Shownotes Transcript
Hello, I'm Mariam. Welcome to Classic Stories. Have you ever had two friends that you think would be perfect for each other, but they can't see it? Well, I don't want to spoil today's story for you, but it's all about schemes and tricks and love. Our story begins in Italy, in an old house where Hero lives with her father, Leonardo, and cousin, Beatrice. Hero and Beatrice are very close, and they've been together for a long time.
but they have very different personalities. Beatrice is a bit older than Hero. She is very funny, outspoken, and is not interested in marriage. Hero is more traditional, and she does want to marry. Leonardo finds out that his friend, Don Pedro, is returning triumphant from a war and is coming to stay at the house with some other soldiers, Claudio, Benedict, and Don Pedro's strange brother, Don John.
When the soldiers arrive, Claudio immediately falls in love with Hero and tells his friend, Benedict. Benedict knows Beatrice from a long time ago, but they don't get on. They argue and insult each other, but they seem to enjoy trading insults. At a ball to celebrate the end of the war, Don John tries to cause trouble by telling Claudio that Don Pedro is interested in Hero too.
But the dirty trick fails and Claudio and Hero get engaged. Claudio, Leonardo, Hero and Don Pedro decide that despite their bickering, Benedict and Beatrice would be a good match and decide to trick them into falling in love. Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonardo have a pretend conversation in the orchard where they know Benedict can overhear them. They say that Beatrice is in love with Benedict.
Benedict is shocked and confused by what he hears. Meanwhile, Hero plays the same trick. She tells her maid Ursula that Benedict is in love with Beatrice when she knows that Beatrice is eavesdropping. Once the women have left, Beatrice reflects that maybe she could love Benedict too. Don John's troublemaking is not over. He likes to cause chaos and knows all the tricks of the trade.
He tells Claudio and Don Pedro that Hero is unfaithful and that a man is visiting her late at night. Claudio and Don Pedro stay up late to watch Hero's window. In a trick of the light, they think they see Hero with another man. But actually, it's Hero's maid and Don John's friend, Borraccio. But Claudio doesn't realise the trick and is distraught.
The next day, at the wedding, he publicly shames Hero. She faints, and everyone except Beatrice and Benedict storm away. Hero wakes up and is distraught. The priest, who was due to marry the couple, has a plan that should do the trick. He decides they should pretend Hero has died from the shock of the confrontation, to buy them time to prove her innocence.
Still in shock, Hero agrees to the plan. Beatrice and Benedict are left alone and admit their love for each other. Beatrice asks Benedict to fight Claudio for shaming her cousin and Benedict agrees. A group of useless policemen, led by a man called Dogbury, overhear Borraccio boasting about having tricked Claudio. Meanwhile, Benedict challenges Claudio to a fight and
Thankfully, Dogbury arrives to tell Hero's father, Leonardo, about Don John's trick. It takes a while for Leonardo to get what Dogbury is saying, but finally everyone understands that Claudio has fallen for Don John's lies. But Claudio still believes that Hero is dead and blames himself for the death. He asks Leonardo how he can repay him for the hurt he has caused his family.
Leonardo has an idea that is just the trick. He asks Claudio to marry another of Hero's cousins and Claudio agrees. Leonardo won't let Claudio see his bride's face until they are married. But after the ceremony, she lifts her veil and reveals herself to be Hero. Claudio has been tricked again, but this time it's a nice one.
Benedict proposes to Beatrice. Even though she realises she has been tricked by her friends, Beatrice agrees because she realises she loves him. News arrives that Don John has been arrested. Everyone dances and celebrates and all of the different lies and confusions are forgiven. I guess in this story, the trick to happiness is sometimes telling some white lies.
Well, there were a lot of different tricks in that story, but I think things turned out for the best in the end. Join me next week for another story. Bye for now.