The Princess Bride


Opening Scene

[In the opening scene, a young boy is sick in his bed, playing a video game]
[His Mother enters]

Mother:  [to her sick little boy] Hi Honey.
Kid: [mumbles quietly] Hi Mom.
Mother: You feeling any better?
Kid:  A little bit.
Mother: Guess what?
Kid: What?
Mother: Your Grandfather is here.
Kid: [pleading] Mom, can't you tell him I'm sick...
Mother: You're sick? That's why he's here.
Kid: [distressed] He'll pinch my cheeks....I hate that!
Mother: Maybe he won't...

[Enter the kid's Grandfather, also NARRATOR of The Princess Bride]

Grandfather: [entering the room] Heyyyyy....How's the sick? Huh? [pinching the
	kids cheek]

Mother:  I think I'll leave you two pals alone.
Grandfather: I brought you a special present.
Kid: [excitedly] What is it?
Grandfather: Open it up.
Kid: [opening the gift] A book?
Grandfather: That's right, when I was your age, television was called books; And
	this is a special book.  It was the book my father used to read to me
	when I was sick and I used to read it to your father...and today, I'm
	gonna read it to you.
Kid: [less interested] Does it got any sports in it?
Grandfather:  Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants,
	monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles.
Kid:  It doesn't sound too bad.  I'll try and stay awake.
Grandfather: Oh, well, thank you very much.  That's very nice of you.  Your vote
	of confidence is overwhelming.	Oh..alright..The Princess Bride by
	S.Morgan Stern, Chapter 1.


[From here on, the Grandfather will be known as the Narrator]


Narrator:  Buttercup was raised on a small farm in the country of Florin.  Her
	favorite past-times were riding her horse and tormenting the farm boy
	that worked there.  His name was Westley.  But she never called him
	that.  Isn't that a wonderful beginning?

Kid:  [with no enthusiasm] Yeah..it's really good.

Narrator:  Nothing gave Buttercup as much pleasure as ordering Westley around.

Buttercup:  Farmboy, varnish my horse's saddle.  I want to see my face shining
	in it by morning.
Westley:  As you Wish.

Narrator:  'As you wish' was all he ever said to her.

Buttercup:  [holding two empty pails] Farmboy, fill these with water....please?
Westley:  As you wish.

Narrator:  That day she was amazed to discover that when he was saying 'as you
	wish,' what he meant was,  'I love you.'  And even more amazing was the
	day she realized she truly loved him back.

Buttercup:  Farmboy, fetch me that pitcher.
Westley:  [taking the pitcher and whispering]  As you wish....

Kid:  [interrupting the story]  Hold it! Hold it! What is this? Are you trying
	to trick me? Where's the sports? Is this a kissing book?
Grandfather:  Wait, just wait.
Kid:  Well when does it get good?
Grandfather:  Keep your shirt on and let me read.

Narrator:  Westley had no money for marriage so he packed his few belongings
	and left the farm to seek his fortune across the sea.  It was a very
	emotional time for Buttercup.

Kid:  I don't believe this!

Buttercup:  [crying]  I'm afraid I'll never see you again...
Westley:  Of course you will.
Buttercup:  But what if something happens to you?
Westley:  Hear this now, I will always come for you.
Buttercup:  But how can you be sure?
Westley:  This is true love.  You think this happens every day? [They kiss and
	he leaves]

Narrator:  Westley didn't reach his destination.  His ship was attacked by the
	Dread Pirate Roberts, who never left captives alive. When Buttercup got
	the news that Westley was murdered...

Kid:  [interrupting]  Murdered by pirates is good!

Narrator:  [continuing]  She went into her room and shut the door, and for days
	she neither slept nor ate.

Buttercup:  I will never love again.

Scene 2

Narrator:  Five years later the main square of Florin City was filled as never
	before to hear the announcement of the Great Prince Humperdinck's bride
	to be.

Humperdink: [Trumpets blaring]  My people! A month from now, our country will
	have its 500th Anniversary.  On that sundown I shall marry a lady who
	was once a commoner like yourselves.  But perhaps you will not find her
	common now.  Would you like to meet her?!
Crowd:  [echoing]  Yes!!!
Humperdink:  My people, the Princess Buttercup!

Narrator:  Buttercup's emptiness consumed her.  Although the law of the land
	gave Humperdinck the right to choose his bride, she did not love him.
	Despite Humperdinck's reassurance that she would grow to love him, the
	only joy she found was in her daily ride.

[The scene fades to Buttercup riding her horse the next morning]
[Enter Vizzini, A Spaniard, and a Giant]

Vizzini: [halting Buttercup]  A word my lady?  ...We are but poor lost circus
	performers. Is there a village nearby?
Buttercup:  There is nothing nearby.  Not for miles.
Vizzini:  Then there will be no one to hear you scream...

[The Giant quickly grabs the princess by the neck, rendering her unconscious.
They take the princess to their ship.]

Spaniard [Inigo Montoya]: What is that you're ripping?
Vizzini:  It's fabric from the uniform of any army officer of Guilder!
Giant [Fezzik]:  Who is Guilder?
Vizzini:  The country across the sea!  The sworn enemy of Florin!

[Vizzini  attaches the cloth to Buttercup's horse]

Vizzini: Go!!! Once the horse reaches the castle, the fabric will make the
	prince suspect that the Guilderians have abducted his love.  When he
	finds her body dead on the Guilder frontier his suspicions will be
	totally confirmed.
Fezzik:  You never said anything about killing anyone?!
Vizzini:  [angrily] I hired you to help me start a war.  It's a prestigious line
	of work with a long and glorious tradition!
Fezzik:  I just don't think it's right...killing an innocent girl.
Vizzini:  Am I going mad, or did the word 'think? escape your lips?!! You were
	not hired for your brains you hippo-britanic land mass!!
Inigo:	[interrupting] I agree with Fezzik.
Vizzini:  Oh, the sod has spoken! What happens to her is not truly your concern.
	I will kill her!  And remember this, never forget this; [yelling] When I
	found you, you were so slobbering drunk, you couldn't buy brandy!!!
	[Turning to Fezzik]  And you! Friendless, brainless, helpless,
	hopeless!! Do you want me to send you to where you were? Unemployed, in
	Greenland!!

[Vizzini walks away, angered, and sets the ship free]

Inigo:  Vizzini, he can...fuss.
Fezzik:  Fuss, fuss, I think he likes to scream at us.
Inigo:  Probably he means no...harm.
Fezzik:  He's very very short on...charm.
Inigo:  You have a great gift for rhyme.
Fezzik:  Yes, yes, some of the time.
Vizzini: [overhearing Fezzik] Enough of that!
Inigo:  Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?
Fezzik:  If there are, we all be dead.
Vizzini:  No more rhymes now, I mean it!
Fezzik:  Anybody want a peanut?
Vizzini:  Aauuuggghhhhh!!!"!!!

Scene 3

[It is night-time, all three and the princess are still at sea.]

Vizzini:  We'll reach the cliffs by dawn.   Why are you doing that? 
          [directed at Inigo who is staring behind]
Inigo:	Making sure nobody is following us.
Vizzini:  That would be inconceivable.
Buttercup: [jumps in] Despite what you think, you will be caught; and when you
	are, the prince will see you all hanged.
Vizzini:  Of all the necks on this boat, highness, the one you should be
	worrying about is your own....[pausing, then glancing at Inigo] Stop
	doing that! We can all relax! It's almost over.
Inigo:  Are you sure nobody is following us?
Vizzini:  As I told you it would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways
	inconceivable! No one in Guilder knows what we've done, and no one in
	Florin could have gotten here so fast. [pauses]  Out of curiosity, why
	do you ask?
Inigo:	Suddenly, I just happened to look behind us and something is there.
Vizzini:  [in disbelief] What?!  [now, spying a ship in the distance]
	...Probably some local fisherman out for a pleasure cruise at night
	through eel infested waters.

[Buttercup jumps over the ship]

Vizzini:  What?! Go in!! Go after her!!!
Inigo:  [frankly] I don't swim.
Fezzik:  [turning to Vizzini] I only dog-paddle...
Vizzini:  Aauuuggghhhhh!!!"!!!

Vizzini:  Veer left! ...left! ...left!	[suddenly, horrible screeching is heard]
	Do you know what that sound is, highness?  Those are the shrieking eels!
	If you don't believe me, just wait. They always grow louder when they're
	about to feed on human flesh!  If you swim back now I promise no harm
	will come to you...I doubt you'll get such an offer from the eels.

Grandfather: [Narrator]  She doesn't get eaten by the eels at this time.
Kid:  What?
Grandfather:  The eel doesn't get her...I'm explaining to you because you looked
	nervous.
Kid:  I...I wasn't nervous.  Well maybe I was a little bit concerned but that's
	not the same thing.
Grandfather:  ...Because we can stop now if you want.
Kid:  No, you could read a little bit more if you want.

