" Repeat that!" " I will!" " You brute!" " You and your dukes and princes!" "I've had it!" "I'm sleeping in the other room!" "You have no talent whatsoever!" "Everybody says so!" "I hate being the wife of a failure." "If my talents gone, it's because of the life you force me into." " I'm good for nothing now!" " Is that my fault?" "With that bunch of imbeciles you bring around," "I'll end up turning into a complete idiot!" "You've been an idiot for a long time!" "What is it!" "Oh, it's you, Coton." "What time is it?" "Quarter to 8:00." "Saturday at a quarter to 8:00 and your article is due." "That's right." "I'd forgotten." "Good thing I'm here." "I think I did well this morning." "It will be well received." "What's the subject?" "Elegance." "Failure!" "You're nothing but a failure!" "Why you sleeping out here!" "I had a few words with "madame." She's not well." "She flirts with high society." "They'll sweep her off her feet." "It's exasperating." "In this atmosphere, you'll never write our-- your next novel." "Hello?" "Oh it's you, my dear Duke." "Yes." "Women!" "What do they know?" "If I don't get away to collect my thoughts," "I can kiss my good fortune good-bye." " Right." "You gotta go." " Let's go to the country." "The country?" "But that's like staying here." "Your wife and her society types would still find you." "Society types!" "That's all she likes." "She can't stand me." "She thinks you're poorly dressed." "Poorly dressed!" "That's slander!" "If not to the country, where can we go?" "Far away, or she'll find you again." "If you go far away, it'll teach her a lesson." "Don't take this wrong, but she's right." "You're washed up." "You think so?" "Don't make me nervous." "Failure!" "Cretin!" "There!" "You here that?" "Let's go to a real savage land!" "Yes, to Africa!" "Let go!" "Leave her alone." " Here." " Thank you, sir." "For that money, take all you want." "You're a nice girl." "Why steal oranges?" "I have no money to pay for them." " What's your name?" " Alwina." "Alwina?" "Yes." "Alwina." "It's Arabic for "little water source," but she seems like a source of trouble." "She's a riot." "Good-bye, Alwina." "This came from Europe." "Forget that." "To hell with civilization." "Africa doesn't seem to inspire me." "Doesn't do anything for you?" "It's terrible." "My wife's right." "I feel totally washed up." "I can't think straight." "I keep wondering what she's doing." "Watch out." "Such obsessions are bad." "Maybe we should stay at the hotel, instead of settling into a villa like a couple of rich guys." "Hotel?" "You call that being among savages?" "A hotel?" "With some old hens who call you "sir,"" "and ask for your autograph and invite you to dinner every night like with your wife?" "No!" "You have to work." "This is serious." "I don't have a single idea!" "Do you?" "I'm too hot to have any." "I'm always thirsty and in need of a siesta." "Getting back to nature!" "I prefer the perfumed chicks of the Rue de la Paix." "But nature has a better fragrance than perfume!" "Manure is natural." "So?" "Isn't that where pretty roses grow?" "They're even lovelier when planted in a nice pot." "Now they're too wild." "They have no scent." "They're not ready for the parlor yet." "African flowers aren't meant for parlors." "How about that?" "I always expect him to recite verses from the Koran." "What's he done to you?" "You can't stand him." "Who knows?" "He reminds me of a crocodile." "Shall we work a bit?" "Alright." "Let's try." "Any ideas?" "Not yet." "You're some collaborator!" "A telegram from your publisher." " He's bawling." " Let him bawl." "Let's see." "What can we come up with?" "Hello?" "This is his secretary." "Very well." "I'll convey your invitation." "The European tourists have invited us to visit the ruins of Dougga." "Even in Africa they won't let me work in peace." "You could describe the ruins." "That would fill a few pages of your novel." "Do you know the ruins of Dougga?" "Yes." "They're the remains of an old Roman city whose emperors wore purple." "Alwina!" " Where are you going?" " To the ruins." " I'll go with you and be your guide." " If you want to." "Hey." "Give her your camel!" "You wouldn't subject us to the presence of that savage." "A Bedouin!" "I understand the love of nature, but to this extent?" " You complaining?" " Just stating