The Complete Dramatic Works (11 page)

VLADIMIR:
Yes, but you have to decide.

ESTRAGON:
True.

[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
Help me!

ESTRAGON:
I’m trying.

[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
When you seek you hear.

ESTRAGON:
You do.

VLADIMIR:
That prevents you from finding.

ESTRAGON:
It does.

VLADIMIR:
That prevents you from thinking.

ESTRAGON:
You think all the same.

VLADIMIR:
No, no, impossible.

ESTRAGON:
That’s the idea, let’s contradict each other.

VLADIMIR:
Impossible.

ESTRAGON:
You think so?

VLADIMIR:
We’re in no danger of ever thinking any more.

ESTRAGON:
Then what are we complaining about?

VLADIMIR:
Thinking is not the worst.

ESTRAGON:
Perhaps not. But at least there’s that.

VLADIMIR:
That what?

ESTRAGON:
That’s the idea, let’s ask each other questions.

VLADIMIR:
What do you mean, at least there’s that?

ESTRAGON:
That much less misery.

VLADIMIR:
True.

ESTRAGON:
Well? If we gave thanks for our mercies?

VLADIMIR:
What is terrible is to
have
thought.

ESTRAGON:
But did that ever happen to us?

VLADIMIR:
Where are all these corpses from?

ESTRAGON:
These skeletons.

VLADIMIR:
Tell me that.

ESTRAGON:
True.

VLADIMIR:
We must have thought a little.

ESTRAGON:
At the very beginning.

VLADIMIR:
A charnel-house! A charnel-house!

ESTRAGON:
You don’t have to look.

VLADIMIR:
You can’t help looking.

ESTRAGON:
True.

VLADIMIR:
Try as one may.

ESTRAGON:
I beg your pardon?

VLADIMIR:
Try as one may.

ESTRAGON:
We should turn resolutely towards Nature.

VLADIMIR:
We’ve tried that.

ESTRAGON:
True.

VLADIMIR:
Oh, it’s not the worst, I know.

ESTRAGON:
What?

VLADIMIR:
To have thought.

ESTRAGON:
Obviously.

VLADIMIR:
But we could have done without it.

ESTRAGON:
Que voulez-vous?

VLADIMIR:
I beg your pardon?

ESTRAGON:
Que voulez-vous?

VLADIMIR:
Ah! que voulez-vous. Exactly.

[
Silence.
]

ESTRAGON:
That wasn’t such a bad little canter.

VLADIMIR:
Yes, but now we’ll have to find something else.

ESTRAGON:
Let me see.

[
He
takes
off
his
hat,
concentrates.
]

VLADIMIR:
Let me see. [
He
takes
off
his
hat,
concentrates. Long
silence.
]
Ah!

[
They
put
on
their
hats,
relax.
]

ESTRAGON:
Well?

VLADIMIR:
What was I saying, we could go on from there.

ESTRAGON:
What were you saying when?

VLADIMIR:
At the very beginning.

ESTRAGON:
The beginning of
WHAT
?

VLADIMIR:
This evening … I was saying … I was saying …

ESTRAGON:
I’m not a historian.

VLADIMIR:
Wait … we embraced … we were happy … happy .… what do we do now that we’re happy
… go on waiting … waiting … let me think … it’s coming … go on waiting … now that
we’re happy … let me see … ah! The tree!

ESTRAGON:
The tree?

VLADIMIR:
Do you not remember?

ESTRAGON:
I’m tired.

VLADIMIR:
Look at it.

[
They
look
at
the
tree.
]

ESTRAGON:
I see nothing.

VLADIMIR:
But yesterday evening it was all black and bare.

And now it’s covered with leaves.

ESTRAGON:
Leaves?

VLADIMIR:
In a single night.

ESTRAGON:
It must be the spring.

VLADIMIR:
But in a single night!

ESTRAGON:
I tell you we weren’t here yesterday. Another of your nightmares.

VLADIMIR:
And where were we yesterday evening according to you?

ESTRAGON:
How do I know? In another compartment. There’s no lack of void.

VLADIMIR:
[
Sure
of
himself
.]
Good. We weren’t here yesterday evening. Now what did we do yesterday evening?

ESTRAGON:
Do?

VLADIMIR:
Try and remember.

ESTRAGON:
Do … I suppose we blathered.

VLADIMIR:
[
Controlling
himself
.] About what?

ESTRAGON:
Oh … this and that, I suppose, nothing in particular. [
With
assurance.
]
Yes, now I remember, yesterday evening we spent blathering about nothing in particular.
That’s been going on now for half a century.

VLADIMIR:
You don’t remember any fact, any circumstance?