Narrator:  [reading Vizzini's part]  'Do you know what that sound is highness?
	Those are the shrieking eels!'
Kid:  Pass that, Grandpa.  You read it already.
Grandfather:  Oh...oh my goodness, I did. I'm sorry.  Beg your pardon.  [now
	mumbling to himself] alright, alright, lets see..uh...she was in the
	water, the eel was going after her, she was frightened, the eel started
	to charge her and then...

[Fezzik reaches out of the boat, hits the eel on the head, and pulls Buttercup
back on Board]

Vizzini:  Put her down!  Just put her down!
Inigo:  [looking back at the other ship again]  I think he's getting closer!
Vizzini:  He's no concern of ours!  Sail on! [now, turning to Buttercup] I
	suppose you think you're brave, don't you?
Buttercup:  Only compared to some.

Scene 4

[Dawn, the next morning]

Inigo:	Look! He is right on top of us! I wonder if he's using the same wind we
	are using?
Vizzini:  Whoever he is, he's too late!  See!  [pointing skyward] The Cliffs of
	Insanity!!! Hurry up!  Move..the thing...and that other thing! Move
	it!!! [climbing out] Were safe, only Fezzik is strong enough to go up
	our way. He'll have to sail around for hours 'till he finds a harbor.

[Fezzik, all three holding on to him, proceeds to climb a rope up the side of
the cliff.]

Inigo:  [in amazement] He's climbing the rope....and he's gaining on us.
Vizzini:  Inconceivable! ....Faster!!
Fezzik:  I thought I was going faster.
Vizzini:  You were supposed to be this colossus, you were this great legendary
	thing and yet he gains!
Fezzik:  Well, I'm carrying three people, and he got only himself.
Vizzini:  I do not accept excuses!  I'm just going to have to find myself a new
	giant, that's all.
Fezzik:  Don't say that, Vizzini, please?
Vizzini:  Did I make it clear that your job is at stake?

[Finally, Fezzik reaches the top.  Vizzini quickly cuts through the rope with a
dagger.]  [All three peer over the edge of the cliff.]

Fezzik:  He's got very good arms.
Vizzini:  He didn't fall!  Inconceivable!
Inigo:	[looking confused]  You keep using that word? I do not	think it means
	what you think it means...[looking back down] my god...he's climbing.
Vizzini:  Whoever he is, he's obviously seen us with the princess and must
	therefore die.	You [to Fezzik] carry her.  We'll [to Inigo] head
	straight for the Guilder frontier.  Catch up when he's dead.  If he
	falls, fine; if not, the sword.
Inigo:  I'm going to do him left-handed.
Vizzini:  You know what a hurry we're in!
Inigo:	Well, it is the only way I can be satisfied.  If I use my right, it's
	over too quickly.
Vizzini:  Oh have it your way.
Fezzik: [to Inigo] You be careful.  People in masks cannot be trusted.
Vizzini: [impatiently] I'm waiting...

[Inigo unsheathes his sword, and practices a few steps.  He then calls to the
man in Black]

Inigo:  Hello there.  Slow going?
Man in black:  Look, I don't mean to be rude but this is not as easy as it
	looks, so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't distract me.
Inigo:  [apologetic] Sorry.
Man in black:  Thank You.
Inigo:  [pauses] I do not suppose you could speed things up?
Man in black:  If you're in such a hurry you could lower a rope or a tree branch
	or find something useful to do.
Inigo:	I could do that.  I still got some rope up here.  But I do not think you
	would accept my help, since I am only waiting around to kill you.
Man in black:  That does put a damper on our relationship.
Inigo:   ...but, I promise I will not kill you until you reach the top.
Man in black:  That's very comforting, but I'm afraid you'll just have to wait.
Inigo:  I hate waiting.  I could give you my word as a Spaniard?
Man in black:  [struggling up the cliff side] No good.  I've known too many
	Spaniards.
Inigo:  Is there another way you'll trust me?
Man in black:  Nothing comes to mind.
Inigo:  I swear on the soul of my Father, Domingo Montoya, you will reach the
	top alive.
Man in black:  Throw me the rope.

[Inigo throws the rope to the Man in black, and helps him to the top where
there's a Clearing]

Man in black:  [exhausted] Thank you. [He struggles to draw his sword]
Inigo:  wait wait wait wait wait wait 'till you're ready.
Man in black:  Again, thank you.  [He sits and removes a stone from his boot]
Inigo:	I do not mean to pry, but you don't by any chance happen to have six
	fingers on your right hand?
Man in black:  [revealing his five fingers] Do you always begin conversations
	this way?
Inigo:	My father was slaughtered by a six fingered man.  He was a great
	sword-maker, my father.  When the six fingered man appeared and
	requested a special sword, my father took the job.  He slaved a year
	before he was done.

[Inigo unsheathes his sword, and shows it to the Man in black]

Man in black:  I've never seen its equal.
Inigo:	Six fingered man returned and demanded it...but at one-tenth his
	promised price.  My father refused.  Without a word, the six fingered
	man slashed him through the heart.  I loved my father, so naturally I
	challenged this man to a duel. I failed...Six fingered man leave me
	alive, but he gave me this [a scar on his cheek] and this [another
	scar].
Man in black:  How old were you?
Inigo:	I was eleven years old.  When I was strong enough, I dedicated my life
	to the study of fencing; so the next time we meet I will not fail. I
	will go up to the six fingered man and say 'Hello, my name is Inigo
	Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.'
Man in black:  [intrigued] You've done nothing but sword-play?
Inigo:	More pursue more than study lately.  You see, I cannot find him...it's
	been twenty years now and I'm starting to lose confidence.  I just work
	for Vizzini to pay to bills.  There's not a lot of money in revenge.

[After a moments silence, the Man in black stands up and prepares to battle]

Man in black:  Well I....I certainly hope you find him someday.
Inigo:  You all ready then?
Man in black:  Whether I am or not, you've been more than fair.
Inigo: [drawing his sword]  You seem a decent fellow...I hate to kill you.
Man in black:  You seem a decent fellow...I hate to die.
Inigo:  [confidently] Begin.

[Slowly, a great battle ensues.  Inigo tests the Man in black, and the Man in
black tests Inigo.  They continue to battle on.]

Inigo:  You are using Bonetties Defense against me, ah?
Man in black:  I thought it fitting considering the rocky terrain.
Inigo:  Naturally, you must suspect me to attack with Capa Fero?
Man in black:  Naturally...but I find that Tibal cancels out Capa Fero.  Don't
	you?
Inigo:  Unless the enemy has studied his Agliepa...which I have.

[They continue to exchange attacks and parries]

Inigo:  You are wonderful!
Man in black:  Thank you.  I've worked hard to become so.
Inigo:  I admit it, you are better than I am.
Man in black:  Then why are you smiling?
Inigo:  Because I know something you don't know.
Man in black:  And what is that?
Inigo:  [switching hands]  I am not left-handed!

[Inigo switches to his right hand, and appears to overwhelm the Man in black]

Man in black:  You're amazing!
Inigo:  I ought to be after twenty years.
Man in black:  [struggling to keep Inigo away] There's something I ought to tell
	you.
Inigo:  Tell me!
Man in black:  I'm not left-handed either.

[The Man in black switches to his right hand, and performs a few amazing feats]
[They stop fencing for a brief moment]

Inigo:  [in awe] Who are you?
Man in black: No one of consequence.
Inigo:  I must know.
Man in black:  Get used to disappointment.
Inigo:  [disappointed] Okay...

[The battle rages on again, this time, the Man in black is dominating]
[The Man in black knocks the sword out of Inigo's hand, and circles in behind
him]

Inigo:  [kneeling]  Kill me quickly.
Man in black:  I would as soon destroy a stained glass window as an artist like
	yourself.  However, since I can't have you following me either...

[The Man in black hits Inigo on the back of his head with the hilt of his sword,
knocking him out.]

Man in black:  [sincerely] Please understand I hold you in the highest respect.

[The man in black runs off to find Vizzini.  Vizzini spies the man in black from
atop a huge hill.]

Vizzini:  Inconceivable!!  Give her to me! [taking Buttercup]  Catch up with us
	quickly!
Fezzik:  What do I do?
Vizzini:  Finish him!  Finish him...your way...
Fezzik:  Oh good. My way. Thank you Vizzini.  Which way's my way?
Vizzini:  [irritated]  Pick up one of those rocks, get behind a boulder, and in
	a few minutes the man in black will come running around the bend.  The
	minute his HEAD is in view hit it with the rock!
Fezzik:  [to himself] My way is not very sportsman-like.

[The man in black proceeds up the hill, and is met by a rock crashing against a]
[Boulder right next to him.]

