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 could give us some milk)
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?
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
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
(All three were beautiful of face, but vile and black of heart)

(The young lad has 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's 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

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
Mother, no, he's the best cow in the world
Was, she has been dry for weeks now with no food or money, and no choice but to sell 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
Are you 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, shh)
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
When bang! Crash! A lightning flash!

Well, that's another story, never mind, anyway
At last the big day came
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

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?

Now 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

Ugh, 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! Can'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!

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
Bring 'em, 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
No, no, the spell is on our house (the spell is on my house)
We must lift the spell together, the spell is on our house
Now tell me, what am I to return with?
Ugh, God! 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 (the cow as white as milk)
But how am I ever to get to the Festival? (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 (the slipper as pure as gold)
And tell her I just want to go to the King's Festival (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, 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
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
Into the woods
Into the woods
Into the woods

Into the woods, then out of the woods
To see, to sell, to get, to bring
To make, to lift, to go to the Festival
Into the woods, then out of the woods, and home before dark