[It is night, and we are in a child’s crib, looking up: what we see are the crib railings and three faces in lamplight, looking down. They have been through a long vigil, it shows in their tired eyes and disarranged clothing. One is a gentlewoman in her twenties with a kindly and forbearing face, KATE KELLER; the second is a dry elderly DOCTOR, stethoscope at neck, thermometer in fingers; the third is a dignified gentleman in his forties with chin whiskers, CAPTAIN ARTHUR KELLER. Their dress is that of 1880, and their voices are southern. The KELLERS’ faces are drawn and worried, until the DOCTOR speaks.]
DOCTOR
[KATE closes her eyes.]
You’re lucky, Captain Keller. Tell you now, I thought she wouldn’t.
KELLER
DOCTOR
[He removes his stethoscope, his face leaves the railing; we continue to hear him, but see KELLER’s hand across the crib take and squeeze KATE’s.]
You run an editorial in that paper of yours, Captain Keller, wonders of modern medicine, we may not know what we’re curing but we cure it. Well, call it acute congestion of the stomach and brain.
[KELLER moves after the DOCTOR, we hear them off-camera; we see only KATE’s tearfully happy face hovering over us, her hand adjusting the blanket.]
KELLER
DOCTOR [simultaneously]
KELLER
DOCTOR
[But throughout, their voices have been dying out of focus, and the image of KATE’s face has begun to swim. Music steals in; we hear the music without distortion, but light and sound otherwise are failing. KATE’s serene face smiles down with love, blurring in a halo of light, then is a spot, then is gone. Darkness.]
[Cut to CAPTAIN KELLER standing in his yard, inside the gate, lamp in hand, the lighted house behind him; we hear, but do not see the DOCTOR.]
DOCTOR
KELLER [with weight]
[The DOCTOR clicks a giddy-yap, we hear the clop of hoofs and roll of wheels. KELLER’s eyes follow the unseen buggy out of sight, then lift to the stars, thanking them too. Suddenly from the house behind him comes a knifing scream; music out.]
[Cut to KATE’s face again, not from the baby’s eyes, but across the crib, and her look is terrible; she chokes down a second scream. KELLER hurries in to her, the lamp aloft.]
KELLER
KATE
[She makes a pass with her hand in the crib, at the unseen child’s face.]
KELLER
KATE
[She takes the lamp from him, moves it before the child’s face.]
She can’t see!
KELLER [hoarsely]
KATE
KELLER
KATE
KELLER
[His face has something like fury in it, crying the child’s name; KATE almost fainting takes up the baby’s hand, pressing it to her mouth to stop her own cry. We go close to her lips, kissing the baby’s hand. Dissolve on lips and hand.]
Reprinted with the permission of Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster, from THE MIRACLE WORKER by William Gibson. Copyright © 1956, 1957 William Gibson. Copyright © 1959, 1960 Tamarack Productions, Ltd., and George S. Klein and Leo Garel as trustees under three separate deeds of trust.
A. baby’s temperature.
B. faces of the characters.
C. doctor’s voice.
D. ages of the characters.
A. anxiety
B. relief
C. thankfulness
D. hostility
A. content.
B. smart.
C. strong.
D. lucky.
A. angry.
B. confused.
C. horrified.
D. injured.
A. conceited
B. confident
C. nervous
D. soft-spoken
A. She’ll live.
B. Kate closes her eyes.
C. You’re lucky, Captain Keller.
D. Tell you now, I thought she wouldn’t.
A. Love is the best solution for all problems.
B. Miracles can happen.
C. Happiness can change to grief in an instant.
D. Medical opinion can usually be trusted.