One Small Girl

The story begins on the night of a flood. Many huts washed away,
many peasants drowned by Agwe's angry waters.
But one small girl was spared.
An orphan plucked from the flood by Agwe—
Sheltered in a tree by Asaka—
And sent on a journey by the gods.
A journey that would test the strength of love—
Against the power of death—
On this island of two different worlds!
The story of Ti Moune!
One small girl in a tree
Torn from her mother
Crying in fright
One small girl
Tossed by sea
And left to face
The stormy night
One small girl
Holding tight

At last, the storm subsided
And the morning sun glowed
And two old peasants
Came cautiously down the road

Mama Euralie.

Tonton Julian
(spoken)
Asaka is smiling again, Julian.
This morning, she smiles. Last night, she tried to blow our heads off!
Hahahaha! Ah, Julian, just listen to those birds!
Coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo
Coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo
Waah!
What kind of bird is that?
Look! There!
(sung)
One small face, two small knees
Why are you up there?
What is your name?
(sung)
The girl can't speak

And they're to blame
Agwe probably meant to kill her!
Then she'd be dead.

It's possible he forgot

Shh! The gods don't forget

Then they had some reason to spare her life
It's best that we don't know what
One small girl...
One small girl...
Better not
But we're too old for children.
And we have no room and no food.
And not knowing quite why,
they followed their hearts back to the
tree, gently lifted the terrified child down...
No!
And discovered she could speak after all.
One small girl

In the way
Constantly hungry

Learning too quick!
One small girl hard at play

She makes me smile

Ah, she scares me sick!

And they scolded and teased and held her
And mended the clothes she tore
[ERZULIE, PAPA GE, ASAKA, AGWE,
STORYTELLERS (DANIEL, ARMAND, MEN, WOMEN)]
And the hut was crowded
And food was scarce
And somehow, their lives held more
One small girl
To live for
They named her "Desire'e Dieu-Donne',"
or "God-Given Desire.
" But in their affection, they called her simply—
Ti Moune
What does "Ti Moune" mean, Mama?
It means "Little Orphan.
" You're our sweet little orphan.
We found you, and now your life is forever in our care.
Why?
Because the gods willed it.
Why?
Perhaps they saved you for something special.
What is it?
Ti Moune, if we knew why the gods did the
things they do, we would be gods ourselves!
Someday I'm going to ask them, Mama!
Foolish girl! Run and hide!
Sweet as a eucalyptus
And terrible as a tempest
Banging a drum
And humming a tune
Ti Moune falling
And running and calling and growing
And growing and growing and growing
Up too soon

One small girl—
One

Not so small

Lost in those daydreams

Day after day

Call her name

No, don't call
Her ears don't hear
She's far away

And I know that she's getting older

I know that it's meant to be
And my arms can't hold her and keep her small
But all that my heart can see
Is one small girl
One small girl
One small girl
One small girl
One small girl
One small girl
One small girl
In a tree
Ooh, ooh way ooh ooh, ooh way ooh