The Princess Bride Page #14

WESTLEY:

Death cannot stop true love. All

it can do is delay it for a while.

BUTTERCUP:

I will never doubt again.

WESTLEY:

There will never be a need.

And now, they begin to kiss; it's a tender kiss, tender and

loving and gentle and --

THE KID:

(off-screen)

Oh no. No, please.

CUT TO:

THE KID'S BEDROOM

GRANDFATHER:

What is it? What's the matter?

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56.

THE KID:

They're kissing again, do we have

to hear the kissing part?

GRANDFATHER:

Someday, you may not mind so much.

THE KID:

Skip on to the Fire Swamp -- that

sounded good.

GRANDFATHER:

Oh. You're sick, I'll humor you.

(he picks up the book again)

So now, where were we here? Yeah,

yeah, yeah. Ah. Oh. Okay. Westley

and Buttercup raced along the

ravine floor.

CUT TO:

WESTLEY AND BUTTERCUP

racing along the ravine floor. Westley glances up.

CUT TO:

HUMPERDINCK AND HIS MEN

perched on top of the cliff, looking down at Westley and

Buttercup.

CUT TO:

WESTLEY:

WESTLEY:

Ha. Your pig fiance is too late.

A few more steps and we'll be

safe in the Fire Swamp.

CUT TO:

BUTTERCUP:

and Westley has tried to say it with Chevalier-like

nonchalance, but she ain't buying.

BUTTERCUP:

We'll never survive.

WESTLEY:

Nonsense -- you're only saying

that because no one ever has.

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57.

As they race off, leaving Humperdinck and his men stranded,

defeated.

CUT TO:

THE FIRE SWAMP:

And it really doesn't look any worse than any other moist,

sulphurous, infernal horror you might run across. Great

trees block the sun.

CUT TO:

WESTLEY AND BUTTERCUP

Buttercup is clearly panicked and maybe Westley is too, but

he moves jauntily along, sword in hand.

WESTLEY:

It's not that bad. I'm not saying

I'd like to build a summer home

here, but the trees are actually

quite lovely.

THE GIANT TREES, thick and black-green, look ominous as hell

and they shield all but intermittent stripes of sun.

A GIANT SPURT OF FLAME leaps up, preceded by a slight

popping sound, and this particular spurt of flame misses

Westley, but Buttercup is suddenly onfire; at least the

lower half of her is and --

CUT TO:

WESTLEY:

instantly forcing Buttercup to sit, gathering her flaming

hem in his hands, doing his best to suffocate the fire. This

isn't all that easy and it causes him a bit of grief, but he

does his best to sound as jaunty as before.

WESTLEY:

Well now, that was an adventure.

He examines where the flames burst over her.

WESTLEY:

Singed a bit, were you?

BUTTERCUP:

(She wasn't and she

shakes her head "no")

You?

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58.

He was, and he shakes his head "no." As he pulls her to her

feet --

CUT TO:

THE SWAMP FLOOR:

-- and as there's another popping sound,

CUT TO:

WESTLEY GRABBING BUTTERCUP

pulling her aside to safety as another great spun of flame

suddenly shoots up.

WESTLEY:

Well, one thing I will say. The

Fire Swamp certainly does keep

you on your toes.

Buttercup is frozen with fear. He takes her hand, gently

leads her forward as we-

CUT TO:

THE TWO OF THEM:

moving slowly along through a particularly dangerous part of

the Fire Swamp.

It's later now, the sun slants down at a slightly different

angle.

WESTLEY:

(happily)

This will all soon be but a happy

memory because Roberts' ship

"Revenge" is anchored at the far

end. And I, as you know, am

Roberts.

BUTTERCUP:

But how is that possible, since

he's been marauding twenty years

and you only left me five years

ago?

WESTLEY:

I myself am often surprised at

life's little quirks.

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59.

There is again a popping sound, then a huge spurt of flame.

Westley simply picks up Buttercup as they walk along, moves

her out of danger, puts her back down, goes right on talking

without missing a beat.

WESTLEY:

You see, what I told you before

about saying "please" was true.

It intrigued Roberts, as did my

descriptions of your beauty.

CUT TO:

SOME HIDEOUS VINES --

they look like they could be flesh eating. Westley takes his

sword, slices a path for them to follow. The vines groan as

they fall. He's been chatting away the entire time.

WESTLEY:

Finally, Roberts decided something.

He said, "All right, Westley,

I've never had a valet. You can

try it for tonight. I'll most

likely kill you in the morning."

Three years he said that. "Good

night, Westley. Good work. Sleep

well. I'll most likely kill you

in the morning." It was a fine

time for me. I was learning to

fence, to fight, anything anyone

would teach me. And Roberts and I

eventually became friends. And

then it happened.

BUTTERCUP:

What? -- go on --

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