PygmalionAct 1Covent Garden at 11.15 pm Torrents of heavy summer ram. Cab whistles blowing frantically in all directions. Pedestrians running for shelter into the market and under the portico of Si. PauLs Church. where there are already several people. They are all peering our gloomily ai ihe rain, except one man with his hack turned io the rest, who seems wholly preoccupied with a notebook in which he is wriiing busily. The church clock strikes the first qitaner.A young man of twenty, in evening dress. opens his umbrella and dashes off onio ihe street to stop a passing tax。
but comes imo collision with a flower pirL who is hurrying in for shelter, knocking her basket out of her hands. A blinding flash of lighting, followed instantly by a rattling peal of ihimder. orchestrates rhe incidem. JTHE FLOWER GIRL:Nah then, look wh' y* gowin. deah.The YOUNG MAN:Sorry Ihe rushes off，THE FLOWER GIRL:(picking up her scattered flowers and replacing ihem in the basket] Thcrcs nwnners f yer! Te-oo banches o voylcts trod into the niad. (She sits down on the plimh of ihe column, sorting her flowers, on the righi of an old lady. She is not at all an attraciive person. She is perhaps eighteen, perhaps twenty, hardly older She wears a little sailor hat of black straw that has long been exposed to ihe dust and soot of London and has seldom if ever been brushed. Her hair needs washing rather badly: its mousy color can hardly be natural. She wears a shoddy black coal that reaches nearly to her knees and is shaped to her waist. She has a brown skirt with a coarse apron. Her bools are much ihe worse for wear. She is no doubt as clean as she can afford to be： but compared to ihe ladies she is veiy dirty. Her features are no worse than I heirs: but their condition leaves something to be desired; and she needs the services of a den fist/.{An elderly gentleman of the amiable military type rushes into shelter, and closes a dripping umbrella. He is in the same plighi as Freddy, very' wet about rhe ankles. He is in evening dress, with a light overcoal. He takes the place left vacant by ihe daughters reiiremenl. /THE GENTLEMAN:Phew!The OLD LADY:(io the gentleman] Oh. sir, is there any sign of its stopping?THE GENTLEMAN:Pm afraid not. It started worse than ever about two minutes ago. [He goes to the plimh beside the flower girl; puts up his foot on it; and stoops to turn down his trouser ends].THE OLD LADY:Oh, dear! [She retires sadly I.THE FLOWER GIRL:/taking advantage of the military ^entlenianfs proximity lo establish friendly relations with him]. If it's worse it's a sign its nearly over. So cheer up. Captain: and buy a flower off a poor girl.THE GENTLEMAN:I'm sorry, I haven't any change.THE FLOWER GIRL:I can give you change. Captain.THE GENTLEMAN:For a sovereign? I've nothing less.THE FLOWER GIRL:Garn! Oh do buy a flower off inc. Captain. I can change half-a-crown. Take this for tuppence.THE GENTLEMAN:Now don't be troublesome: there's a good girl. [Trying his pockets/1 really haven t any change—Stop: here's three hapcncc. if that's any use to you {he retreats to lhe other pillarj.THE FLOWER GIRL:[disappoinied. bin thinking three halfpence belter than nothing/ Thank you. sir.THE BYSTANDER A [a vigilant, eccentric middle-aged man in a lon^ raining jacket]: (to the girl} You be careful: give him a flower for it. There's a man here behind taking down every word you re saying. fAll mrn io the man who is taking noiesj.THE FLOWER GIRL:[sprin^infi up terrified] I ain't done nothing wrong by speaking to the gentleman. I ve a right to sell flowers if 1 keep off the kerb. [Hysiericallyjl*m a respectable girl: so help me, I never spoke to him except to ask him to buy a Hower off me. [General hubbub, mostly sympathetic to the flower girL hut deprecanng her excessive sensibility. Ches of Don't start hollerm. Who's hurting you? Nobody's going io touch you. V/haCs the good of fussing? Steady on. Easy, easy9 etc., come from lhe elderly staid spectators, who pal her comforiinfily. Less patient ones hid her shut her head, or ask her roughly what is wrong with her. A remoter group, not knowing what the matter is. crowd in and increase the noise with question and answer: Wh(it9s rhe row? Whai she do? Where is he? A tec taking her down. What! him? Yes: him over there: Took money off the gentleman, etc. The /lower girL distrau^hi and mobbed, breaks through iheni to the fjentleinan, crying mildly] Oh. sir, don't let him charge me. You dunno what it means to n»e. They'll take away my character and drive me on the streets for speaking to gentlemen. They—THE NOTE TAKER:[coming forward on her right, lhe rest crowding after him] There, there, there, there! Who's hurting you, you silly girl? What do you take me for?THE FLOWER GIRL:[still hysterical J I take my Bible oath I never said a word—THE NOTE TAKER:I overbearing hut good-hiunored] Oh. shut up. shut up. Do I look like a policema。