Rupert. This is the wildest prank; we'll hear its source another time. Celio. Should not our queen of May interview the Fairies? Rupert. Well bethought. Eulalie. Then I'll begin with thee. What elves are these, Thou seem'st to lead in ordered companies? 2nd Fairy. That the fairy army is, Clad in rose-leaves, bravely worn; Pollen far outshines gold lace; Their helmets bright are husks of corn; Quivers of the adder's slough; Bows of legs of spiders slain; A cob-web string is strong enough For a spear-grass arrow's strain, With the sting of hornet tipped, In the dew of hemlock dipped. Eulalie. And what are you, ye varied, restless ones? 3rd Fairy. We the fairies are who sleep, Blanketed and pillowed deep In the golden, blooming folds Of nightly-cradled marigolds. Some with evening's blushes meek Tinge the peach's downy cheek. Feathers stolen from butterflies Make our pencils: all the dyes Of all the flowers we fairies know How bright daffodils to gild In the saffron sunrise glow; To launder lilies in the snow; When midnight all the air has filled We dip in purple gloom the pansy; When Cupid over-rules our fancy For our loves we make incision; The daisies with our blood we dight, Loosened from its veined prison; When we haste upon our mission In a moonless, starless night, Fireflies, glow-worms lend us light. Eulalie. Come hither, little brownie, dark and green. I prithee, tell me what thy fellows bin. 4th Fairy. Wood-elves they, in russet dressed, And they love the lindens best. Hark, they hum our antique rune! A human fiddler learned the tune, And played it at a merry-making: Still he plays; the clowns still dance In a jolly, jigging trance; For them to rest there is no waking, Till that fiddler learn to play Backward our elfin melody. Eulalie. And what are ye so beauteously dressed? 5th Fairy. River-spirits, golden-tressed, With blue eye, and light-blue vest. None can sing so sweet as we, Joyfully or mournfully; And our chant is ever ringing: Such a spell is in our singing, Every listener hears aright His own thought from the water-sprite. Eulalie. And ye? 6th Fairy. We are sea-nymphs, sea-green-haired, Liquid-voiced and liquid-eyed. We will float with bosoms bared On old Neptune's happy tide; There our filmy smocks to bleach In the sun, and soft west wind; Mortals, gazing from the beach Think them foam-crests, fairy-blind. Eulalie.