NARRATOR
Once upon a time

CINDERELLA
I wish

NARRARATOR
in a far-off kingdom

CIDERELLA
More than anything

NARRARATOR
lived a fair maiden,

CINDERELLA
More than jewels

NARRARATOR
a sad young lad

JACK
I wish

NARRATOR
and a childless baker

JACK
More than life

CINDERELLA & BAKER
I wish

NARRARATOR
with his wife

JACK
More than anything

CINDERELLA, BAKER & JACK
More than the moon

BAKER'S WIFE
I wish

CINDERELLA
The King is giving a Festival BAKER & WIFE

BAKER
More than life

JACK
I wish

CIDERELLA
I wish to go to the Festival

BAKER
More than riches

JACK
I wish my cow would
give us some milk

CINDERELLA
And the Ball

BAKER'S WIFE
More than anything

JACK
Please, pal-

BAKER
I wish we had a child

BAKER'S WIFE
I want a child

JACK
Squeeze, pal

CINDERELLA
I wish to go to the Festival

JACK
I wish you'd give us some
milk or even cheese

CINDERELLA
I wish

BAKER'S WIFE
I wish we might have a child
I wish
I wish

STEPMOTHER
You wish to go to the Festival?

NARRATOR
The poor girl's mother had died,

STEPMOTHER
You Cinderella, you wish to go to the festival?

FLORINDA
What, you, Cinderella, the Festival?
The Festival?!

LUCINDA
What, you wish to go to the Festival?

ALL THREE
The Festival?
The King's Festival?

NARRATOR
And her father had taken for his new wife

STEPMOTHER
The Festival

NARRARATOR
a woman with two daughters of her own

FLORINDA
Look at your nails!

LUCINDA
Look at your dress!

STEPMOTHER
People would laugh at you-

CINDERELLA, STEPMOTHER, & STEPSISTERS
Nevertheless,
I/she still want/s to go to the Festival
And dance before the Prince

NARRATOR
All three were beautiful of face, but vile and black of heart
Jack, on the other hand, had no father, and his mother-

JACK'S MOTHER
I wish

NARRATOR
Well, she was not quite beautiful-

JACK'S MOTHER
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 house was full of gold-
I wish a lot of things

You foolish child!
What are you doing with a cow inside the house?

JACK
A warm enviroment might just be
what Milky White needs to produce
his milk

JACK'S MOTHER
It's a she!
How many times must I tell you?
Only shes can give milk!

BAKER'S WIFE
Why, come in, little girl

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
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

NARRATOR
Cinderella's Stepmother had a surprise for her

STEPMOTHER
I have emptied a pot of lentils into the ashes for you
If you have picked them out again in two hours' time,
you shall go to the ball with us

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
And perhaps a sticky bun?
Or four?

CINDERELLA
Birds in the sky,
Birds in the eaves,
I the leaves,
In the fields,
In the castles and ponds

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
And a few of those pies please

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

JACK
Now, squeeze, pal

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

JACK'S MOTHER
Listen well, son Milky-White must be taken to market

JACK
But, mother, no- he's the best cow-

JACK'S MOTHER
Was! Was! SHEEEEE'S been dry for a week
We've no food, no money,
and no choice but to sell her

JACK
But mother

JACK'S MOTHER
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-

JACK
But-

JACK'S MOTHER
Son,
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 fear you're touched

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
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-

BAKER'S WIFE
You're certain of your way?

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
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?

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
Fly, birds,
Back to the sky,
Back to the eaves
And the leaves
And the fields
And the-

FLORINDA
Hurry up and do my hair, Cinderella!

Are you really wearing that?

LUCINDA
Here, I found a little tear, Cinderella

Can't you hide it with a hat?

CINDERELLA
You look beautiful

FLORINDA
I know

LUCINDA
She means me

FLORINDA
Put it in a twist

LUCINDA
Who will be there?

CINDERELLA
Mother said be good,
Father said be nice,
That was always their advice
So be nice, Cinderella,
Good, Cinderella,
Nice good good nice-

FLORINDA
Tighter!

CINDERELLA
What's the good of being good
If everyone is blind
And you're always left behind?
Never mind, Cinderella,
Kind Cinderella-
Nice good nice kind good nice-

(Florinda slaps Cinderella hard across the face)

FLORINDA
Not that tight!

CINDERELLA
I'm sorry

FLORINDA
Clod

NARRATOR
Because the Baker had lost his Father
and his Mother in a baking accident
Well, at least that's what he believed,
he was eager to have a family of his own, and was concerned
that all efforts until now had failed

BAKER
Who might that be?

BAKER'S WIFE
We've sold our last loaf of bread

BAKER
It's the witch from next door!

BAKER & BAKER'S WIFE
We have no bread

WITCH
Of course you've got no bread!

BAKER
Then what is it you wish?

WITCH
It's not what I wish! It's what you wish!

(points to Baker's Wife)

Nothing cooking in there now is there?

NARRATOR
The old enchantress told the couple she had
placed a spell on their house

BAKER
What spell?

