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Children

Boas noites

By Paula Carballeira

About this book

Xiana, the protagonist of “Boas noites”, does not have time to think, let alone to play or dream. And if she does not close her eyes at night, Pedro Chosco cannot do his job; that is, to keep her fears away…

The fast dialogues of this play, the originality of the topic, child stress, a contemporary topic addressed from tradition and fantasy, were reasons enough to grant Paula Carballeira the Manuel María Award for Children’s Theatre Plays organised by the IGAEM in 2006.

Book fragment

Xiana, Father, Mother.

Xiana is asleep. One can feel the peace and quiet. Suddenly, Mother and Father enter the room, switch on the lights, and open the blinds. They do not stop speaking.

Mother: Get up!
Father: It’s time.
Mother: It’s a beautiful day!
Father: A beautiful day you can’t waste sleeping.
Mother: Open your eyes.
Father: Wake up.
Mother: Breakfast is waiting.
Father: Your bath is ready
Mother: Up.
Father: Wake up.
Mother: Don’t be lazy.
Father: Get out of the bed.
Mother: Come on
Father: Up.
Mother: Wake up.
Father: It is such a beautiful day!
Mother: We cannot waste even one minute.
Father: Even one minute.
Mother: Even one second.
Father: One fraction of a second.
Mother: One fraction of a fraction of a second.
Father: Nothing at all.
Mother: Nothing at all.
Father: What, still like that?
Mother.: Come on.
Father: Up.
Mother: Wake up.
Father: What a lazy girl
Mother: What a girl.
Father: Get those those feet out of bed.
Mother: Those legs.
Father: That body.
Mother: Leave the pillow!
Father: Don’t grab de mattress!
Mother: Come out, Xiana.
Father: Out of bed, Xiana.
Xiana: I don’t want to.
Mother: Sorry?
Father: What?
Mother: I can’t believe this.
Father: It is incredible.
Mother: A girl who doesn’t want to enjoy her day.
Father: A girl who does not want to see the sun.
Xiana: A girl who doesn’t want to go to school.
Mother: Oh, school!
Father: That is not important.
Mother: There are plenty of other things you can do.
Father: Loads of things.