Fezzik:  I did  that on purpose.  I didn't have to miss.
Man in black:  I believe you. [pauses] So what happens now?
Fezzik:  We face each other as god intended; sportsman-like...no tricks, no
	weapons, skill against skill alone.
Man in black:  You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword
	and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?
Fezzik: [holding up a large rock] I could kill you now?
Man in black: Frankly, I think the odds are slightly in your favor at hand
	fighting.
Fezzik:  It's not my fault being the biggest and the strongest.  I don't even
	exercise.

[The Man in black charges Fezzik, but cannot knock him down]

Man in black:  [agitated] Look, are you just fiddling around with me or what?
Fezzik:  I just want you to feel you are doing well. I hate for people to die
	embarrassed. [Fezzik grasps at him, but misses]  You're quick!
Man in black:  Good thing too.
Fezzik:  [swinging at the man in black]  Why are you wearing a mask?  Were you
	burned by acid or something like that?
Man in black:  Oh no, it's just  they're terribly comfortable.  I think everyone
	will be wearing them in the future.

[The man in black manages to jump onto Fezzik's back, and tries to choke him.
Fezzik pushes his back against a boulder, almost knocking the wind out of the
man in black]

Fezzik:  I just feared you would give me so much trouble.
Man in black:  Why is that, do you think?
Fezzik:  Well, I haven't fought just one person for so long...[struggles more
	with the man in black]	...I've been specializing in groups, fighting
	gangs for local charities...that kind of thing.
Man in black:  Why should that make such a [crash! pause] difference?
Fezzik: [slowing down] You see, you use different moves when your fighting half
	a dozen people, then when you only have to worry about one.

[Fezzik falls to the ground, unconscious.  The man in black checks to see if he]
[Is still alive.]

Man in black:  I do not envy you the headache you will have when you awake.  But
	in the meantime, rest well and dream of large women.

Scene 5

[Enter Prince Humperdinck, the Count, and their guards, examining the
battleground of Inigo and the man in black]

Humperdink:  [examining the ground] There was a mighty duel.  It ranged all
	over. They were both masters.
Count Rugen:  Who won? How did it end?
Humperdink:  The loser ran off alone, and the winner followed those footprints
	toward Guilder...
Count Rugen:  Shall we track them both?
Humperdink:  The loser is nothing.  Only the princess matters.  Clearly this
	was all planned by warriors of Guilder!  We must all be ready for
	whatever lies ahead.
Count Rugen:  Could this be a trap?
Humperdink:  I always think everything could be a trap.  That is why I am still
	alive.

[Humperdinck and his men scurry off, while the man in black finds and confronts
Vizzini who is preparing to eat.]

Vizzini:  So, it is down to you, and it is down to me...if you wish her dead, by
	all means keep moving forward.
Man in black:  Let me explain...
Vizzini:  There's nothing to explain. You're trying to kidnap what I have
	rightfully stolen.
Man in black:  Perhaps an arrangement can be reached?
Vizzini:  There will be no arrangements...and you're killing her.
Man in black:  But if there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse.
Vizzini:  I'm afraid so.  I can't compete with you physically, and you're no
	match for my brains.
Man in black:  You're that smart?
Vizzini:  Let me put it this way:  Have you ever heard or Plato, Aristotle,
	Socrates?
Man in black: Yes.
Vizzini: Morons!
Man in black:  Really! In that case, I challenge you to a battle of wits.
Vizzini:  For the princess? To the death? I accept!
Man in black:  Good, then pour the wine.  [Vizzini pours the wine]  Inhale this
	but do not touch.
Vizzini: [taking a vial from the man in black] I smell nothing.
Man in black:  What you do not smell is Iocaine powder.  It is odorless,
	tasteless, and dissolves instantly in liquid and is among the more
	deadly poisons known to man.
Vizzini: [shrugs with laughter] Hmmm.
Man in black:  [turning his back, and adding the poison to one of the goblets]
	Alright, where is the poison?  The battle of wits has begun.  It ends
	when you decide and we both drink - and find out who is right, and who
	is dead.
Vizzini:  But it's so simple.  All I have to do is divine it from what I know of
	you.  Are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own
	goblet or his enemies? Now, a clever man would put the poison into his
	own goblet because he would know that only a great fool would reach for
	what he was given.  I am not a great fool so I can clearly not choose
	the wine in front of you...But you must have known I was not a great
	fool; you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine
	in front of me.
Man in black:  You've made your decision then?
Vizzini:  [happily] Not remotely!  Because Iocaine comes from Australia.  As
	everyone knows, Australia is entirely peopled with criminals.  And
	criminals are used to having people not  trust them, as you are not
	trusted by me.	So, I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.
Man in black:  Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
Vizzini:  Wait 'till I get going!!  ...where was I?
Man in black:  Australia.
Vizzini:  Yes! Australia!  And you must have suspected I would have known the
	powder's origin,so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
Man in black:  You're just stalling now.
Vizzini:  You'd like to think that, wouldn't you!  You've beaten my giant, which
	means you're exceptionally strong...so you could have put the poison in
	your own goblet trusting on your strength to save you, so I can clearly
	not choose the wine in front of you.  But, you've also bested my
	Spaniard, which means you must have studied...and in studying you must
	have learned that man is mortal so you would have put the poison as far
	from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front
	of me!

Man in black:  You're trying to trick me into giving away something.  It won't
	work.
Vizzini:  It has worked!  You've given everything away! I know where the poison
	is!
Man in black:  Then make your choice.
Vizzini:  I will, and I choose...[pointing behind the man in black] What in the
	world can that be?
Man in black:  [turning around, while Vizzini switches goblets] What?! Where?! I
	don't see anything.
Vizzini:  Oh, well, I...I could have sworn I saw something. No matter.	[Vizzini
	laughs]
Man in black:  What's so funny?
Vizzini:  I...I'll tell you in a minute.  First, lets drink, me from my glass
	and you from yours.

[They both drink]

Man in black:  You guessed wrong.
Vizzini:  You only think I guessed wrong!  That's what's so funny!  I switched
	glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha, you fool!! You fell victim to
	one of the classic blunders.  The most famous is never get involved in a
	land war in Asia; and only slightly less well known is this:  Never go
	in against a Sicilian, when death is on the line!

[Vizzini continues to laugh hysterically.  Suddenly, he stops and falls right
over.  The Man in black removes the blindfold from the princess]

Buttercup:  Who are you?
Man in black:  I'm no one to be trifled with.  That is all you'll ever need
	know.
Buttercup:  And to think, all that time it was your cup that was poisoned.
Man in black:  They were both poisoned.  I spent the last few years building up
	immunity to iocaine powder.

[The scene switches back to Humperdinck and his men]

Humperdink:  Some one has beaten a giant.  There will be great suffering in
	Guilder if she dies.

[The scene jumps back to the man in black, running with the princess]

Man in black: [stops] Catch your breath.
Buttercup:  If you'll release me, whatever you ask for ransom you'll get it, I
	promise you.
Man in black: [laughing]  And what is that worth... the promise of a
	woman...You're very funny highness.
Buttercup:  [catching her breath] I was giving you a chance.  It does not matter
	where you take me.  There is no greater hunter than Prince Humperdinck.
	He can track a falcon on a cloudy day.	He can find you.
Man in black:  You think your dearest love will save you?
Buttercup:  [insulted] I never said he was my dearest love.  And yes, he will
	save me - that I know.
Man in black:  [surprised]  You admit to me you do not love your fiance?.
Buttercup:  He knows I do not love him.
Man in black:  [snapping] ...Are not capable of love is what you mean.
Buttercup: [taken back]  I have loved more deeply than a killer like yourself
	could ever dream!
Man in black: [raising his hand at Buttercup]  That was a warning, highness! The
	next time my hand flies on its own; where I come from there are
	penalties when a women lies.

[The scene cuts back to Humperdinck, examining the last battle scene]

Humperdink:  Iocaine!	I'd bet my life on it.  And there are the princesses
	footprints. She is alive, or was an hour ago...if she is otherwise, I
	shall be very put out!