a fact." "The smell of game makes me lose my appetite." "What is "game"?" "Wild animals." "So I'm a wild animal?" "You may be wild, but too clever for an animal." "Where's the salt?" "Here." "Good morning, my dear." "Come on, wake up, lazybones." "What's going on?" "Already in evening clothes?" "Still in evening clothes!" "What a time we had!" "The baron took us to every club and I still haven't made it home." "If I'd known." "Where were you?" "At the premiere of a musical." "Any good?" "I don't know." "I sat in a loge with the prince." "Good for you." "Any news from Max?" "No, but don't worry." "He'll pay for it." "Judging from last night, he's already paying." "Not quite yet." "Your masseuse is here, madame." "Tonight you'll meet the Maharajah of Datane." "He's got incredible sex appeal." "And pearls!" "Even puts them on his elephants!" "He doesn't know his own worth!" "Just a few pennies, kind sirs?" ""NO BEGGING"" "Did you find her?" "No." "It's bugging me." "If I only could see her reaction." " Where could she be?" " Now we're looking, can't pin her down." "That little witch!" "Great character for a novel." "If we'd found your savage, you'd be more interested in your work." "To hell with my novel!" "What's my wife up to?" "That's what I'm wondering." "Whatever you do, don't write her." "You'd lose the advantage you've gained." "She has to think you don't miss her." "You missed!" " Too bad we can't find that girl." " Have to accept it." "Dar!" "Stop!" "Bring her here!" "Alwina?" "What'll we make of this?" "A novel." "Yes." "Scrub her off, educate her, and see how she reacts." "How she reacts?" "That's easy." " High heels will hurt her feet." " Idiot!" "That's your novel?" "Your publisher will be delighted." "The more I think of it, the more I like it." " But there's no story!" " I know, but we'll create one." "I'll pretend to be in love with her." "We'll see what that does to her." "She's smart." "An interracial story." "It could be a modern novel." "Alwina, wouldn't you like to sleep indoors?" "And have pretty dresses?" "Pretty dresses?" "No more need to steal." "And everyone would treat you nicely." "Why would they treat me nicely?" "Because you'd be well dressed." "To get treated nicely, you have to be well dressed?" "You'll eat when you're hungry." "When I'm hungry?" "Your life will be more organized." "You'll eat meals when we eat." "Yes." "When the bell rings, everyone comes to eat." "That's right." "If you don't come to eat, what do they do to you?" "If you don't want to, you don't come." " Then why bother to ring?" " It's hard to explain." "You'll learn by living with us." "If I understand you right, you should be hungry when the bell rings." "That's right." "What if I'm not hungry when it rings?" "Look kid, the stomach gets used to eating at mealtimes." "Your stomach can become civilized." "Alwina, you know, civilization is beautiful." "The Orient is admirable." "Everyone lives naturally." "You all us "savages," but the poorest among us... has more independence than you can imagine." "Oh, look!" "Lucie is with the Maharajah!" " He's in love with her." " Poor Max!" "Serves him right." "He shouldn't have left." "If that egotist only knew his wife was flirting with the Maharajah!" "It's beyond flirting." "I don't blame her." "The Maharajah is charming." " You mean, he's rich!" " He's swell in spite of his wealth." "Why do you say you love me?" "Because I feel something for you." " A feeling?" " I like you." "I enjoy being with you." "And you?" "Me?" "I think you're nice." "Are you nervous around me?" "What does "nervous" mean?" "Flustered." "Flustered?" "Nervous?" "Why is that guy always around here with his pencil?" "He's my slave." "I didn't know you people had slaves." "A ghostwriter is a slave, my dear." "You?" "I don't like you." "You're always making fun." "Do you like me?" ""Flustered," you called it before?" "What's it like to feel flustered?" "Your heart beats very fast." "Well, then, I'm flustered." "Go to bed." "Good night." "No "good night" for me?" "You're getting all this down, right?" "Yes, but it takes time." "We're only on chapter one." "If she won't talk more, we'll never finish the novel." "That little animal is touching." "She's so naive." "You must civilize her." "How do I go about that?" "Teach her to lie." "It's