I to? Yes, let me hide first. [She and the children play, with laughter and shouting, in the room and the adjacent one to the right. At last NORA hides under the table; the children come rushing in, look for her, but cannot find her, hear her half-choked laughter, rush to the table, lift up the cover and see her. Loud shouts. She creeps out, as though to frighten them. Fresh shouts. Meanwhile there has been a knock at the door leading into the hall. No one has heard it. Now the door is half opened and KROGSTAD appears. He waits a little; the game is renewed. KROGSTAD I beg your pardon, Mrs. HelmerNORA[With a suppressed cry, turns round and half jumps up.] Ah! What do you want? KROGSTAD Excuse me; the outer door was ajar-somebody must have forgotten to shut itNORA [Standing up.] My husband is not at home, Mr. Krogstad. KROGSTAD I know it. NORA Then what do you want here? KROGSTAD To say a few words to you. NORA To me? [To the children, softly.] Go in to Anna. What? No, the strange man won’t hurt mamma. When he’s gone we’ll go on playing. [She leads the children into the left-hand room, and shuts the door behind them. Uneasy, in suspense.] It is to me you wish to speak? KROGSTAD Yes, to you. NORA To-day? But it’s not the first yetKROGSTAD No, to-day is Christmas Eve. It will depend upon yourself whether you have a merry Christmas. NORA What do you want? I’m not ready to-dayKROGSTAD Never mind that just now. I have come about another matter. You have a minute to spare? NORA Oh, yes, I suppose so; althoughKROGSTAD Good. I was sitting in the restaurant opposite, and I saw your husband go down the streetNORA Well? KROGSTAD -with a lady. NORA What then? KROGSTAD May I ask if the lady was a Mrs Linden? NORA Yes. KROGSTAD Who has just come to town? NORA Yes. To-day. KROGSTAD I believe she is an intimate friend of yours. NORA Certainly. But I don’t understandKROGSTAD I used to know her too. |