[Back to the Man in black, still running]

Man in black:  Rest, highness.
Buttercup:  I know who you are.  Your cruelty reveals everything.  You're the
	Dread Pirate Roberts, admit it!
Man in black:  With pride.  What can I do for you?
Buttercup:  You can die slowly, cut into a thousand pieces.
Man in black:  [shaking his head]  Hardly complimentary, your highness...Why do
	you assure venom on me?
Buttercup:  [upset] You killed my love.
Man in black:  It's possible, I kill a lot of people.  Who was this love of
	yours?	Another prince like this one...ugly, rich, and scabby?
Buttercup:  No, a farmboy...poor!  Poor and perfect, with eyes like the sea
	after a storm. On the the high-seas your ship attacked, and the Dread
	Pirate Roberts never takes prisoners!
Man in black:  I can't afford to make exceptions.  I mean once word leaks out
	that a pirate has gone soft people begin to disobey him and its nothing
	but work, work, work all the time.
Buttercup:  You mock my pain!
Man in black:  Life is pain, highness!	Anyone who says differently is selling
	something. [pausing for a bit]	I remember this farmboy of yours I
	think.	This would be what?  Five years ago? Does it bother you to hear?
Buttercup:  Nothing you can say will upset me.
Man in black:  He died well, that should please you.  No bribe attempts or
	blubbering. He simply said please, please, I need to live.  It was the
	please that caught my memory.  I asked what was so important for him;
	'True love' he replied.  And then he spoke of a girl of surpassing
	beauty and faithfulness...I can only assume he meant you.  You should
	bless me for destroying him before he found out what you really are.
Buttercup:  And what am I?
Man in black:  Faithfulness he talked of, madam, your enduring faithfulness! Now
	tell me truly, when you found out he was gone did you get engaged to
	your prince that same hour or did you wait a whole week out of respect
	for the dead?!
Buttercup:  You mocked me once!  Never do it again! I died that day!

[The man in black and Buttercup see Humperdinck's horses in the distance]

Buttercup:  [pushing him down the hillside] You can die too, for all I care!!
Man in black: [tumbling down and echoing]  As.......you.....wish.......
Buttercup:  [shocked]  Oh, my sweet Westley, what have I done?

[Buttercup hurls herself down the mountain, in chase of Westley.]
[Humperdinck moves closer]

Humperdink:  They disappeared.  They must have seen us closing in, which might
	account for his panicking into error.  Unless I'm wrong, and I'm never
	wrong, they are headed straight into the fire swamp.

[Westley and Buttercup finally cease falling.  Westley moves over to help
Buttercup]

Westley:  Can you move at all?
Buttercup:  [joyous]  Move?  You're alive!  If you want I could fly.
Westley: [holding Buttercup]  I told you I would always come for you.  Why
	didn't you wait for me?
Buttercup:  [sincerely]  Well, you were dead.
Westley:  But death cannot stop true love...All it can do is delay it for
	awhile.
Buttercup:  I will never doubt again.
Westley:  There will never be a need.

[Buttercup and Westley kiss]

Kid:  [interrupting the story]  Oh, no! No. Please!
Grandfather:  What is it?  What's the matter?
Kid:  [disgusted]  They're kissing again.  Do we have to hear the kissing part?
Grandfather:  Someday you might not mind so much.
Kid:  Get on to the fire swamp, that sounded good!
Grandfather:  Oh...you're sick, I'll humor you.  Oh, okay....[finds the right
page]


Narrator:  Westley and Buttercup raced along the ravine floor.

Westley:  Aha! Your pig fiance? is too late!  A few more steps and we'll be safe
	in the fire swamp.
Buttercup: [worried] We'll never survive.
Westley:  [confident] Nonsense!  You're only saying that because no one ever
	has.

[They proceed into the dreary, damp swamp.  Cautiously, they move on. The sounds
of many creatures permeate the air.]

Westley:  It's not that bad...[receives a glance from Buttercup]  Well I'm not
	saying I'd like to build a summer home here but the trees are actually
	quite lovely.

[They continue through an eerie maze of trees.	Suddenly, a popping sound is
heard. A flame shoots up from the ground, catching Buttercup's dress on fire.
She screams.]

Westley:  [calmly, smothering the flame]  Well now, that was an adventure.
	Singed a bit, were you?
Buttercup: [nervously shaking her head no]  You?

[Westley simply nods his head no, not losing an ounce of confidence. They
continue.  Suddenly another popping sound is heard.  Westley calmly lifts
Buttercup out of harms way as a flame rises from the ground.]

Westley:  Well, one thing I will say; the fire swamp certainly does keep you on
	your toes.  This will all soon be but a happy memory. [Westley cuts
	through a mass of vines]  Robert's ship Revenge is banked at the far
	end.  And as you know I am Roberts.
Buttercup:  But how's that possible, since he's been marauding 20 years and you
	only left me 5 years ago?
Westley:  I myself am often surprised at life's little quirks.  See, what I told
	you before about saying please was true...it intrigued Roberts, as did
	my descriptions of your beauty.  Finally, Roberts decided something.  He
	said, 'Alright Westley, never had a valet, you can try if you'd like.
	I'm most likely to kill you in the morning.'  For three years said that.
	'Good night Westley, good work, sleep well, I'm most likely to kill you
	in the morning.'  It was a fine time for me - I was learning to fence,
	fight, anything anyone would teach me.	Roberts and I eventually became
	friends. And then it happened.
Buttercup:  What?  Go on.
Westley:  Well Roberts had grown so rich, he wanted to retire.	He took me to
	his cabin and told me his secret.  'I am not the Dread Pirate Roberts,'
	he said 'my name is Ryar.  I inherited this ship from the previous Dread
	Pirate Roberts, just as you will inherit it from me.
Westley: [continuing]  The man I inherited it from was not the real Dread Pirate
	Roberts either - his name was Cumberbun.  The real Roberts had been
	retired 15 years and was living like a king in Patagonia.'  Thank you.
	Then he explained the name was the important for inspiring the necessary
	fear. You see, no one would surrender to the Dread Pirate Westley.  So
	we sailed ashore, took on an entirely new crew and he stayed aboard for
	awhile as first mate, all the time calling me Roberts.	Once the crew
	believed, he left the ship and I have been Roberts ever since.	Except
	now that were together, I shall retire and hand the name over to someone
	else. Is everything clear to you?

[Suddenly, Buttercup steps into a pit of sand and vanishes Westley, thinking
quickly, cuts a vine and ties it around himself then plunges down In search of
Buttercup.  Moments later, they resurface, gasping for breath and Coughing.]

Buttercup:  We'll never succeed.  We may as well die here.
Westley:  No, no. [still gasping]  We have already succeeded.  I mean, what are
	the three terrors of the fire swamp?  One, the flame spurt - no problem
	- there's a popping sound preceding each.  We can avoid that.  Two, the
	lightning sand which you were clever enough to discover what that looks
	like, so in the future we can avoid that too.
Buttercup:  Westley, what about the R.O.U.S.'s?
Westley:  Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.

[Just as Westley finishes, a huge rodent jumps on top of him.  The rodent bites]
[Westley on the shoulder.  After some struggle, it breaks free and heads toward]
[Buttercup.]

Buttercup:  [screaming]  Westley!!

[Westley jumps on the beast and Buttercup fends it away with a large branch.
After much struggle, a popping sound is heard.	A flame rises up and covers the
rodent. Not quite dead, the rodent hobbles away, but Westley gives chase and
stabs it a few Times, killing it.]

Scene 6

[Westley and Buttercup finally exit the fire swamp, tired and worn.]

Buttercup:  [triumphantly] We did it!
Westley:  Now, was that so terrible?

[Out of nowhere, the galloping of horses.  Prince Humperdinck has found them.]

Humperdink:  Surrender!
Westley:  You mean you wish to surrender to me?  Very well then, I accept.
Humperdink:  I give you full marks for bravery.  Don't make yourself a fool.
Westley:  Ah, but how will you capture us?  We know the secrets of the fire
	swamp.	We can live there happily for some time, so whenever you feel
	like dying, feel free to visit.

[Humperdinck's men surround Westley and Buttercup with crossbows.]

Humperdink:  I tell you once again, surrender!
Westley:  It will not happen!  [Westley draws his sword]
Humperdink:  [shouting]  For the last time, surrender!
Westley:  Death first!
Buttercup:  [interrupting]  Will you promise not to hurt him?
Humperdink:  What was that?
Westley:  What was that?
Buttercup:  If we surrender, and I return with you, will you promise not to hurt
	this man?
Humperdink:  May I live a thousand years and never hunt again!
Buttercup:  He is a sailor on the pirate ship Revenge.	Promise to return him to
	his ship.
Humperdink:  I swear it will be done.	[Humperdinck whispers to Count Rugen]
	Once we're out of sight, take him back to Florin and throw him in the
	Pit of Despair.
Count Rugen:  I swear it will be done.
Buttercup:  [to Westley]  I thought you were dead once, and it almost destroyed
	me.  I could not bear it if you died again, not when I could save you.
	[Buttercup is lifted onto one of the horses and taken away.  Humperdinck
	leaves.]
Count Rugen:  [to Westley] Come sir, we must get you to your ship.
Westley:  We are men of action, lies do not become us.
Count Rugen:  Well spoken sir.  [He motions for the guards to escort him away.
	Westley notices the Count has six fingers.]  What is it?
Westley:  You have six fingers on your right hand.  Someone was looking for
	you...

