Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux — Scene 3

3 CARISE, EGLÉ CARISE: Eglé, come, follow me; there's a new place here you’ve never seen. You can run around; it's safe. EGLÉ: What am I seeing? What a lot of new worlds! CARISE: It's still the same world, you just never knew its full extent. EGLÉ: What a lot of country! What a lot of house! I don’t think I've been in such a big space ever, I like it and I'm frightened. (She looks at and stops at a puddle.) What's this water, what's it doing lying on the ground? I never saw anything like that in the world I've come from. CARISE: No you didn't. That's what they call a puddle. EGLÉ (Looking.): Ah! Carise, come here, come and look at this; there’s something living in the puddle that’s made like a person, and she looks as surprised about me as I am about her. CARISE (Laughing.): No, that's you you’re seeing; all puddles can do that trick. EGLÉ: What, that's me in there, that's my face? CARISE: Sure. EGLÉ: But do you know that's very pretty, that’s a lovely thing that is. What a shame I never knew that sooner! CARISE: It's true you're pretty. EGLÉ: What do you mean, 'pretty'? Wonderful! What I've found, it's magic... (She looks at herself some more.) The puddle's doing all my faces, and I like them all. It must have been lovely for you, Mesrou and you, having me to look at. I'm going to spend my whole life staring at myself; I'm going to love myself in a minute! CARISE: Run around if you want to, I'm going to leave you and go back inside your house, there's something I have to see to in there. EGLÉ: Go, go, I won't get bored, with the puddle.