Margaret Atwood - Hag-Seed

Up in the Tree

Annas Pet (with Joyce Barkhouse)

For the Birds

Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut

Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes

Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda

Wandering Wenda

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2016 by O. W. Toad Ltd.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Hogarth, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

HOGARTH is a trademark of the Random House Group Limited, and the H colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

Simultaneously published in Great Britain by Hogarth UK, a division of Random House Group Limited, a Penguin Random House company, London.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN9780804141291

Ebook ISBN9780804141307

Cover design by Christopher Brand

v4.1

ep

Richard Bradshaw, 19442007

Gwendolyn MacEwen, 19411987

Enchanters

This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal, and do well.

S IR F RANCIS B ACON, On Revenge

although there are nice people on the stage, there are some who would make your hair stand on end.

C HARLES D ICKENS

Other flowering isles must be

In the sea of Life and Agony:

Other spirits float and flee

Oer that gulf

P ERCY B YSSHE S HELLEY, Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills

The house lights dim. The audience quiets.

ON THE BIG FLATSCREEN: Jagged yellow lettering on black:

THE TEMPEST

By William Shakespeare

with

The Fletcher Correctional Players

ONSCREEN: A hand-printed sign, held up to the camera by Announcer, wearing a short purple velvet cloak. In his other hand, a quill.

SIGN: A SUDDEN TEMPEST

ANNOUNCER: What youre gonna see, is a storm at sea:

Winds are howlin, sailors yowlin,

Passengers cursinem, cause it gettin worse:

Gonna hear screams, just like a ba-a-d dream,

But not all here is what it seem,

Just sayin.

Grins.

Now we gonna start the playin.

He gestures with the quill. Cut to: Thunder and lightning, in funnel cloud, screengrab from the Tornado Channel. Stock shot of ocean waves. Stock shot of rain. Sound of howling wind.

Camera zooms in on a bathtub-toy sailboat tossing up and down on a blue plastic shower curtain with fish on it, the waves made by hands underneath.

Closeup of Boatswain in a black knitted tuque. Water is thrown on him from offscreen. He is drenched.

BOATSWAIN: Fall tot yarely, or we run ourselves aground! Bestir, bestir!

Yare! Yare! Beware! Beware!

Lets just do it,

Better get to it,

Trim the sails,

Fight the gales,

Unless you wantin to swim with the whales!

VOICES OFF: Were all gonna drown!

BOATSWAIN: Get outta tha way! No time for play!

A bucketful of water hits him in the face.

VOICES OFF: Listen to me! Listen to me!

Dont you know were royalty?

BOATSWAIN: Yare! Yare! The waves dont care!

The wind is roarin, the rain is pourin,

All you do is stand and stare!

VOICES OFF: Youre drunk!

BOATSWAIN: Youre a idiot!

VOICES OFF: Were doomed!

VOICES OFF: Were sunk!

Closeup of Ariel in a blue bathing cap and iridescent ski goggles, blue makeup on the lower half of his face. Hes wearing a translucent plastic raincoat with ladybugs, bees, and butterflies on it. Behind his left shoulder theres an odd shadow. He laughs soundlessly, points upward with his right hand, which is encased in a blue rubber glove. Lightning flash, thunderclap.

VOICES OFF: Lets pray!

BOATSWAIN: Whats that you say?

VOICES OFF: Were goin down! Were gonna drown!

Aint gonna see the King no more!

Jump offa the ship, swim for the shore!

Ariel throws his head back and laughs with delight. In each of his blue rubber hands hes holding a high-powered flashlight, in flicker mode.

The screen goes black.

A VOICE FROM THE AUDIENCE: What?

ANOTHER VOICE: Powers off.

ANOTHER VOICE: Must be the blizzard. A line down somewhere.

Total darkness. Confused noise from outside the room. Yelling. Shots are fired.

A VOICE FROM THE AUDIENCE: Whats going on?

VOICES, FROM OUTSIDE THE ROOM: Lockdown! Lockdown!

A VOICE FROM THE AUDIENCE: Whos in charge here?

Three more shots.

A VOICE, FROM INSIDE THE ROOM: Dont move! Quiet! Keep your heads down! Stay right where you are.