Prologue: into the woods

Once upon a time
In a far-off kingdom
There lay a small village
At the edge of the woods
I wish
And in this village
More than anything

Lived a young maiden
More than life
More than jewels
A carefree young lad
I wish
More than life
And a childless baker

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
And the ball

I wish my cow would
Give us some milk
More than anything
I wish we had a child
Please, pal
I want a child
Squeeze, pal
I wish to go to the festival
I wish you'd give us some
Milk or even cheese
I wish
I wish we might have a child
I wish

You wish to go to the festival?
The poor girl's parents had died
You, cinderella, the festival?
You wish to go to the festival?
What, you, cinderella, the festival?
The festival?!
What, you wish to go to the festival?
The festival?
The king's festival?

And now she lived with her stepmother
The festival...ha!
Who had two daughters of her own
Look at your 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
The young lad had no father and his mother

I wish
Well, she was at her wit's end

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 were full of gold
I wish a lot of things
What in heaven's name are
you doing with the cow inside the house?

I thought if he got nice and warm
He might produce some milk
It's a she
How many times do I have to tell you
Only shes can give milk?
And then there was a hungry little girl
Who always wore a red cape
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, if you can pick up these lentils
And finish your chores in time
Then you may go to the ball with us
Come along ladies

Yes, mother
Good luck

Come, little birds
Down from the eaves
And the leaves
Over fields
Out of castles and ponds

Now, squeeze, pal

Ahhhhhhhhhh
Quick, little birds
Flick through the ashes
Pick and peck, but swiftly
Sift through the ashes
Into the pot

Now listen to me well, son
Milky-white must be taken to market

But, mother, no- he's the best cow in the world

Was
She has been dry for weeks now
With no food or money
We've got no choice but to sell her
Look at her

But, Milky-white's my best friend

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

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 wonder what's goin' on in that head of yours

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

Now 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?

Yes, we do

I don't suppose you're planning on buying any of these

Oh, shhhhh
Now, don't stray and be late, alright?

You might save some of those sweets for granny?
Oh my

Just, leave it

She's a thief!

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!

Get up here!

Fly, birds
Back to the sky

We're waiting!

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

No she didn't

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
Always leaving you behind?
Never mind, Cinderella
Kind Cinderella
Nice good nice kind good nice

Ow! Not that tight!
God!

Who might that be?

We've sold our last loaf of bread!

It's the witch from next-door

We have no bread

I don't want your bread

Then what is it you wish?

It's not what I wish
It's what you wish
Nothing cooking in that belly now is there?
And there will never be
Unless you do exactly as I say
In three days time a blue-moon will appear
Only then can the curse be, undone

What curse?

The one I placed on this house

What are you talking about?

In the past, when you were no more than a babe
Your father brought his young wife and you to this cottage
They were a lovely couple
But not lovely neighbors
You see
Your mother was with child
And she developed an unusual appetite
She admired my beautiful garden
And she told your father that
What she wanted more than anything
In the world, was
Greens, greens, 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 the rampion
My champion! My favorite!
I should have laid a spell on him
Right there
I could have turned 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

Where is she?

She's mine now!
And you'll never find her
Small price to pay for what
Else your father stole from me
It cost me my youth, my beauty
My mother warned me
She would punish me
With the curse of ugliness
If I ever lost any of them

Lost what?

The beans

Beans?

The special beans
I'd let him go, I didn't know
He'd stolen my beans
I was watching him crawl
Back over the wall!
Then bang! Crash!
A lightning flash!
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 a little spell on them
You, too, son
That your family tree
Would always be a barren one

How could you do that?

And when your mother died
Your father deserted you
Your father was no father so why should you be?

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

Yeah, but why do we have to go to the next village?

Because, everyone in this village
Knows the cow hasn't given a drop of milk in weeks

That's cheating!

We're starving, jack!
Don't you understand that?
Now, you're not to accept less than five pounds for her
Are you listening to me?

Yes

How much are you to ask?

No more than five pounds

Less than five!
Than five!

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

Into the woods to sell a friend

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
Tis' then the blue moon reappears
Which comes but once each hundred years
Just bring them and
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!

The festival lasts three nights
Surely, you could let me be there for one of them

The king is trying to find his son a wife!
Not a scullery maid!
We must be gone!
Go!

I wish

Beans?
These must be the witch's beans!
We'll take them with us

We?

Yes!

We?
You're not coming
It's not safe out there

I can help you!

No!
I can do this on my own
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 together
The spell is on our house!

Now tell me what am I to return with?

Ugh, 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
The hair as yellow as corn
The slipper as pure as gold

I still wish to go to the festival
But how am I ever to get to the festival?

The cow as white as milk
The cape as red as blood
The hair as yellow as corn-

I know!
I'll visit mother's grave
The grave at the willow tree
And tell her I just want to
Go to the king's festival

The slipper as pure as gold
The cow, the cape
The slipper as pure as gold

The hair!

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 sell the cow!

To get the money!

To go to the festival!

Into the woods to grandmother's house!

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
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 it's dark!