A Fairy Tale in Two Acts Taken from Shakespeare · William Shakespeare
AIR.
The ousel-cock, so black of hue, With orange-tawny bill, The throstle, with his note so true, The wren with little quill. Queen. What angel wakes me from my flow'ry bed? Bot. (Sings.) The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, The plain-song cuckow grey, Whose note full many a man doth mark, And dares not answer nay. Queen. I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again, Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note; So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape, On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee. Bot. Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason for that; and yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together now-a-days. The more the pity, that some honest neighbours will not make them friends. Nay I can gleek upon occasion. Queen. Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful. Bot. Not so neither: But if I had wit enough to get out of this wood, I have enough to serve mine own turn. Queen. Out of this wood do not desire to go; Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no, I am a spirit of no common rate; The summer still doth tend upon my state, And I do love thee; therefore go with me, I'll give thee Fairies to attend on thee; And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep, And sing, while thou on pressed flow'rs doth sleep; And I will purge thy mortal grossness so, That thou shalt like an airy Spirit go. Peaseblossom, Cob, Moth, Mustardseed!
Enter Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed, Four Fairies. Pease. Ready. Cob. And I. Moth. And I. Must. And I. Where shall we go? Queen. Be kind and courteous to this Gentleman; Hop in his walks, and gambol in his eyes; Feed him with apricots and dewberries; With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries; The honey-bags steal from the humble bees, And for night-tapers, crop their waxen thighs, And light them at the fiery glow-worms eyes, To have my love to-bed, and to arise: Nod to him, Elves, and do him courtesies. Pease. Hail, mortal, hail! Cob. Hail! Moth. Hail! Queen. Come, wait upon him, lead him to my bow'r. The moon, methinks, looks with a watry eye, And when she weeps, weep ev'ry little flower, Lamenting some enforced chastity. Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently. [Exeunt. Enter Oberon. Ob. I wonder if Titania be awak'd: Then what it was that next came in her eye, Which she must doat on in extremity? Enter Puck. Here comes my messenger! how now, mad sprite! What night-rule now about this haunted grove? Puck. My mistress with a mortal is in love. Ob. This falls out well and fortunate in truth; Now to my Queen, and beg her Indian youth: And then I will her charmed eye release From mortals view, and all things shall be peace. Away, away, make no delay, We may effect this business yet ere day. [Exit Puck. Up and down, up and down, We will trip it up and down. We will go through field and town, We will trip it up and down. [Exit Oberon.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.