William Shakespeare's The Phantom Menace by Ian Doescher Read Free Book Online Page B

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    Go forth, discerning probes, and seek them out—
    Of my sure victory I have no doubt.
    [Exit .

SCENE 6.
    The podracing grounds at Mos Espa on the planet Tatooine .
    Enter Q UI -G ON J INN , J AR J AR B INKS , and W ATTO .
    WATTO
    I would your spaceship see the moment this
    Fast race hath been competed. Understand?
    QUI-GON
    Pray, patience, bluish friend. Thy winnings shall
    Be thine before the double sun hath set,
    And we shall be far gone from this grim place.
    WATTO
    Unless your ship doth then belong to me.
    I warn you, ply no trickstery on me.
    QUI-GON
    Thou thinkest Anakin shall not prevail?
    WATTO Mistake me not: the boy is talented
    And in him I’ve a wealth of conference.
    The boy, indeed, is credit to your race.
    JAR JAR
    [ aside: ] ’Tis e’er a double-sided compliment.
    WATTO And yet, methinks, Sebulba shall be first.
    QUI-GON
    O wherefore dost thou think it shall be so?
    WATTO
    â€™Tis but the odds: Sebulba ever wins.
    In expedition of his victory
    I’ve wager’d all my riches. He’ll not fail.
    QUI-GON
    Thy wager shall be mine, if thou dost wish
    To wager more with assets than with words.
    WATTO
    Eh?
    QUI-GON
    â€”I shall wager my new racing pod
    Against the boy and his kind mother, too.
    If thou dost win, thou hast the podracer,
    If I do win, their lives are in my hand.
    WATTO Ha ha, you jest! No pod hath equal worth
    As two hardworking, loyal human slaves.
    QUI-GON
    Thou hast it right. Thus wager but the boy.
    WATTO
    We shall let that old weaver, Fate, decide.
    A chance cube doth reside within my pouch.
    If blue appears, your sky is clear: the boy.
    But if red shows, the other goes: his mother.
    [Watto throws the chance cube .
Qui-Gon uses the Force to make it land on blue .
    You have prevail’d in this, outlander, aye,
    But shall not win the race. Thus, little doth
    This wager make a whit of diffidence.
    Enter A NAKIN S KYWALKER , P ADMÉ , S HMI S KYWALKER , R2-D2, C-3PO, and K ITSTER .
    O, fie! [ To Anakin: ] Bonapa keesa pateeso.
    Buki chanaga o wanna meetee
    Chopodd, eh? Ha ha!
    [Exit Watto .
    ANAKIN
    â€”“Your friend here should cease
    His betting lest anon I own him, too.”
    What meaning’s in these enigmatic words?
    QUI-GON
    I shall tell thee another time. [ To Shmi: ] Good morn!
    R2-D2
    Beep, meep, beep, squeak, beep, whistle, whistle, hoo!
    C-3PO
    Space travel soundeth perilous, indeed.
    R2-D2
    Meep, meep, beep, nee, ahh, squeak.
    C-3PO
    â€”I tell thee true,
    They never shall convince me to embark
    Upon a starship, nay! Were droids suppos’d
    To fly, the maker surely would have giv’n
    Us wings to do so. Nay, no flier I!
    KITSTER
    O Anakin, ’tis wondrous thou shalt race.
    I’ve ev’ry confidence in thy success
    And certain am thou shalt do it this time.
    PADMÉ
    I pray, what feat shall Anakin perform?
    KITSTER
    To finish th’race.
    PADMÉ
    [ to Anakin: ] —Thou ne’er hast won a race?
    ANAKIN
    â€™Tis possible I ne’er have done so. Nay.
    PADMÉ
    Yet finish’d e’en the course?
    ANAKIN
    â€”Good Kitster hath
    Foreseen aright, my lady: this shall be
    The day I see the end of the podrace.
    PADMÉ
    Aye, so fear I.
    QUI-GON
    â€”Thou wilt have swift success.
    Now go ye and prepare, the race begins!
    [Exeunt Anakin, Padmé, Jar Jar, Shmi, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Kitster .
    O Force, in battle steel this soldier’s heart.
    Give unto Anakin the strength he doth
    Require to make a goodly run today.
    Our hopes all rest upon this worthy lad,
    Who in a time but short hath made his mark
    Upon our story—yea, upon our souls.
    Whate’er befalls, our fate is now with his
    One and the same, fast tether’d life to life.
    Thus rise, O Force, and be his constant stay:
    When he doth ride, make his reflexes swift,
    When he meets obstacles, guide then his hand,
    When he doth need quick thinking, be his mind,
    When he is challeng’d, swell his bravery,
    And in the end, grant him—and