The Miracle Worker Read Online Free PDF

hand to her face to shake her head no, then tries to spell to her, HELEN slaps at ANNIE’S face. ANNIE grasps HELEN by both arms, and swings her into a chair, holding her pinned there, kicking, while glasses, doll, bonnet fly in various directions. JAMES laughs.)
    JAMES: She wants her doll back.
    ANNIE: When she spells it.
    JAMES: Spell, she doesn’t know the thing has a name, even.
    ANNIE: Of course not, who expects her to, now? All I want is her fingers to learn the letters.
    JAMES: Won’t mean anything to her.
    ( ANNIE gives him a look. She then tries to form HELEN’S fingers into the letters, but HELEN swings a haymaker instead, which ANNIE barely ducks, at once pinning her down again.)
    Doesn’t like that alphabet, Miss Sullivan. You invent it yourself?
    ( HELEN is now in a rage, fighting tooth and nail to get out of the chair, and ANNIE answers while struggling and dodging her kicks.)
    ANNIE: Spanish monks under a—vow of silence. Which I wish you’d take!
    (And suddenly releasing HELEN’S hands, she comes and shuts the door in JAMES’S face. HELEN drops to the floor, groping around for the doll. ANNIE looks around desperately, sees her purse on the bed, rummages in it, and comes up with a battered piece of cake wrapped in newspaper; with her foot she moves the doll deftly out of the way of HELEN’S groping, and going on her knee she lets HELEN smell the cake. When HELEN grabs for it, ANNIE removes the cake and spells quickly into the reaching hand.)
    Cake. From Washington up north, it’s the best I can do.
    ( HELEN’S hand waits, baffled. ANNIE repeats it.)
    C, a, k, e. Do what my fingers do, never mind what it means.
    (She touches the cake briefly to HELEN’S nose, pats her hand, presents her own hand. HELEN spells the letters rapidly back. ANNIE pats her hand enthusiastically, and gives her the cake; HELEN crams it into her mouth with both hands. ANNIE watches her, with humor.)
    Get it down fast, maybe I’ll steal that back too. Now.
    (She takes the doll, touches it to HELEN’S nose, and spells again into her hand.)
    D, o, l, l. Think it over.
    ( HELEN thinks it over, while ANNIE presents her own hand. Then HELEN spells three letters. ANNIE waits a second, then completes the word for HELEN in her palm.)
    L.
    (She hands over the doll, and HELEN gets a good grip on its leg.)
    Imitate now, understand later. End of the first les—
    (She never finishes, because HELEN swings the doll with a furious energy, it hits ANNIE squarely in the face, and she falls back with a cry of pain, her knuckles up to her mouth. HELEN waits, tensed for further combat. When ANNIE lowers her knuckles she looks at blood on them;she works her lips, gets to her feet, finds the mirror, and bares her teeth at herself. Now she is furious herself.)
    You little wretch, no one’s taught you any manners? I’ll—
    (But rounding from the mirror she sees the door slam, HELEN and the doll are on the outside, and HELEN is turning the key in the lock. ANNIE darts over, to pull the knob, the door is locked fast. She yanks it again.)
    Helen! Helen, let me out of—
    (She bats her brow at the folly of speaking, but JAMES, now downstairs, hears her and turns to see HELEN with the key and doll groping her way down the steps, JAMES takes in the whole situation, makes a move to intercept HELEN, but then changes his mind, lets her pass, and amusedly follows her out onto the porch. Upstairs ANNIE meanwhile rattles the knob, kneels, peers through the keyhole, gets up. She goes to the window, looks down, frowns. JAMES from the yard sings gaily up to her:)
    JAMES:
    Buffalo girl, are you coming out tonight,
    Coming out tonight,
    Coming out—
    (He drifts back into the house. ANNIE takes a handkerchief, nurses her mouth, stands in the middle of the room, staring at door and window in turn, and so catches sight of herself in the mirror, her cheek scratched, her hair dishevelled, her handkerchief