[Count Rugen quickly knocks Westley out with the hilt of his sword.]

Scene 7

[The Pit of Despair]

[Enter an albino.  The albino examines Westley, who is tied down, and cleanses
his wounds.]

Westley:  Where am I?
Albino:  [in a raspy voice]  The Pit of Despair....don't even think...[cough,
	gag] [The albino loses his raspy voice.]  Don't even think about trying
	to escape.  The chain are far too thick.  And don't dream of being
	rescued either, the only way in is secret.  Only the Prince, the Count
	and I know how to get in and out.
Westley:  Then I'm here 'till I die?
Albino:  'Till they kill you, yeah.
Westley:  Then why bother curing me?
Albino:  Well, the Prince and the Count always insist on everyone being healthy
	before they're broken.
Westley:  So it's to be torture.  [The albino gestures happily]  I can cope with
	torture. [The albino vigorously shakes his head no.]  You don't believe
	me?
Albino:  You survived the fire-swamp, you must be very brave.  But nobody
	withstands the machine.

Scene 8

[The Castle]

[Buttercup roams the castle, saddened.  Prince Humperdinck and Count Rugen are
planning, and notice Buttercup.]

Humperdink:  She's been like that ever since the fire swamp.  It's my father's
	failing health that's upsetting her.
Count Rugen:  Of course.

Narrator:  The King died that very night, and before the following dawn,
	Buttercup and Humperdinck were married.  And at noon she met her
	subjects again, this time as their queen.

Humperdink:  [to anticipating crowd]  My father's final words were...

[interruption]

Kid:  Hold it! Hold it! Grandpa, you read that wrong.  She doesn't marry
	Humperdinck, she marries Westley.  I'm just sure of it...after all that
	Westley did for her, if she didn't marry him, it wouldn't be fair.
Grandfather:  Well who says life is fair?  Where is that written?  Life isn't
	always fair?
Kid:  [angry]  I'm telling you, you're messing up the story!  Now get it right!
Grandfather:  Do you want me to go on with this?
Kid:  [apologetic]  Yes.
Grandfather:  Alright then, no more interruptions.  At noon she met her subjects
	again, this time as their queen.

[Back to the story]

Humperdink:   My father's final words were, 'Love her, as I loved her and there
	will be joy.?  I present to you, your queen;  Queen Buttercup.

[Buttercup comes out before the crowd.  She is met by a hideous woman]

Woman:	[in a horrid voice] Booooooo!  Booooooo! Boooooooo!
Buttercup: [upset]  Why do you do this?
Woman:  Because you had love in your hands and you gave it up!
Buttercup:  But they would have killed Westley if I hadn't done it.
Woman:	Your true love lives, and you marry another!  True love saved her in the
	fire swamp, and she treated it like garbage.  And that's what she is,
	the Queen of Refuse.  So bow down to her if you want.  Bow to her.  Bow
	to the Queen of Slime, the Queen of Filth, the Queen of putrescence!
	Boo! Boo! Rubbish! Filth! Slime!  Muck!  Boo! Boo!  Boo!

[Buttercup wakes up]

Narrator:  It was ten days 'till the wedding.  The king still lived, but
	Buttercup's nightmares were becoming steadily worse.

Kid:  See? Didn't I tell you she'd never marry that rotten Humperdinck.
Grandfather:  Yes, you're very smart.  Shut up.

[Buttercup confronts Humperdinck in his quarters]

Buttercup:  It comes to this:  I love Westley, I always have - I know now I
	always will.  If you tell me I must marry thee in ten days, please
	believe I will be dead by morning.
Humperdink:  I could never cause you grief.  Consider our wedding off.  [turns
	to the Count]  You um...returned this Westley to his ship?
Count Rugen:  [in a sly voice] Yes.
Humperdink:  Then we will simply alert him.  Beloved, [to Buttercup] are you
	certain he still wants you?  After all it was you who did the leaving in
	the fire swamp.  Not to mention that, uh, pirates are not known as men
	of their words.
Buttercup:  My Westley will always come for me.
Humperdink: I suggest a deal.	You write four copies of a letter.  I'll send my
	four fastest ships, one in each direction.  The Dread Pirate Roberts is
	always close to Florin this time of year.  We'll run up the white flag
	and deliver your message.  If Westley wants you, bless you both; if not,
	please consider me as an alternative to suicide.  Are we agreed?

Scene 9

[The Tree Grove]
[Count Rugen and Humperdinck are just outside the secret entrance to the Pit of
Despair.]

Count Rugen:  Your princess is quite a winning creature.  A trifle simple,
	perhaps. Her appeal is undeniable.
Humperdink:  I know, the people are quite taken with her.  It's odd, but when I
	hired Vizzini to have her murdered on our engagement day, I thought that
	was clever.  But it's going to be so much more moving when I strangle
	her on our wedding night.  Once Guilder is blamed, the nation will truly
	be outraged - they'll demand we go to war.
Count Rugen: [snickers, then examines a huge tree]  Now where is that secret
	knot? It's impossible to find..[he finds it and the tree opens to reveal
	a hidden passage]  Ah. Are you coming down into the pit?  Westley's got
	his strength back.  I'm starting him on the machine tonight.
Humperdink:  [sincerely]  Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work,
	but I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to
	arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it;  I'm swamped.
Count Rugen:  Get some rest.  If you haven't got your health, then you haven't
	got anything. [smiles halfheartedly]

[Count Rugen enters the pit, and Humperdinck leaves the tree grove.]

Count Rugen:  [admiring his torture contraption]  Beautiful isn't it?  It took
	me half a lifetime to invent it.  I'm sure you've discovered my deep and
	dividing interest in pain.  Presently I'm writing the definitive work on
	the subject, so I want you to be totally honest with me on how the
	machine makes you feel.  This being our first try, I'll use the lowest
	setting.

[Count Rugen activates the water powered torture machine.  Westley writhes in
great pain.]

Count Rugen:  [calmly] As you know, the concept of the suction pump is centuries
	old. Really that's all this is except that instead of sucking water, I'm
	sucking life.  I've just sucked one year of your life away.  I might one
	day go as high as five, but I really don't know what that would do to
	you.  So, lets just start with what we have.  What did this do to you?
	Tell me. And remember, this is for posterity so be honest.  How do you
	feel?

[Westley cries and moans in pain]

Count Rugen:  Interesting.

Scene 10

[Humperdinck again is in his quarters]
[Yellin, Humperdinck's man-at-arms enters the room]

Humperdink:  Yellin.
Yellin:  Sire.
Humperdink:  As chief enforcer of all Florin, I trust you with this secret:
	Killers from Guilder are infiltrating the Thieves' Forest and plan to
	murder my bride on our wedding night.
Yellin:  [surprised]  My spy network has heard no such news.

[Buttercup quietly enters]

Buttercup:  Any word from Westley?
Humperdink:  [startled]  Too soon, my angel.  Patience.
Buttercup:  He will come for me.  [Buttercup leaves]
Humperdink:  Of course.  [turns to Yellin]  She will not be murdered!	On the
	day of the wedding, I want the Thieves' Forest emptied and every
	inhabitant arrested!
Yellin:  [distraught]  Many of the thieves will resist.  My regular enforcers
	will be inadequate.
Humperdink:  [angered] Form a brute squad then!  I want the Thieves' Forest
	emptied before I wed.
Yellin:  It won't be easy, Sire.
Humperdink:  [sarcastically] Try ruling the world sometime.

Scene 11

Narrator:  The day of the wedding arrived.  The brute squad had their hands full
	carrying out Humperdincks orders.

[The Thieves' Forest.  Yellin and his men are clearing out the forest.]

Yellin:  Is everybody out?
Brute:  Almost.  There's a Spaniard giving us some trouble.
Yellin:  Well, you give him some...trouble.  Move!

[Inigo is giving one of the guards a difficult time.  Inigo is drunk.]

Inigo:	[loud] I am waiting for you Vizzini!  You told me to go back to the
	beginning, so I have.  This is where I am, and this is where I'll stay.
	I will not be moved.
Brute:  [angry]  Ho there!
Inigo:  [stumbling] I do not budge.  Keep your ho there.
Brute:  But the prince gave orders!

[Inigo jumps up and slashes at the brute with his sword.  The guard is taken
back.]

Inigo:	I know you Vizzini...when the job went wrong you went back to the
	beginning...And this is where we got the job, so it's the beginning.
	And I am staying 'till Vizzini comes.
Brute:  [calls out behind Inigo]  You!  Brute, come here!
Inigo:	[mumbling to himself]  I...am...waiting...for...Vizzini.  [Just then,
	and hand grabs him from behind]
Fezzik:  You surely are a meany.

[Inigo looks up, and sees that it's Fezzik]

Fezzik:  Hello.
Inigo:  It's you!

