"Who are you?"
"You mean you don't know?! Come on, try."
"Yes, I do know you, you're… you're… I can't think, I can see you, but it's like seeing someone from the corner of your eye, or remembering someone from a dream."
"That's me alright, a dream seen out of the corner of your eye."
"But you seem real, somehow. Not a dream."
"Who told you dreams aren't real? Honestly, what do they teach children in schools nowadays?! Are you real?"
"Yes, of course."
"And where are your dreams?"
"Well, inside me, I suppose."
"You suppose?"
"No, they're definitely inside me."
"So, if you stop believing in your dreams, you stop believing in a part of yourself, a big part of yourself, and you certainly stop believing in me. And if I'm not here, then who are you talking to, you silly girl!?! Now let's get down to some serious dreaming."
"Serious dreaming?"
"Serious dreaming. That's where you have a dream, and you know it's a dream, but you don't let it fade away. You hold it in your heart like a butterfly in a cocoon, patient, gentle, warm, as soft and firm as love… And when the dream is ready, when it's really alive, when it knows that what the world needs, what it's dying for, is this beautiful new butterfly dream, to remind it why it's here… then, POOF! Out it bursts! A dream with it's wings on…"
There's nothing as free as a dream that flows,
There's nothing as green as a dream that grows,
There's nothing as wise as a dram that knows,
We come from the land of dreams…
There's nothing as sweet as a dream that sings,
There's nothing as true as the joy it brings,
There's nothing as wild as a dream with wings,
We come from the land of dreams…
We come down from the land of dreams,
To earth and water, air and fire,
To dress in flesh the word we are,
And see the truth of our desire.
There's nothing as kind as a dream that cares,
There's nothing as cruel as a dream that snares,
There's nothing as brave as a dream that dares,
We come from the land of dreams…
There's nothing as sad as a dream that cries,
There's nothing as dead as a dream that dies,
There's nothing that sees like a dream with eyes,
We come from the land of dreams…
We come down from the land of dreams,
To earth and water, air and fire,
To dress in flesh the word we are,
And see the truth of our desire.
There's nothing as dark as a dreamless sleep,
There's nothing as lost as a dream you seek,
There's nothing as sure as a dream that's deep,
We come from the land of dreams.
And if your eyes are open, you will find
That most men in the land of dreams are blind,
The dream of love joins heaven and earth,
The dream of death is another birth…
We go back to the land of dreams,
Through earth and water, air and fire,
To hear again the word we are,
And find the home of our desire…
"Got the idea?"
"I think so."
"You don't think dreams, they come from your heart, not your head. So look in your heart. What's there?"
"Oh, it's impossible! It's too much even to dream!"
"Too much to dream, I don't believe you! Listen, if you want to stay unhappy, you're going down just the right route. Now, give it a go! Look straight at your dream."
"I want… to go out!"
"You want to go out? Is that it? Come on, try harder!"
"I want… I want to go to the prince's ball."
"You want to go to the prince's ball? My dear, everybody wants to go to the prince's ball, and everybody has gone. You must be the only human being for two hundred miles who stayed home. Call that a dream? Once more."
"I… I want to marry the prince's friend, Mr Dandini."
"The prince's friend? Are you sure that you don't want to marry the prince? Why not go for broke?" Of course, she didn't know that when Cinderella met the prince, he was dressed up in Dandini's clothes.
"No, it's Mr Dandini that I love."
"What's so special about Mr Dandini that makes him better than the prince?"
"He's my dream."
"Ooh, now this is serious dreaming. And you must do it. But I'll do a little dreaming of my own and maybe we can put together a package…
"If I dreamed of a daughter, and sometimes I do,
I dream of a daughter just like you.
And when she went dancing, as you will today,
I dream up some magic, to help on her way.
I dream up a pumpkin, a plump one, and round,
Then six little mice from their hole in the ground,
A pair of green lizards, and then I would start,
To make them a place in the dream in my heart.
I know in the end what we want is a marriage,
But first let this pumpkin turn into a carriage,
To carry a princess, a carriage so splendid
The moon will be jealous, and ask her to lend it.
To steer it, these lizards will metamorphose
Into two jolly footmen, in fine footmen's clothes."
"Keep dreaming, keep dreaming, I see what you mean!
A team of white horses that's fit for a queen!"
"For a prince and princess, if I have my way,
The mice shall be horses, but just for today!
At the last stroke of midnight the dreaming must stop
And if you're not back when both hands hit the top
The world will look on as your dream comes apart,
And as time breaks your dream, so will time break your heart."
"But I can't go dressed like this! What shall I do?"
"It's your dream. Do you know what you want to wear?"
"Yes, I can see it in my heart…"
"Then it's yours."
And there she was, more beautiful than any princess, with a shining gold and silver carriage and with liveried footmen and coachmen and a team of beautiful white horses, and dressed in a dress that… that… well, she looked like the queen of the angels, if there is such a thing. And if there wasn't before, there is now.
"Now off you go, you're already late. And don't forget, on the stroke of midnight, the dream must end…" And with that, the coach flew off into the night, to take Cinderella to meet her dream.
And what a dream it was! All the splendour of the palace, all the great men and women of the country, huge tables of food, great flasks of Aqua Libra, an orchestra playing, everyone dancing and sparkling conversation. And in the corner, a very dismal looking prince, with Dandini trying to drag him out to meet the guests. Oh, Cinderella's two ugly sisters were there too, of course, like two cows in a china shop, trying to get near enough to the prince to drag him into a conversation, or maybe even a dance! But long before Cinderella arrived, they had eaten far too much rich food and were turning green and having to sit quietly in a corner, near the potted plants. And then…
