A Fairy Tale in Two Acts Taken from Shakespeare · William Shakespeare
AIR. DUET.
Queen. Away, away, I will not stay, But fly from rage and thee. King. Begone, begone, You'll feel anon What 'tis to injure me. Queen. Away, false man! Do all you can, I scorn your jealous rage! King. We will not part; Take you my heart! Give me your favourite page. Queen. I'll keep my page! King. And I my rage! Nor shall you injure me. Queen. Away, away! I will not stay, But fly from rage and thee. Both. Away, away, &c. [Exe. Queen, &c. Ob. Well, go thy way; thou shalt not from this grove, Till I torment thee for this injury-- My gentle Puck, come hither: There is a flow'r, the herb I shew'd thee once, The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid, Will make a man or woman madly doat Upon the next live creature that it sees. Fetch me that herb, and be thou here again Ere the leviathan can swim a league. Puck. I'll put a girdle round about the earth In forty minutes. [Exit. Ob. Having once this juice, I'll watch Titania when she is asleep, And drop the liquor of it in her eye; The next thing which she waking looks upon, (Be it on bear, lion, wolf, bull, ape or monkey), She shall pursue it with the soul of love; And ere I take this charm off from her sight, (As I can take it with another herb), I'll make her render up her page to me. [Exit.
Enter Queen of the Fairies, and her Train. Queen. Come, now a roundel, and a fairy song. 2d Fai. Come, follow, follow me, Ye fairy Elves that be; O'er tops of dewy grass, So nimbly do we pass, The young and tender stalk Ne'er bends where we do walk. Queen. Now, for the third part of a minute hence, Some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds, Some war with rear-mice for their leathern wings, To make my small Elves coats: And some keep back The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots, and wonders, At our queint spirits. Sing me now asleep, Then to your offices, and let me rest. [Goes to the Bower and lies down. 1st. Fai. You spotted snakes with double tongue, Thorny hedge-hogs, be not seen, Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong, Come not near our fairy Queen. Philomel with melody, Sing in your sweet lullaby, Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby: Never harm, nor spell, nor charm, Come our lovely Lady nigh, So good night with lullaby. Weaving spiders come not here; Hence, you long-leg'd spinners, hence: Beetles black approach not near, Worm nor snail do no offence. Philomel with melody, &c. Hence away! now all is well; One aloof stand centinel. [Exeunt Fairies. Enter Oberon and First Fairy. [Oberon squeeses the Juice of the Flower on the Queen's Eyes.
Ob. What thou seest when thou dost wake, Do it for thy true love take; Love and languish for his sake; Be it ounce, or cat, or bear, Pard, or boar with bristled hair, In thy eye what shall appear, When thou wak'st, it is thy dear; Wake when some vile thing is near. [Exit Ob. 1st Fai. Such the force of Magic Pow'r, Of the juice of this small flower, It shall jaundice so her sight, Foul shall be fair, and black seem white; Then shall dreams, and all their train, Fill with Fantasies her brain; Then, no more her darling joy, She'll resign her changeling boy. [Exeunt. End of the First Act.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.