ESTRAGON:
[
Weary.
]
Don’t torment me, Didi.

VLADIMIR:
The sun. The moon. Do you not remember?

ESTRAGON:
They must have been there, as usual.

VLADIMIR:
You didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary?

ESTRAGON:
Alas!

VLADIMIR:
And Pozzo? And Lucky?

ESTRAGON:
Pozzo?

VLADIMIR:
The bones.

ESTRAGON:
They were like fishbones.

VLADIMIR:
It was Pozzo gave them to you.

ESTRAGON:
I don’t know.

VLADIMIR:
And the kick.

ESTRAGON:
That’s right, someone gave me a kick.

VLADIMIR:
It was Lucky gave it to you.

ESTRAGON:
And all that was yesterday?

VLADIMIR:
Show your leg.

ESTRAGON:
Which?

VLADIMIR:
Both. Pull up your trousers, [
ESTRAGON
gives
a
leg
to
VLADIMIR
,
staggers.
VLADIMIR
takes
the
leg.
They
stagger.
]
Pull up your trousers.

ESTRAGON:
I can’t.

[
VLADIMIR
pulls
up
the
trousers,
looks
at
the
leg,
lets
it
go.
ESTRAGON
almost
falls.
]

VLADIMIR:
The other, [
ESTRAGON
gives
the
same
leg.
]
The other, pig! [
ESTRAGON
gives
the
other
leg.
Triumphantly.
] There’s the wound! Beginning to fester!

ESTRAGON:
And what about it?

VLADIMIR:
[
Letting
go
the
leg.
]
Where are your boots?

ESTRAGON:
I must have thrown them away.

VLADIMIR:
When?

ESTRAGON:
I don’t know.

VLADIMIR:
Why?

ESTRAGON:
[
Exasperated.
]
I don’t know why I don’t know!

VLADIMIR:
No, I mean why did you throw them away?

ESTRAGON:
[
Exasperated.
]
Because they were hurting me!

VLADIMIR:
[
Triumphantly,
pointing
to
the
boots.
]
There they are! [
ESTRAGON
looks
at
the
boots.
]
At the very spot where you left them yesterday!

[
ESTRAGON
goes
towards
the
boots,
inspects
them
closely.
]

ESTRAGON:
They’re not mine.

VLADIMIR:
[
Stupefied.
]
Not yours!

ESTRAGON:
Mine were black. These are brown.

VLADIMIR:
You’re sure yours were black?

ESTRAGON:
Well, they were a kind of grey.

VLADIMIR:
And these are brown? Show.

ESTRAGON:
[
Picking
up
a
hoot.
]
Well, they’re a kind of green.

VLADIMIR:
Show, [
ESTRAGON
hands
him
the
hoot.
VLADIMIR
inspects
it,
throws
it
down
angrily.
]
Well of all the –

ESTRAGON:
You see, all that’s a lot of bloody –

VLADIMIR:
Ah! I see what it is. Yes, I see what’s happened.

ESTRAGON:
All that’s a lot of bloody –

VLADIMIR:
It’s elementary. Someone came and took yours and left you his.

ESTRAGON:
Why?

VLADIMIR:
His were too tight for him, so he took yours.

ESTRAGON:
But mine were too tight.

VLADIMIR:
For you. Not for him.

ESTRAGON:
[
Having
tried
in
vain
to
work
it
out.
]
I’m tired!

[
Pause.
]
Let’s go.

VLADIMIR:
We can’t.

ESTRAGON:
Why not?

VLADIMIR:
We’re waiting for Godot.

ESTRAGON:
Ah! [
Pause.
Despairing.
]
What’ll we do, what’ll we do!

VLADIMIR:
There’s nothing we can do.

ESTRAGON:
But I can’t go on like this!

VLADIMIR:
Would you like a radish?

ESTRAGON:
Is that all there is?

VLADIMIR:
There are radishes and turnips.

ESTRAGON:
Are there no carrots?

VLADIMIR:
No. Anyway you overdo it with your carrots.

ESTRAGON:
Then give me a radish. [
VLADIMIR
fumbles
in
his
pockets,
finds
nothing
but
turnips,
finally
brings
out
a
radish
and
hands
it
to 
ESTRAGON
,
who
examines
it,
sniffs
it.
]
It’s black!

VLADIMIR:
It’s a radish.

ESTRAGON:
I only like the pink ones, you know that!

VLADIMIR:
Then you don’t want it?

ESTRAGON:
I only like the pink ones!

VLADIMIR:
Then give it back to me.

[
ESTRAGON
gives
it
back.
]

ESTRAGON:
I’ll go and get a carrot.