3 h 43 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 43 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the secret of happiness waits beyond a door guarded by Night?
On Christmas Eve, Tyltyl and Mytyl lie in a woodcutter's cottage, listening to a party in the rich house across the way. Then the Fairy Bérylune sends them to find the Blue Bird, said to hold the secret of happiness. Hoping to help a sick child, they begin a search through strange lands on a single magical night.
In Maurice Maeterlinck's fairy play in six acts, ordinary things wake and become companions. Light guides the children, Tylo the Dog offers devoted friendship, and Tylette the Cat hides her own plans. From the Land of Memory to the palace of Night and a haunted forest, each place gives the search for happiness a different shape.
What you’ll discover
- A household wakes up Meet Bread, Sugar, Fire and Water as familiar things step into a world of wonders.
- Two children facing wonder Follow brave Tyltyl and cautious Mytyl as they venture together through enchanted lands.
- Memory opens a door Visit the children's grandparents in a misty place where remembrance wakes the sleeping dead.
- Secrets behind great doors Enter Night's shadowy palace, where a tired queen guards the secrets of the world.
- Joys large and small Explore a palace of Happiness where loud Luxuries feast among many kinds of joy.
Who will love it
You will love this play if you enjoy fairy tales with sharp humour, dream journeys, talking animals and quiet questions about memory, love and where happiness lives.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The search begins by looking outward
- The diamond reveals a hidden life
- Love and self interest divide the companions
- Memory wakes those who are loved
- Dream birds cannot survive the daylight
- The Dog proves his loyalty in danger
- Happiness waits beneath the display of luxury
- Each life brings something into the world
- Small scenes reveal what people overlook
Who’s who
- TyltylA brave, kind woodcutter's son who gets a magic diamond hat and sets out to find the Blue Bird for a sick girl.
- MytylTyltyl's little sister, who is easily frightened but follows her brother everywhere and has a good heart.
- LightA woman of shining veils who guides the children, gathers the Things and protects Man, though she must keep part of herself hidden.
- The Fairy BéryluneA bad-tempered old fairy who asks for the Blue Bird so her little girl, who is very ill, can be happy.
- Tylô the DogThe children's loyal dog, who becomes a talking man with a bulldog's face and loves Tyltyl with all his heart.
- Tylette the CatA clever, polite cat who plots to keep the Blue Bird hidden so that Animals and Things stay free of Man.
- BreadA pompous loaf in a pasha's robe who loves making speeches and carries the cage for the Blue Bird.
- NightThe old mother of Sleep, who guards the secrets, sicknesses and terrors of the world in her dark palace.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print hardcover
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The Blue Bird: A Fairy Play in Six Acts
by Maurice Maeterlinck · 1909
Two poor children set out on Christmas night to find a blue bird for a sick fairy's daughter.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
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In short
Two children stand on a stool at a cottage window on Christmas Eve and watch rich children eat cakes they will never taste. Then a knock comes, and a little old woman asks them to find a blue bird that could cure a sick girl.
The Blue Bird: A Fairy Play in Six Acts at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 5 min1 h 40 min fast, 2 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 30,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1909by Maurice Maeterlinck
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A fairy asks two poor children for a bird
The play opens in a woodcutter's cottage on Christmas Eve. Tyltyl and Mytyl lie in their little beds. Father Christmas will not visit this year, so the children open the shutters and look across at the rich children's party.
They see a tree hung with golden toys and a table piled with cakes. Mytyl asks why the rich children do not eat at once, and Tyltyl says they are not hungry. The two stamp on the stool for joy and pretend to eat twelve cakes.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1909
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Maeterlinck, Maurice. The Blue Bird: A Fairy Play in Six Acts. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-blue-bird-a-fairy-play-in-six-acts.
Maeterlinck, M. (2026). The blue bird: A fairy play in six acts. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-blue-bird-a-fairy-play-in-six-acts (Original work published 1909)
Maeterlinck, Maurice. The Blue Bird: A Fairy Play in Six Acts. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-blue-bird-a-fairy-play-in-six-acts.
@book{maeterlinck2026blue,
author = {Maeterlinck, Maurice},
title = {The Blue Bird: A Fairy Play in Six Acts},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-blue-bird-a-fairy-play-in-six-acts},
note = {First published 1909}
}
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What is The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck about?
Two poor children, Tyltyl and Mytyl, are sent on Christmas night to find a blue bird that will make a sick girl happy. Their search takes them through memory, night, a forest and the kingdom of the unborn.
What does the Blue Bird symbolize in the play?
The Blue Bird stands for happiness and the secret of life. The children chase it through many strange places, and every place teaches them something about where happiness may be found and how to recognize it.
Who are Tylô and Tylette, and what do the Dog and Cat stand for?
Tylô is the family dog and Tylette is the family cat. When the diamond gives them speech, the Dog shows pure, loving loyalty, and the Cat shows cunning, self-interest and sweet-talking disloyalty to the children.
The author
Maurice Maeterlinck
1862–1949 · Belgian playwright and essayist
Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949) was a Belgian playwright and essayist born in Ghent. He wrote in French and later lived in France, where he died in Nice. His works include The Treasure of the Humble (1896), The Life of the Bee (1901), and the play The Blue Bird (1908).
More by Maurice Maeterlinck
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