[The brute jumps in to see what's going on, but Fezzik knocks him out with one
punch]

Fezzik:  You don't look so good...You don't smell so good either.
Inigo:	Perhaps no.  I feel fine...  [Fezzik lets go of Inigo, who falls on his
	face]

Narrator:  Fezzik and Inigo were reunited, and as Fezzik nursed his inebriated
	friend back to health, he told Inigo of Vizzini's death and the
	existence of Count Rugen, the six-fingered man.  Considering Inigo's
	life-long search, he handled the news surprisingly well.  [Inigo falls
	face first into a bowl of soup]. Fezzik took great care in reviving
	Inigo. [by repeatedly soaking his head in and out of hot and cold
	barrels of water]

Inigo:	[more sober]  That's enough! That's enough!  Where is this Rugen now, so
	I might kill him?
Fezzik:  He's with the prince in the castle.  But the castle gate is guarded by
	thirty men.
Inigo:  How many could you handle?
Fezzik:  I don't think more than ten.
Inigo:	[counting on his fingers]  ...Leaving twenty for me.  At my best I could
	never defeat that many.  I need Vizzini to plan.  I have no gift for
	strategy.
Fezzik:  But Vizzini is dead.
Inigo:  [inspired]  No...not Vizzini. I need the man in black.
Fezzik:  What?
Inigo:	Look, he bested you at strength, your greatness.  He bested me with
	steel.	He must have out-thought Vizzini, and a man who can do that can
	plan my castle onslaught any day!  Let's go!
Fezzik:  Where?
Inigo:  ...Find the man in black obviously.
Fezzik:  But you don't know where he is?
Inigo:	Don't bother me with trifles, after twenty years at last my father's
	soul will be at peace.	There will be blood tonight!

Scene 12

[The scene moves back to Humperdinck, sharpening a dagger in his chambers.]
[Yellin arrives.]

Humperdink:  Rise and report!
Yellin:  The Thieves' Forest is emptied.  Thirty men guard the castle gate.
Humperdink:  Double it!  My princess must be safe.
Yellin:  The gate has but one key, and I carry that.

[Buttercup arrives]

Humperdink:  Ah, my dulcet darling!  Tonight, we marry.  [turns to Yellin]
	Tomorrow morning your men will escort us to Florin Channel, where every
	ship in my armada waits to accompany us on our honeymoon.

Buttercup:  [disturbed]  Every ship but your four fastest, you mean.
	[Humperdinck looks confused].  Every ship but the four you sent.
Humperdink: [recovering badly]  Yes. Yes of course.  Naturally not those four.
Yellin:  [feeling tension, he exits]  Your majesty.
Buttercup:  You never sent the ships.  ******************************.	Doesn't
	matter, Westley will come for me anyway.
Humperdink:  You're a silly girl.
Buttercup:  Yes I am a silly girl, for not having seen sooner that you were
	nothing but a coward with a heart full of fear.
Humperdink:  [outraged]  I would not say such things if I were you.
Buttercup:  Why not?  You can't hurt me.  Westley and I are joined by the bonds
	of love, and you cannot track that; not with a thousand bloodhounds.
	And you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords.  And when I say
	you're a coward, it is only because you are the slimiest weakling ever
	to crawl the Earth.
Humperdink:  [furious]  I would not say such things if I were you!!! [He
	forcefully escorts Buttercup to her chamber]

[Humperdinck exits the castle and enters the Pit of Despair]

Humperdink:  [To Westley]  You truly love each other, and so you might have
	been truly happy.  Not one couple in a century has that chance, no mater
	what the storybooks say.  And so I think no man in a century will suffer
	as greatly as you will.  [Humperdinck sets the machine to the maximum of
	50.]

Count Rugen: [screaming]  Not to fifty!!

[Westley screams out in pain.  The entire kingdom can hear his cries.  Inigo and
Fezzik hear the echoing noise from afar]

Inigo:	Fezzik!  Fezzik!  Listen.  Do you hear?  That is the sound of ultimate
	suffering. My heart made that sound when Rugen slaughtered my father.
	The man in black makes it now.
Fezzik:  The man in black?
Inigo:	His true love is marrying another tonight.  So who else is the cause for
	ultimate suffering. [Inigo and Fezzik push their way through a mass of
	people] Excuse me.  Pardon me, it's important. [They struggle to move
	even a few feet] Fezzik, please?
Fezzik:  [in a bellowing voice] EVERYBODY, MOVE"!!!
Inigo:	Thank You.  [The whole crowd clears out, leaving a perfect path for the
	two.]

[Inigo and Fezzik trace the screams to the tree grove where they find the Albino
working a wheel-barrow]

Inigo:	[to the Albino]  Where is the man in black?  You get that from this
	grove, yes? [No response]  Fezzik, jog his memory.

[Fezzik hits the Albino on the top of his head, who falls over from the blow]

Fezzik:  I'm sorry Inigo.  I didn't mean to jog him so hard.  Inigo?

[Inigo, not giving up, kneels on one leg, holding his sword high.  He speaks:]

Inigo:	Father, I have failed you for twenty years.  Now our misery can end.
	Somewhere, somewhere close by is a man who can help us.  I can not find
	him alone.  I need you.  I need you to guide my sword, please.	Guide my
	sword.

[Inigo stands, eyes closed, and follows his sword.  It sticks into a nearby
tree.  Inigo thinks he has failed.  He leans against the tree, and the secret
entrance is revealed. Fezzik and Inigo enter the Pit of Despair, where they find
Westley.]

Fezzik:  [putting his ear to Westley's chest]  He's dead.
Inigo:  This is no fair.

Kid:  [jumping in, upset]  Grandpa!  Grandpa! Wait, wait.  What did Fezzik mean,
	'He's Dead.?  I mean, he didn't mean 'dead??  Westley is only faking,
	right?
Grandfather:  Do you want me to read this or not?
Kid:  Who gets Humperdinck!
Grandfather:  I don't understand?
Kid:  [annoyed]  Who kills Prince Humperdinck?	At the end, someone's got to do
	it! Is it Inigo? Who?!
Grandfather:  Nobody.  Nobody kills him.  He lives.
Kid:  You mean he wins?  Jesus, Grandpa! What did you read me this thing for?
Grandfather:  You know, you...you've been very sick and you're taking this story
	very seriously.  I think we'd better stop now.
Kid:  No.  I...I'm okay.  I'm okay.  Sit down.  I'm alright.
Grandfather:  Okay.  Alright, now lets see...where were we?  Oh, yes, in the Pit
	of Despair.

Inigo:	The Montoya's have never taken defeat easily.  Come Fezzik, bring the
	body.
Fezzik:  The body?
Inigo:  Have you any money?
Fezzik:  I have a little.
Inigo:  I just hope it's enough to buy a miracle, that's all.

Scene 13

[Inigo and Fezzik arrive with Westley's body in front of a small wooden house.]
[Inigo knocks on the door]

Voice:  [from inside, irritated]  Go away...

[Inigo knocks harder until a very old man answers.  He looks through a hole cut
in the door]

Max:  [Old man]  What?!  What?!
Inigo:  Are you the Miracle Max who worked for the king all those years?
Max:  The king's stinking son fired me.  And thank you so much for bringing up
	such a painful subject.  While you're at it, why don't you give me a
	nice paper cut, and pour lemon juice on it.  We're closed!  [Max closes
	a flap over the door hole, but Inigo still knocks]  Beat it or I'll call
	the brute squad!
Fezzik:  I'm on the brute squad.
Max:  You are the brute squad!
Inigo:  We need a miracle.  It's very important.
Max:  Look, I'm retired.  Besides, why would you want someone the kings stinking
	son fired.  I might kill whoever you want to make the miracle.
Inigo:  He's already dead.
Max:  He is, eh?  I'll have a look.  Bring him in.  [They enter.  Max examines
	Westley.] I've seen worse.
Inigo:  Sir...Sir.
Max:  Huh?
Inigo:  We're in a terrible rush.
Max:  Don't rush me sonny.  You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles. You
	got money?
Inigo:  Sixty-five.
Max:  Sheesh!  I never worked for so little; except once and that was a very
	noble cause.
Inigo:	This is noble sir.  His wife is...crippled...children on the brink of
	starvation...
Max:  Are you a rotten liar.
Inigo:	I need him to help avenge my father, murdered this twenty years.
Max: Your first story was better.  Where's that bellows cramp.  He probably owes
	you money, huh.  Well, I'll ask him.
Inigo:	He's dead.  He can't talk.
Max:  Ooooohhh!   Look who knows so much, eh!  It just so happens that your
	friend here is only mostly dead.  There's a big difference between
	mostly dead and all dead.  Please open his mouth.  [He inserts the
	bellows] Now, mostly dead is slightly alive.  Now, all dead...well, with
	all dead, there's usually only one thing that you can do.
Inigo:  What's that?
Max:  Go through his clothes and look for loose change.  [Max pumps air into
	Westley and yells at him]  Hey!  Hello in there!  Hey!	What's so
	important? Whatcha got here, that's worth living for?  [Max pushes on
	Westley's chest]
Westley:  [barely audible]  True....love....
Inigo:	[excited]  True love!	You heard him!	You could not ask for a more
	noble cause than that.
Max:  Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world;  except for a nice
	MLT - Mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich - when the Mutton is nice and
	lean, and the tomato's ripe.  They're so perky.  I love that.  But
	that's not what he said! He distinctly said, 'to blaithe.'  And as we
	all know, to blaithe means to bluff. So, you were probably playing cards
	and he cheated...
Old woman:  [interrupting]  Liar!! Liar!! Liarrrrrrr!
Max:  Get back, witch!
Old woman:  I'm not a witch, I'm your wife.  But after what you just said, I'm
	not even sure I want to be that anymore.
Max:  You never had it so good.  [Max smiles at  Inigo]
Valerie:  [Max's wife]  True love, who said true love, Max?
Max:  Don't say another word, Valerie...[Inigo looks on in disbelief]
Valerie:  You're afraid.  Ever since Prince Humperdinck fired him, his
	confidence has shattered.
Max:  [yelling]  Why'd you say that name?!  You promised me that you would never
say that name!
Valerie:  What, Humperdinck?!
Max:  [cringes]  Ahh!!
Valerie:  Humperdinck!
Max:  Ahh!!