starting." "Here." "See, she's in love with you." "Nervous." "Flustered." "She's absolutely delightful!" "Watch it!" "Of course." "We've got time for a whiskey, right?" "Dar!" "That Dar annoys me." "He's always following Alwina." "Jealous?" "Idiot!" "But he's a hindrance, and he could spoil our plan." "No, He adds the element of mystery the novel needs." "It's a crowd pleaser." "I'm so happy it's taking shape." "Alright." "I wonder what Lucie is doing right now." "There's one missing." "I'm waiting for it." "For you, women are only butterflies." "For us, women were created to refresh the warriors." "Here, they're given greater importance." "Luckily." "Here, men were created in order to spoil us." "They live entirely for us." "I hardly ever see your husband." "I'm not complaining." "He'll certainly return, thanks to you." " Thanks to me?" " Thanks to you." "I don't understand." "When a decent woman is seen with a Don Juan like you" "I don't follow." "I've compromised myself with you." "And I hope this scandal will reach my husband's ears." "Is he jealous?" "Jealous and proud." "Well, you're making me play a strange role." "But that doesn't bother me." "I'm waiting." "Like in the hunts you told me about." " You're watching me." " Your every move." "Is this the result of your teaching?" "You're some professor of civilization!" "May I take these off?" "It's much better barefoot." "Go ahead." "Thank you." "In some areas, she's made a lot of progress." "But getting her dressed is a problem." "Our novel isn't going too fast." "We're still on chapter three." "That depends on you." "Mail!" "Dar!" "Dar!" "I'm coming!" "What a strange house!" "No eating with your hands." "No lowering your head." "No sitting on the floor." "If the birds of the sky eat from the hand of man, they lose their freedom." "Yes." "But the foreigner is so nice." "He speaks so nicely." "His words are like honey." "The bastards!" "The beasts!" "What do you think of this?" "And anonymous letters!" "My wife acts like a whore!" "That goes without saying." "They're having a ball with it." "Read this!" ""There goes the Maharajah again"" ""What famous novelist's wife is constantly seen  with the Maharajah of Datane?"" "To think I have to be stained with all that filth!" "when I'm here under this sky, with these palm trees, this ocean." "Dreams..." "The wind rises from afar." "The wave carries us off." "Our eyes lose the beach." "Our heart beats faster." "The sea responds to our efforts." "And tomorrow will make us strong." "The palaces of unknown cities," "The treasures of the islands, will reward us." "Dreams... either serene or rough." "The ocean is the surest path of the world." "Leading to adventure" "I sail off" "Her voice sings of expanses" "The swell passes" "And speaks to us of love." "The ocean offers itself to the boat and says," ""Hear my wave that jumps and leaps."" "The peoples of the earth agree" "The ocean is the road to happiness." "The raft cuts deep, on the journey of a great boat." "The earth is open to all when dream and reason" "are but one." "I sail off" "Her voice sings of expanses" "The swell passes and speaks to us" "No, it's impossible that my wife would-- that she" "Her snobbery couldn't push her that far!" "I shouldn't have left." "But now we've started a novel." "To hell with the novel!" "How will it look if we come back without one?" "Very well." "We're leaving tomorrow with the completed novel." "Go to bed." "Leave me alone." "I'm going to work." "I love the ocean." "Because it leads to the unknown." "And for you, the unknown is happiness." "I'd love to take a long voyage with the white man." "Three times three.." "Nine!" "Two times two, four." "Now that our protégée is ready... let's return to Europe." "Make yourself at home." "There are so many fake things here." "Some fakes are prettier than the real ones." "I didn't know." "I'll go now, Alwina." "Try getting used to it." " Did you lay out the clothes?" " Yes, sir." " Have you seen Coton?" " No." "Coton!" "Coton!" "In here!" " What are you doing?" " I'm nervous." "So am I. Very nervous!" "Do you think the Maharajah is her lover?" "Worrying won't change it." "If you want to be sure, that's easy." "Easy?" " Should I make quiet inquiries?" " That's it." "And if she asks me why you haven't come home?" "Then pull out the stops." "Say that