The Cider House Rules Page #5

INT. GIRLS' DIVISION - NIGHT

In the bunk room again, with Edna and the girls.

EDNA:

"Then in Thy mercy grant us save

lodging, and holy rest, and peace at

the last."

ALL THE GIRLS:

Amen! Amen! Amen!

INT. BOYS' DIVISION - NIGHT

Dr. Larch is reading from Oliver Twist--the death scene of

Bill Sike's dog. The boys listen in horror in their beds.

LARCH:

"A dog, which had lain concealed

till now, ran backwards and forwards

on the parapet with a dismal howl,

and collecting himself for a spring,

jumped for the dead man's shoulders."

Homer enters; he walks quietly to his bed in the far corner

of the room, where he starts to undress.

LARCH:

"Missing his aim, he fell into a

ditch, turning completely over as he

went; and striking his head against

a stone, dashed his brains out.

Larch turns out the lights. From the open doorway to the

hall, Larch delivers his nightly benediction.

LARCH:

Good night, you Princes of Maine!

You Kings of New England!

Larch closes the door, leaving them in the semi-darkness.

One young boy runs into Homer's bed, nervously giggling.

FUZZY:

(in his breathing

tent)

Why does Dr. Larch *do* tht every

night?

CURLY:

(about seven)

Maybe to scare us...

COPPERFIELD:

(about eleven)

No, you jerk.

STEERFORTH:

(about nine)

Dr. Larch *loves* us!

FUZZY:

But why does he do *that*?

BUSTER:

He does it because we like it.

The boys silently agree, Homer among them.

EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - EARLY MORNING

The girls, led by Mary Agnes, round a corner of the orphanage,

towing a sled piled high with snowballs.

MARY AGNES:

Buster is mine. You two get

Copperfield and Curly. Nobody touches

Fuzzy.

They shriek as the boys suddenly surprise them. Buster throws

two hard snowballs that hit Mary Agnes and CLARA (eight or

nine) before Mary Agnes overwhelms him and repeatedly sticks

his head in the snow. Copperfield, terrified of Mary Agnes,

escapes. Curly misses, then tips over the sled of snowballs

as Clara and the adorable HAZEL (five or six) throw him to

the ground. Fuzzy drops his one snowball; he runs aimlessly

in circles, coughing, as Nurse Edna explodes from a door of

the orphanage.

EDNA:

Stop it! No fighting! *Share* the

snowballs!

BUSTER:

(mouth full of snow)

They're *our* snowballs! They *stole*

them!

MARY AGNES:

They attacked us--just like the Japs!

Fuzzy coughs and wheezes, trying to catch his breath.

EDNA:

Listen to you, Fuzzy! You've been

running. You get to the shower!

A NEW COUPLE comes up the hill. The orphans stop and stare,

brushing snow off themselves, struggling to make themselves

look presentable. Curly is desperate to look his best. Mary

Agnes doesn't bother to pretty herself. She whispers to Clara

and Hazel.

MARY AGNES:

I know the type--they'll take one of

the babies.

INT. DINING HALL - MORNING

The children are eating breakfast as the would-be parents

walk around the tables, looking over the assembled orphans.

Curly works on his table manners; he forks and eats a piece

of pancake with elegance. Angela and Edna try to make the

couple slow down by the older children, but the couple stop

and stare at the adorable Hazel.

INT. BABY ROOM - MORNING

Larch and Homer are examining the babies. The doctors are

checking the babies' grips, their eyes, ears, and throats.

Angela appears in the doorway.

ANGELA:

Wilbur, the adopting couple is waiting

in your office.

LARCH:

(irritated)

Life is waiting.

Angela disappears. Larch looks at the next baby's record

(attached to the bed).

LARCH:

Where's the name sheet?

HOMER:

Nobody's named this one yet.

LARCH:

It's my turn!

Homer is tired of this game. Larch touches the child's

forehead with his index finger.

LARCH:

Henceforth you shall be... Little

Dorrit!

The baby starts to cry.

HOMER:

He doesn't like it.

(looks at the record)

He's a boy, That's why.

LARCH:

Can't a boy be a Dorrit?

HOMER:

I don't think so.

LARCH:

You do it then.

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