Legna!

English Libretto or Translation:

RODOLFO
Wood!

MARCELLO
Cigars!

COLLINE
Bordeaux!

RODOLFO
Wood!

MARCELLO
Bordeaux!

RODOLFO, MARCELLO, COLLINE
Fate has destined the wealth
of the fair for us.

SCHAUNARD
entering with an air of triumph and throwing a few coins on the floor
The Bank of France is in the red
on your account.

COLLINE
Pick 'em up! Pick 'em up!

MARCELLO
incredulously
They're pieces of tin!

SCHAUNARD
Are you deaf? Are you bleary?eyed?
showing him one of the coins
Who's this man?

RODOLFO
bowing
Louis?Phillipe!
I bow to my King.

RODOLFO, MARCELLO, SCHAUNARD, COLLINE
laying the coins on the table
Louis?Philippe is at our feet!

SCHAUNARD
Now I'll tell you; there's a fine
story to this gold,
or rather, silver.

MARCELLO
Let's warm up the stove!

COLLINE
It's suffered so much cold!

SCHAUNARD
An Englishman, a gentleman,
Lord, or my Lord whoever it was,
wanted a musician ...

MARCELLO
throwing Colline's bundle of books off the table
Away! . . .
Let’s lay the table!

SCHAUNARD
continuing his narrative
… Me, perhaps? I fly …

RODOLFO
Where's the tinder?

COLLINE
There.

MARCELLO
Here.

They make a big blaze in the stove

SCHAUNARD
... and present myself.
He accepts me, I ask him ...

COLLINE
Cold roast!

MARCELLO
Sweet pudding!

SCHAUNARD
… when do we start lessons?
seeing no one is attending
I present myself, he accepts me,
and I ask him: when do we
start lessons? He answers:
imitating the English accent
"Let's start! ... Look! "
And he points to a parrot
on the first floor, then adds:
“You play till that dies!”

RODOLFO
Ablaze ...
... is the room with splendour.

SCHAUNARD
And here's what happened: I played ...
... for three whole days ...

MARCELLO
lighting two candles and setting them on the table
Now the candles!

COLLINE
Sweet pudding!

SCHAUNARD
... Then I exercised my
masculine charm …
... I sweethearted the maid ...

MARCELLO
Do we eat without a table?cloth?

RODOLFO
taking a newspaper from his pocket
An idea!

MARCELLO, COLLINE
The "Constitutional!"

RODOLFO
spreading the paper on the table
An excellent …
… sheet. We eat, and devour …

SCHAUNARD
…I gave him parsley;…

RODOLFO
... the supplement!

SCHAUNARD
… Polly stretched his wings,
Polly opened his beak;
a scrap of parsley,
and like Socrates, he died!

COLLINE
Who?

SCHAUNARD
The Devil take the lot of you!
seeing the others about to start on the food
And now what are you doing?
No! These victuals
are in store
for the dark
days ahead.
putting everything in the cupboard
Dine at home on Christmas Eve
while the streets of the Latin Quarter
are festooned with sausages and tit?bits?
When the smell of fritters
pervades those old streets?
There, young girls are singing happily . . .

RODOLFO, MARCELLO, COLLINE
Christmas Eve!

SCHAUNARD
... and each has a student
for echo!
Let's observe tradition, gentlemen:
we'll drink at home, but let's eat out!