given her lifestyle, it's more decent for me to rent an apartment." "We'll know from her reaction." "How can you live where people walk over your head?" "In a house where you can't breathe, and where the sun never comes in?" "Find out if Lucie still loves me, and where we are with the maharajah." "You can count on me for any sensitive matter." "I'm subtle and sly." "Sure, but don't say to much." "She'll try to get it out of you." "I am subtle and sly." "Okay, go on." "Is it really you?" "It can't be!" "Still alive?" "I thought you were dead." "Looks like being a widow suits you." "Oh, but I understand perfectly." "My husband hates my lifestyle and I hate his." "I'm very celebrated and sought after by" "By the maharajah?" "You knew?" "I admit he's a good friend." "I hear he adores you." "I don't know, but I think he's taken a liking to me." "He spoils me." "That's a change." "It's a different atmosphere." "No writers coming around to smoke their pipes... without asking if the smoke bothers me." "Come in." "You're sad, sir?" "No, my little Alwina." "You love the lady?" "You love me, too." "You're a lovely girl, Alwina." "This afternoon, we'll order the dresses." "I want my little vagabond to be stylish." "Besides, when I go out with the maharajah, it's not like when I'm out with my husband and his friends eating sauerkraut." "I'm a new woman now." "I've evolved." "That's Max." "It's amazing how that princess has gotten to him." " What princess?" " You don't know?" "I thought you knew." "It's all over the papers." "You're joking." "Joking?" "A joke with a ring of truth." "A princess of royal blood followed us here." "She's about to become civilized just for us." "Amazing!" "He and a princess?" "How very funny!" "It's a pretty sight." "Is she beautiful?" "You'll see her." "There's none better." "I've duped her." "Tit for tat." "She and her maharajah." "I gave her the princess with royal blood." "You're insane." "You should have seen her face." "I left her knocked out." "Actually, what you did was fantastic." "Now I can get even with those disgusting snobs." "A princess!" "Can you believe it?" "He's with a black princess!" "I almost felt guilty about letting the maharajah court me." "Oh, it's you, Lucie." "Of course, my dear." "I'll be very happy to see that princess." "Her father is the king of the central Indian tribes." "The princess loves our country." " Can we see her?" " Photograph her?" "Why not?" "Go find the princess!" "I'll find her highness." "Your highness!" "The press is calling for you." "Gentlemen, the Princess of Parador." "Be considerate." "The princess is terrified of publicity." ""Princess of Parador in Our Midst"" "Yes, it's me." "Good morning, my dear." "Have you seen the papers?" "That unbelievable princess!" "My poor dear." "He's exaggerating." "A savage." "My heart goes out to you." "Thank you, my dear friend." "They say she's rich." "I hear she has the most beautiful jewelry." "Lucie must be upset." "Yes, she's beautiful." "But no woman can compare with you, my beauty." "A cannibal!" "She must have arrived naked!" "She's google-eyed, and that mouth!" "Have you seen her nose?" " So ordinary." " Not even pretty." "She's dreadful." "You're charming!" "Remember, Princess, tonight you'll have to dazzle everyone." "Why pretend I'm a princess?" "To make fools of those pretentious snobs." "But they'll always think I'm a wild animal." "Be a wild animal with wild animals." "Better a tigress than a frightened deer." "Remember the way they treated you at a certain picnic?" "Do it for me." "For you?" "Alright, I am a princess." "The Princess of Parador." "Is that near your country?" "Have you heard of her in India?" "I've been in Europe too long." "You can't know every one of your people." "I really wonder who this princess is." "To think that my husband goes out with her!" "Will he present her in society?" "Maybe in a circus." "To the opera!" "My compliments, my dear." "You, who detest high society and snobbery." "I was wrong." "Snobbery has its merits." "Life by the fireside is dull." "While adventure with new people, in new countries" "You've done wonders for me, My books are selling like crazy." "Come on, Princess!" "What's wrong with you?" "Leave me alone!" "Don't go to the races if you're so clumsy!" "It's alright." " It's the princess!" " You