مسرحية " سوق الحمير"توفيق الحكيم (المشهد الاول
ترجمة : امنية علي الدين
(First scene)
(The location is whereabouts the donkey’s market. There’s bray which is heard from a distance. There’re two persons set out the market, their wretched clothes and their ratty appearance show that they are jobless and gadderers.)
First jobless: (to his friend) do you know the difference between us and donkeys؟
Second jobless: The difference is what you hear.
First jobless: The bray?!
Second jobless: Exactly.
First jobless: May be this bray is donkey talk?
Second jobless: It must be.
First jobless: So, they talk now?
Second jobless: May be they are yelling also.
First jobless: I wander what they say?!
Second jobless: I think you have to be a donkey to know.
First jobless: They talk with a very high sound.
Second jobless: Sure, they have to hear each other.
First jobless: I thought that donkeys whisper to each other.
Second jobless: Why? For what?
First jobless: Like us.
Second jobless: No, be sure, donkeys are not like us.
First jobless: You are right, donkeys are a civilized race.
Second jobless: What? Civilized?
First jobless: Have you ever seen wild donkeys? There are wild horses, wild buffaloes, wild cats, but donkeys live with us from their beginnings, they work silently and talk freely.
Second jobless: Freely?
First jobless: I mean with a high sound.
Second jobless: By talking about sound, could you tell me why can’t our presences live?
First jobless: Because our presences are penniless.
Second jobless: Why are we penniless?
First jobless: Because nobody wants us, if we have a market like the one of donkeys, we could find who buy us.
Second jobless: Why nobody wants to buy us?
First jobless: Because we are local goods.
Second jobless: And what’s wrong about local goods?
First jobless: Money has to be paid for the exported goods.
Second jobless: Why don’t we announce ourselves?
First jobless: By what?
Second jobless: By our voices.
First jobless: It won’t come out.
Second jobless: And why donkeys sounds come out.
First jobless: Because they are civilized race as I said.
Second jobless: You interested me. I hope if I were a donkey, like the donkey which comes there. Look at it, the donkey pulled by the man who comes out from the market. I wander how much he paid for it? Look how proud is he!
First jobless: I have an idea…
Second jobless: What?
First jobless: Do you like to be a donkey?
Second jobless: Me?!How?
First jobless: do you like or not?
Second jobless: I do. But how?
First jobless :( I’ll tell you) I’ll meet the man who is coming towards us with his donkey. I’ll talk with him to stick him while you unknit the rope around the donkey’s neck without getting him know , then tie the rope around your neck.
Second jobless: It’s easy. What shall I do next?
First jobless: Then he will take you while I take the donkey.
Second jobless: Take me to where?!
First jobless: I don’t know, it’s almost by luck.
Second jobless: Are you serious?
First jobless: Isn’t that what you want?
Second jobless: Want to tie a rope around my neck and to let him take me away?!
First jobless: What’s wrong about it? You’ll find who guarantee your food.
Second jobless: It won’t be food but feed.
First jobless: Well, you’ll eat anyway.
Second jobless: Yes, it’s better than hunger and unemployment, but how shall I stop him?
First jobless: it’s based on how smart you are.
Second jobless: let’s try.
First jobless: disappear, he shouldn’t notice us together.
(They separate. the place is empty. the man appears holding one end of the rope by which he pulls the donkey behind him. He looks a farmer. The first jobless come on and introduces himself to the man.)
First jobless: good morning!
Farmer: Good morning!
First jobless: Don’t you know me?
Farmer: Who are you?
First jobless: How don’t you know me? We ate together before.
Farmer: I can’t remember, have we ever eaten together?
First jobless: You’ve forgotten fast. Just bad people forget meeting others fast.
Farmer: Am I a bad man?
First jobless : never, I mean whom forget their friends ,you’re generous and humane but you can’t remember me , because we met at night , on dinner and it was moonless night.
Farmer: moonless? Where? When?
First jobless: l will remind you, but wait till solving the problem.
(Looking from a secret angle to his friend who wriggled secretly and involved in unknitting the bend of the rope)
Farmer: Which problem?