WITCH
In the past, when you were no more than a babe,
your Father brought his young wife and you here to this cottage
They were a handsome couple,
but not handsome neighbours!
You see, your mother was with child,
and she had developed an unusual appetite
She took one look at my beautiful garden,
and told your father that what she wanted more than
anything in the world was

(rapping)

Greens, greens and nothing but greens:
Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery,
Asparagus and watercress and
Fiddleferns, 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 my rampion
(My champion! My favorite!)-
I should have laid a spell on him
Right there,
Could have changed 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"

BAKER
I had a brother?

WITCH
No! But you had a sister

NARRATOR
But the witch refused to tell him anymore of his sister
Not even that her name was Rapunzel

WITCH
I though I had been more than reasonable
And that we all might live happily there after
But how was I to know what your father
had also hidden in his pocket?
You see, when I had inheireted that garden,
my mother warned me that I would be punished
if I were to ever loose any of the BEANS!

BAKER & WIFE
Beans?

WITCH
The special beans

I let him go,
I didn't know
He'd stolen my beans!

I was watching him crawl,
Back over the wall-!
Then bang! Crash!
And the lightning flash!
And- 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

Your father cried,
your mother died
And for extra measure-
I admit it was a pleasure-
I said, "Sorry,
I'm still not mollified"

And I laid little spell on them-
You, too, son-
That your family tree
Would always be a barren one

BAKER'S WIFE
No!!

WITCH
So there's no more fuss
And there's no more scenes
And my garden thrives-
You should see my nectarines!
But I'm tellling you the same
I tell kings and queens:
Don't ever never ever
Mess around with my greens!
Especially the beans

JACK'S MOTHER
Now closely to me, Jack Lead Milky-White to market and
fetch the best price you can
Take no less than five pounds
Are you listening to me?

Jack Jack Jack,
Head in a sack,
The house is getting colder,
This is not the time for dreaming

Chimney stack
Starting to crack,
The mice are getting bolder,
The floor's gone slack,
Your mother's getting older,
Your father's not back,
And you can't just sit here dreaming pretty dreams

To wish and wait
From day to day
Will never keep
The wolves away

So 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-

JACK
Into the woods to sell a friend-

JACK'S MOTHER
Someday you'll have a real pet, Jack

JACK
A piggy?!

JACK'S MOTHER
(groan)

NARRATOR
Meanwhile, the Witch, for purposes of her own,
explained how the Baker might lift the spell;

WITCH
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,
And you shall have,
I guarantee,
A child as perfect
As child can be

Go to the wood!

STEPMOTHER
Ladies
Our carriage waits

CINDERELLA
Now may I go to the Festival?

STEPMPTHER
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!

CINDERELLA'S FATHER
Our carriage is waiting

STEPMOTHER
We must be gone

CINDERELLA
Good night, Father
I wish

BAKER
Look what I found in father's hunting jacket

BAKER'S WIFE
Six beans

BAKER
I wonder if they are-

BAKER'S WIFE
The Witch's beans! We'll take them with us!

BAKER
No! You are not to come

BAKER'S WIFE
I know you are fearful of the woods at night

BAKER
No! The spell is on my house
Only I can lift the spell,
The spell is on my house

BAKER'S WIFE
No, no, the spell is on our house
We must lift the spell

BAKER
No You are not to come and that is final
Now what am I to return with?

BAKER'S WIFE
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-

BAKER
The cow as white as milk,
The cape as red as blood,
The hair as yellow as corn,
The slipper as pure as gold

NARRATOR
And so the Baker, reluctantly, set off to meet the
enchantress' demands
And as for Cinderella:

CINDERELLA
I still wish to go to the Festival,
But how am I ever to get to the Festival?

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

CINDERELLA
I know!
I'll visit Mother's grave,
The grave at the hazel tree,
And tell her I just want to
Go to the King's Festival

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

BAKER'S WIFE
The hair-!

CINDERELLA & BAKER
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

CINDERELLA, BAKER & WIFE
Into the woods,
The path is straight,
You know it well,
But who can tell-

BAKER
Into the woods to lift the spell-

CINDERELLA
Into the woods to visit Mother-

BAKER'S WIFE
Into the woods to fetch the things-

BAKER
To make the potion-

CINDERELLA
To got to the Festival-

CINDERELLA, JACK, JACK'S MOTHER, BAKER, WIFE
Into the woods
Without regret,
The choice is made,
The task is set
Into the woods,
But not forget-
Ting why I'm on the journey
(Little Red Riding hood Joins)
Into the woods
to get my wish,
I don't care how,
The time is now

JACK'S MOTHER
Into the woods to sell the cow-

JACK
Into the woods to get the money-

BAKER'S WIFE
Into the woods to lift the spell-

BAKER
To make the potion-

CINDERELLA
To go to the Festival-

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
Into the woods to Grandmother's house
Into the woods to Grandmother's house

ALL
The way is clear,
The light is good,
I have no fear,
No no one should
The woods are just trees,
The trees are just wood
No need to be afraid there-

CINDERELLA & BAKER
There's something in the glade there

ALL
Into the woods,
Without delay,
But careful no
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-

STEMOTHER & STEPSISTERS
To see the King-

JACK & MOTHER
To sell the cow-

BAKER & WIFE
To make the potion-

ALL
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 dark!