Nobel Prize Literature Collection: The Invisible Guest. The Blind. The Seven Princesses. The Blue Bird

Author: Maurice Maeterlinck (Belgium)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: There is a grand hall with a marble floor, where osmanthus, oleander, and lotus flowers are placed in porcelain vases. A seven-step marble staircase divides the hall into seven sections, where seven princesses in white robes, with bare arms, sleep on the steps, covered with gray-white silk bedding. A silver lamp illuminates them. The back door of the hall is closed, with large windows on both sides, reaching down to the ground. Behind the windows are balconies. At this time, the sun is setting, and through the window, a gloomy, damp village can be seen, with ponds and pine-oak forests. Perpendicular to one of the windows is a dim canal, lined with willows on both banks. A large warship is sailing on the horizon. The king, queen, and servants come to the balcony, watching the warship approach.
Queen: It is sailing towards us with sails unfurled and curtains billowing.