First jobless: The problem of my tongue, you embarrassed me, and I lost talk. Help me. (Peeking at his friend and stimulating him secretly) solve the problem, save me please.
Farmer: I don’t understand anything.
First jobless : You’ll understand everything immediately after solving the problem, and the problem must me solved because this has spent a long time , so long time, solve it fast.
Farmer: What shall I solve?
First jobless :(Seeing his friend ended the matter ,he unknitted the bend, tied the rope around his neck and freed the donkey)It’s solved well ,let everything to time ,everything will be solved by time . God will inspire us with solution. Have your time to remember. I will meet you again soon then you will remember and welcome me, see you soon, bye.
(He leaves the farmer puzzled, then he goes behind the donkey and takes it away without getting the man know about)
Farmer: (to himself) where have I met him before?!And where was the dinner? Which moonless night?!Maybe I’ve met him before, I’m absentminded nowadays.
(He hauls the donkey’s rope for making it walk with him without getting know that it’s the second jobless now who is in the place of his donkey)
Farmer: (Shouting) Go on donkey!
Second jobless: (imitates bray)
Farmer: (looking around and being surprised) O my God! What is it?!Who are you?!
Second jobless: I’m the donkey.
Farmer: which donkey?!
Second jobless: I’m the donkey you’ve bought from the market.
Farmer: It’s impossible!
Second jobless: Why are you surprised?!Didn’t you buy me today from the market?
Farmer: Yes, but……..
Second jobless: But what?
Farmer: O my God!
Second jobless: Don’t be afraid, I’m your donkey.
Farmer: How?!You are a man!
Second jobless: Its destiny, you are lucky.
Farmer: You are a man or a demon?
Second jobless: Don’t worry. I’m a man, but be relaxed to tell you my story.
Farmer: I’m ……relaxed.
Second jobless: Listen… I was a son of a kind man like you, but he was a stubborn man. He insisted on enforcing me to marry a woman whom I have never met before. I refused, but he refused to change his mind. I asked him to discuss the matter freely with him, because this is my own future. He said angrily that I’m his son and I should obey his order silently. I told him that I’m not going to marry that woman. My father said that I’m a donkey and invoked God to curse me and to turn me to a donkey. I was cursed and became a donkey. Later, my father was died and people found me then in the stable among the inheritance. They sold me in where you sold me today.
Farmer: Amazing! You are the donkey I’ve sold?!
Second jobless: Exactly.
Farmer: And why have you been returned now?
Second jobless: I told you; you are lucky, may be you are a good man and God wanted to reward you.
Farmer: Glory to God! But what shall we do about this?
Second jobless: About what?
Farmer: About your present condition.
Second jobless: What’s wrong about it?
Farmer: I don’t know how to deal with it, you’re a man now. Did I lose the money I bought you by?
Second jobless: No, you didn’t.
Farmer: How?
Second jobless: You’ve bought a donkey, and the donkey exists.
Farmer: Where is it?
Second jobless: Here, I’m the donkey.
Farmer: You?!
Second jobless: I’m your slave; you bought me by your money. You have bought me as a donkey, and it’s not your fault that I was returned to be a man.
Farmer: Yes, I bought you.
Second jobless: It’s alright.
Farmer: Do I possess you now?
Second jobless: Certainly, this is your legal right.
Farmer: Is it possible! OK, let’s go.
Second jobless: At your service.
Farmer: Turn here, but what shall I call you?
Second jobless: Call me with the name you want. What about ‘Hasawy’*?
Farmer: ‘Hasawy’?
Second jobless: It’s suitable.
Farmer: OK, let’s go Mr. ’Hasawy’! But wait a minute; this rope around your neck is meaningless now.
Second jobless: As you want!
Farmer: I prefer to unknit it, you won’t run away. Wait, I’ll unknit it.
Second jobless :(unknitting the rope) No, I’ll do it myself.
Farmer: Very good, let’s go home now Mr. ’Hasawy’?
(The farmer walks home, Hasawy walks behind him.)
*The name of a kind of donkeys in the Arab countries.
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