[Valerie is chasing Max around the room yelling.  Max is covering his ears]

Valerie:  Humperdinck!
Max:  Ahh!!
Valerie:  Humperdinck!
Max:  Ahh!!
Valerie:  [now in a sing-songy voice]  Humperdinck....	Humperdinck!
	Humperdinck! Humperdinck!  Humperdinck!
Max:  I'm not listening!
Valerie:  True love, life expiring and you don't have the decency to say why you
	won't help!
Max:  Nobody's hearing nothing!
Valerie:  Humperdinck!	[She continues to yell 'Humperdinck']
Inigo:	[interrupting]	This is Buttercup's true love.  If you heal him, he will
	stop Humperdinck's wedding!
Max:  [to Valerie]  Shut up!
Inigo:  Thank you.  Thank you.
Max:  Wait, wait.  I make him better, Humperdinck suffers?
Inigo:  Humiliations galore!
Max:  Ha ha!!  That is a noble cause!  Give me the sixty-five!	I'm on the job!

[Max, with help from Valerie concocts a pill for Westley.]

Inigo:  That's a miracle pill?
Valerie:  The chocolate coating makes it go down easier.  But, you have to wait
	fifteen minutes before potency.  And, he shouldn't go in swimming after
	for at least...
Max:  [jumping in]  An hour!
Valerie:  An hour.
Max:  ...A good hour.....Here.  [gives Inigo the pill]
Inigo:  [leaving]  Thank you for everything.
Max:  Okay!  [Inigo and Fezzik leave]
Valerie:  Bye bye, boys!
Max:  Have fun storming the castle!
Valerie:  [to Max]  Think it will work?
Max:  It would take a miracle.
Max and Valerie:  [waving]  B-bye!

Scene 14

[It's dusk.  Inigo and Fezzik are just outside the castle, looking down at the
main gate.]

Fezzik:  Inigo, there's more than thirty!
Inigo:	[propping up Westley]  What's the difference?  We've got him!  Help me
	here. We have to force-feed him.
Fezzik:  Has it been fifteen minutes?
Inigo:	We can't wait.  The wedding is in half an hour.  We must strike in the
	hustle and the bustle before hand.  Tilt his head back.  Open his mouth.
	[Inigo puts the pill into Westley's mouth]
Fezzik:  How long do we have to wait before we know if the miracle works?
Inigo:  Your guess is as good as mine.
Westley: [disoriented]  I'll beat you both apart!  I'll take you both together!
Fezzik:  I guess not very long.
Westley:  Why won't my arms move?
Fezzik:  You've been mostly dead all day.
Inigo:  We had Miracle Max make a pill to bring you back.
Westley:  Who are you?  Are we enemies?  Why am I on this wall? Where's
	Buttercup?
Inigo:	Let me explain....no, there is too much.  Let me sum up;  Buttercup is
	marrying Humperdinck in little less than half an hour.	So all we have
	to do is get in, break up the wedding, steal the princess, make our
	escape - after I kill Count Rugen.
Westley:  That doesn't leave much for dilly-dally.
Fezzik:  You just wiggled your finger!  That's wonderful!
Westley:  I've always been a quick healer.  What are our liabilities?
Inigo:  There is but one working castle gate, and it is guarded by sixty men.
Westley:  And our assets?
Inigo:  Your brains, Fezzik's strength, my steel.
Westley:  That's it?  Impossible.  If I had a month to plan maybe I could come
	up with something.  But this...
Fezzik:  You just shook your head!  That doesn't make you happy?
Westley:  My brains, his steel and your strength against sixty men and you think
	a little head jiggle is supposed to make me happy?  Hmm??  I mean if we
	only had a wheelbarrow, that would be something.
Inigo:	Where did we put that wheelbarrow the albino had?
Fezzik:  Over the albino, I think?
Westley:  Why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place?!  [sigh]
	What I wouldn't give for a holocaust cloak...
Inigo:  There we cannot help you.
Fezzik:  [pulls a black cloak from under his shirt]  Would this do?
Inigo:  Where did you get that?
Fezzik:  At Miracle Max's.  It fit so nice, he said I could keep it.
Westley:  Alright, alright, come help me up.  [They help him up]  Now I'll need
	a sword eventually.
Inigo:  Why?  You can't even lift one.
Westley:  True, but that's hardly common knowledge, is it?  Thank you.  [Inigo
	gives him a sword].  Now, there may be problems once we're inside.
Inigo:	I'll say.  How do I find the Count.  Once I do, how do I find you again.
	Once I find you again, how do I escape.
Fezzik:  Don't pester him, he's had a hard day.
Inigo:  Right, right....sorry.
Fezzik:  Inigo?
Inigo:  What?
Fezzik:  I hope we win.

[Inside the Castle]

Humperdink:  You don't seem excited my little muffin.
Buttercup:  Should I be?
Humperdink:  Brides often are, I'm told.
Buttercup:  I do not marry tonight.  My Westley will save me.  [Buttercup
	leaves]

Scene 15

[In the chapel:  Music blares. Humperdinck and Buttercup stand before a
clergyman. The clergyman [Peter Cook] has a speech impediment.]

Clergyman:  Mawwiage.  Mawwiage is what bwings us togethaw today.  Mawwiage,
	that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam...

[From outside, the voice of Yellin is heard]

Yellin:  Stand your ground, men!  Stand your ground!  Stand your ground!

[Fezzik is dressed in the black cloak, and being pushed from behind in the
Wheelbarrow.  He now looks enormous and fearsome!]

Fezzik:  I am the Dread Pirate Roberts!  There will be no survivors!
Inigo:  Now?
Westley:  Not yet.
Fezzik:  My men are here!  I am here! ... but soon you will not be here!
Inigo:  [barely holding up Fezzik]  Now?!
Westley:  Light him!  [They light Fezzik's robe with a torch]
Fezzik:  The Dread Pirate Roberts takes no survivors!  All your worst nightmares
	have but to come true!

[Most of the gate guards scatter in all directions]

Clergyman:  Then wove, twue wove, will follow you fowever...

[Outside]

Fezzik:  The Dread Pirate Roberts is here for your soul!   [Yellin yells for the
guards to fight.  The rest run.]

Clergyman:  So tweasure youw...
Humperdink:  [interrupting]  Skip to the end!
Clergyman:  Have you the wing?
Buttercup:  Here comes my Westley now.

[Fezzik has removed the robe and all the guards except Yellin have fled.]

Westley:  Fezzik, the portcullis!  [Fezzik lifts the portcullis with some
trouble]

Humperdink:  Your Westley is dead.  I killed him myself.
Buttercup:  Then why is there fear behind your eyes.

Westley:  [to Yellin]  Give us the gate key.
Yellin:  I have no gate key.
Inigo:  Fezzik, tear his arms off.
Yellin:  Oh, you mean this gate key.  [Yellin hands over the key]

Clergyman:  Do you Pwincess Buttecwup...
Humperdink: [annoyed]  Man and wife!  Say man and wife!
Clergyman:  Man and Wife.
Humperdink:  Escort the bride to the honeymoon suite.  I'll be there shortly.
Buttercup:  He didn't come...

[Fezzik, Inigo and Westley are in the castle.  Fezzik is holding up Westley.
Inigo, leading the way, meets with Count Rugen and four of his guards.]

