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• The Cape Thief : From the one-act play

The Cape Thief, translated by Kathleen Jeffs (née Mountjoy)

From the one-act play

Context:

Gusarapa wants her boyfriend, Arrumaco, to give her some money to buy a new dress. Before this scene, Arrumaco has feigned deafness to her request, pulling out an ear trumpet. They go back and forth, she trying to wheedle the money from him, he coming up with excuses and offering her a sonnet instead, to display his love without spending any money. In the scene below, which is near the end of the play, Gusarapa finds a way to extort the money from him by holding his hat and cape hostage for ransom, with the help of her servant Pandilla (also referred to as ‘Maripandilla’).

Sample text

PANDILLA tosses a fishing line with a hook on it out the window, and GUSARAPA, attaching it to the hat, yells ‘Now!’ and PANDILLA pulls it up.

ARRUMACO:

God, how that girl loves me!

GUSARAPA:

Now!

ARRUMACO:

Oh, very funny.

Give me back my hat.

GUSARAPA:

Me?

ARRUMACO:

Yes, you.

GUSARAPA:

Me?

ARRUMACO:

No, I’m talking to the wind, yes, you.

What will I find if I search you?

He searches GUSARAPA.

GUSARAPA:

Be my guest. Haven’t you found it?

ARRUMACO:

Have you ever seen such a thing?

By God, that’s sleight of hand.

GUSARAPA:

The wind must have taken it!

ARRUMACO:

The wind’s being very cute with me today,

and if it fancies my hat

surely it will steal my cape as well.

GUSARAPA:

Now!

GUSARAPA attaches the hook to the cape and PANDILLA pulls it up.

ARRUMACO:

Jesus Christ!

She’s done just as I said,

that’s a fine trick!

Give me my cape, you rascal.

GUSARAPA:

Calm down and search me for it,

and if you find that I have it,

I’ll pay you double what it’s worth.

ARRUMACO:

I’ll take it in singles, if you don’t mind.

Gentlemen, what sort of joke is this,

when there is not a soul around to witness it?

Next she’ll steal my sanity,

she’s already got my hat and cape.

GUSARAPA:

Admit that women are able to swindle

and trick men because we are so much

cleverer, and we are only collecting our due

for our own superiority!

ARRUMACO:

All right, I’ll admit it.

GUSARAPA:

Well, your clothes have been whisked off by the wind,

but I will rescue them, and return them to you,

as they say, perfumed by the air.

ARRUMACO:

You can keep the perfume,

the clothes are enough for me,

and I offer you these silver coins

for their ransom.

He gives her the coins.

So where have you hidden

my cape and my hat?

GUSARAPA:

At home;

but it’s late now and the neighbours are watching;

wait here until tomorrow,

when I will discreetly enter the house

swift of foot and light of step,

to avoid the prying eyes of my public.

ARRUMACO:

What else can I do but follow her?

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation The Cape Thief by Kathleen Jeffs (née Mountjoy) is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Entry written by Kathleen Jeffs. Last updated on 4 October 2010.

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