know her?" "This concludes our concert of Eastern music." "Now, the latest stock market prices." "Come in!" "You're not ready yet, Alwina?" "Remember, we're dining at the embassy tonight." " Going out again?" " You'd rather not?" " No." " Why?" "I need at least one evening to rest up." "Rest up then, I'll go by myself." "Good night." " Where to?" " Anywhere." "Where real people are having fun and saying and doing what they want." "Come on!" "Under the gray skies of gray cities" "That break our poor hearts" "Never a hope, never a joy" "Our souls believe their sorrows" "Let's close our eyes to erase it all" "And make the sky blue" "The endless expanse of the African sun" "Shines over the tropics" "Under the African sky" "Each moment seems better than anywhere else." "And for us, it's all desires, pleasures, in the enchanted land." "Its magic call" "Brings forth to our eyes, the games" "And the dances where love always creates rhythms full of fire." "A voice rises in me" "And tells me constantly" "You mustn't look for your dreams" "Far from the sky of your own land." "Under the African sky" "Each moment seems better than anywhere else" "And for us, it's all desires, pleasures, in the enchanted land." " You should have seen that dance!" " Really?" "A savage dance in a sailor's dive." "Ah, if everyone could have seen the princess dance!" "You just gave me an idea!" "Everyone must see it!" "I want the whole town to see her dance." "I want to make a fool of my husband." "We'll arrange it." "I'm sure the maharajah will help." "What's wrong?" "What's wrong?" "It's unimaginable!" "Her portrait in your house?" "Your princess leads a double life." "She has vulgar tastes." "Away from decent people, she behaves like a tart." "Why are you so secretive when people bring her up?" "Is it a secret?" "Perhaps her charm has also worked on me." " You say you love me" " You know it's so." "If you really love me, there's something you can do." "You'll throw a large party for me." "You'll invite the aristocrats, the princess, and my husband." "See if Alwina's ready." "The maharajah wants us to be punctual." "His party will be the big event of the season." " You want some brilliantine?" " What for?" "To grease up your pants." "Make sure the princess behaves well." "If she makes one mistake, we're sunk." "I want all of society to be at her feet." "My wife will be jealous and I'll take the opportunity to say," ""Madame, off to the conjugal suite."" "Are you ready, Princess?" "We're waiting!" "Alwina, you take my breath away!" "Listen, the princess is upstairs." "It's time for your mission." "I haven't introduced you, but I'm counting on you." "Here, have a drink." "Go on, drink!" "How can you resist that music?" "Come on, dance." "You know, like the other night." "Come on, dance!" "Leave me in peace!" " You love him?" " Yes." "Then you must return home, quickly." "Don't build anything with them." "I knew your secret that night at the opera." "I could have told them who you really are." "I enjoyed watching them... and watching you." "Go back to your country." " Not right away" " Yes." "Yes, on the contrary." "The sooner the better." " Go to your princess!" " And you, to the maharajah!" " He's not my lover!" " Oh, sure!" " Who do you think you are?" " You have some nerve!" " She's your mistress!" " She isn't!" "She is!" "You're a liar!" "My house has two kinds of windows." "Those facing the east, and those facing the west." "This one faces the west." "This one... faces the east." "Dar, I'm coming!" ""Dar, I'm coming!"" "And the smoke billows up." "What do you think of it?" "You wrote all that?" "Good work!" "You wrote the beginning." "Say, if Alwina really had gone to Europe, it might have happened differently." "We'll leave tonight." "I'll see my wife in eight days." "And the publisher will have a successful novel." "I'll call it, "Civilization."" "You're really going to Europe?" "What?" "Are you really going to Europe?" "Won't you take me along?" "Stay here." "You'll have more adventures than in my novel." "I'm leaving you my villa." "Stay here, under the blue sky, away from the snobs." ""LITERARY COLUMN" ""Tonight at Rysa Library," ""Max de Mirecourt will autograph his latest best-seller."" "Go on, sign." "Too bad Alwina isn't here to sign as well." "Alwina is better off where she is."