Count Rugen:  Kill the dark one and the giant but leave the third for
	questioning.

[The guards try to rush by Inigo, but are no match for his brilliant
swordsmanship. Inigo slays all four.  Only Count Rugen remains.]

Inigo:  Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.

[Just as Inigo and the Count prepare to duel, the Count turns around and runs
away. Inigo chases after Count Rugen, who locks one of	the doors behind him.
Inigo is not strong enough to break through]

Inigo:  Fezzik!  I need you!
Fezzik:  I can't leave him [Westley] alone!
Inigo:  He's getting away from me Fezzik!  Please!!  Fezzik!
Fezzik:  [to Westley]  I'll be right back.  [Fezzik goes and knocks the door
	down easily]
Inigo:  Thank you.

[The King and Queen escort Buttercup from the chapel.]

King:  Strange wedding...
Queen:  Yes, a very strange wedding.  Come along.  [The Queen exits]
King:  What was that for?  [Buttercup kissed him on the forehead]
Buttercup:  Because you've always been so kind to me, and I won't be seeing you
	again since I'm killing myself once we reach the honeymoon suite.
King:  [happily]  Won't that be nice....She kissed me!  [He giggles]

[Count Rugen eventually runs into a dead end.  Inigo is still giving chase. The
Count  removes a dagger from boot and surprises Inigo with it.	Rugen throws it
and stabs Inigo in the stomach.]

Inigo:  [falling to his knees]  Sorry father, I tried.
Count Rugen:  You must be that little Spanish brat I taught a lesson to all
	those years ago.  Simply incredible.  You've been tracing me your whole
	life, only to fail now?  I think that's the worst thing I ever heard.
	How marvelous.

[In the Honeymoon suite, Buttercup is preparing to kill herself with a knife.
Unbeknownst to her, Westley lies on her bed.]

Westley:  There's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world.  It would be a
pity to damage yours.

Buttercup:  Westley!  Oh, Westley darling!   [she kisses him all over]	Westley,
	why won't you hold me?
Westley:  Gently...  [Westley has almost no strength]
Buttercup:  At a time like this, that is all you can think to say?  Gently?
Westley:  Gently... [Buttercup accidentally bangs Westley's head on the
	head-board of the bed]

[The scene is back to Inigo and Count Rugen]
[Inigo pulls the dagger from his stomach and tries to stand.]

Count Rugen:  Good heavens...are you still trying to win?  You've got an over
	developed sense of vengeance.  It's going to get you into trouble
	someday. [Rugen tries to slash Inigo through the heart, but Inigo blocks
	the attack. Rugen olny stabs his arms.]
Inigo:	Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.  You Killed my father.  Prepare to die.
	[Inigo still stumbles and holds his stomach.  The Count and Inigo
	exchange attacks.]  Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.  You Killed my
	father.  Prepare to die. [Inigo gains strength.  He fiercely lunges at
	Count Rugen.  Yelling]	Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya!  You Killed my
	father! Prepare to die!
Count Rugen:  [frightened and angry]  Stop saying that!  [Inigo nips Rugen]
Inigo:	[enraged]  Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya!  You Killed my father!
	Prepare to die! [Inigo corners Count Rugen and slashes his cheek]  Offer
	me money!  [He slashes his other cheek]
Count Rugen:  All that I have and more.  Please...
Inigo:  Offer me anything I ask for.
Count Rugen:  Anything you want... [Count Rugen tries a quick move on Inigo]
Inigo:	[plunging his sword into Rugen's chest]  I want my father back, you son
	of a bitch!  [Count Rugen falls to the floor, dead.]  Inigo runs off to
	find Westley.

[The Honeymoon suite]

Buttercup:  Oh, Westley, will you ever forgive me?
Westley:  What hideous sin have you committed lately?
Buttercup:  I got married.  I didn't want to.  It all happened so fast.
Westley:  It never happened.
Buttercup:  What?
Westley:  It never happened.
Buttercup:  But it did!  I was there...this old man said man and wife.
Westley:  Did you say I do?
Buttercup:  Uh...no.  We sort of skipped that part.
Westley:  Then you're not married.  You didn't say it.  You didn't do it.
	Wouldn't you agree, your highness?
Humperdink:  A technicality that will shortly be remedied...but first things
	first.. [He draws his sword]  To the death!
Westley:  [slowly sitting up]  No!  To the pain!
Humperdink:  I don't think I'm quite familiar with that phrase?
Westley:  I'll explain, and I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to
	understand. You-wart-hog-faced-buffoon!
Humperdink:  [insulted]  That may be the first time in my life a man has dared
	insult me.
Westley:  It won't be the last.  To the pain means the first thing you lose will
	be your your feet below the ankles, then your hands at your wrists.
	Next, your nose.
Humperdink:  Then my tongue, I suppose?  I killed you too quickly the last
	time, a mistake I don't mean to duplicate tonight.
Westley:  I wasn't finished!  The next thing you lose will be your left eye
	followed by your right!
Humperdink:  And then my ears...I understand! Let's get on with it!
Westley:  Wrong!  Your ears you keep, and I'll tell you why;  so that every
	shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness is yours to cherish.
	Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman that cries out,
	'dear god what is that thing!' will echo in your perfect ears. That is
	what to the pain means.  It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in
	freakish misery forever.
Humperdink:  I think your bluffing.
Westley:  It's possible, pig.  I might be bluffing.  It's conceivable you
	miserable vomitous mass, I'm only lying here because I lack the strength
	to stand. Then again, perhaps I have the strength to stand after all.
	[Slowly, Westley stands, his sword pointed at Humperdinck's chest]
	Drop... your... sword.

[Humperdinck throws his sword to the ground]

Westley:  Now have a seat.  Tie him up.  Make it as tight as you like.

[Buttercup ties up Humperdinck]

[Just then, Inigo comes in]

Inigo:  Where's Fezzik?
Westley:  I thought he was with you?  In that case...[Westley starts to move
	then almost fall over]
Inigo:  [to Buttercup]  Help him.
Buttercup:  Why does Westley need helping?
Inigo:  Because he has no strength.
Humperdink:  I knew it!  I knew you were bluffing!  [Inigo points his sword at
	him] I knew he was...bluffing.
Inigo:  Shall I dispatch him for you?
Westley:  Thank you, but no.  Whatever happens to us, I want him to live a long
	life, alone with his cowardness.
Fezzik: [from outside the window]  Inigo!  Inigo!  Where are you?  [Inigo runs
	to the window]	Oh...there you are.  Inigo, I saw the prince's stable,
	and there they were four white horses.	And I thought there are four of
	us, if we ever find the lady. [Buttercup and Westley run to the window
	to see Fezzik on a horse]  Hello lady! ...So I took them with me in case
	we ever bumped into each other.  But I guess we just did.
Inigo:  Fezzik, you did something right.
Fezzik:  Don't worry, I won't let it go to my head.

[Buttercup jumps out of the window and is caught by Fezzik]

Inigo:	You know, it's very strange.  I have been in the revenge business so
	long, now that it's over I don't know what to do with the rest of my
	life.
Westley:  Have you ever considered piracy?  You'd make a wonderful Dread Pirate
	Roberts.  [Both leave]

Narrator:  They rode to freedom.  As dawn arose, Westley and Buttercup knew they
	were safe.  A wave of love swept over them.  And as they reached for
	each other...

Kid:  What?!  What?!
Grandfather:  Naah, it's kissing again.  You don't want to hear that.
Kid:  Well...I don't mind so much.
Grandfather:  Okay.

Narrator:  Since the invention of the kiss, there had been five kisses that were
	rated the most passionate, the most pure.  This one left them all
	behind.  THE END.

Grandfather:  Now, I think you ought to go to sleep.
Kid:  Okay...
Grandfather:  [searching his pockets, making sure he forgot nothing] Okay...
	okay... okay...alright...shalom.
Kid:  Grandpa.	Maybe you could come over and read it again to me tomorrow.
Grandfather:  As you wish.

The Cast

Grandson [Kid]:  FRED SAVAGE
Grandfather:  PETER FALK
Buttercup:  ROBIN WRIGHT
Westley: CARRY ELWES
Fezzik:  ANDRE THE GIANT
Inigo Montoya: MANDY PATINKIN
Vizzini:  WALLACE SHAWN
Prince Humperdink:  CHRIS SARANDIN
Count Rugen:  CHRISTOPHER GUEST
Albino:  MEL SMITH
Old woman (BOOER):  MARGERY MASON
Miracle Max:  BILLY CRYSTAL
Valerie:  CAROL KANE
Impressive Clergyman:  PETER COOK
King:  WILLOUGHBY GRAY
Queen:  ANNE DYSAN
Asst. Brute:  PAUL BADGER
Mother:  BETSY BRANTLEY
Yellin:  MALCOLM STORRY