Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Adaptations; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Stories, plots, etc. -- Juvenile literature
“Well, go your way,” said Oberon; “before the morning dawns I
will torment you for this injury.”
Oberon then sent for Puck, his chief favorite and privy
counselor.
Puck (or, as he was sometimes called, Robin Goodfellow) was a
shrewd and knavish sprite, that used to play comical pranks in
the neighboring villages; sometimes getting into the dairies and
skimming the milk, sometimes plunging his light and airy form
into the butter-churn, and while he was dancing his fantastic
shape in the churn, in vain the dairymaid would labor to change
her cream into butter. Nor had the village swains any better
success; whenever Puck chose to play his freaks in the brewing
copper, the ale was sure to be spoiled. When a few good neighbors
were met to drink some comfortable ale together, Puck would jump
into the bowl of ale in the likeness of a roasted crab, and when
some old goody was going to drink he would bob against her lips,
and spill the ale over her withered chin; and presently after,
when the same old dame was gravely seating herself to tell her
neighbors a sad and melancholy story, Puck would slip her
three-legged stool from under her, and down toppled the poor old
woman, and then the old gossips would hold their sides and laugh
at her, and swear they never wasted a merrier hour.
“Come hither, Puck,” said Oberon to this little merry wanderer of
the night; “fetch me the flower which maids call ‘Love in,
Idleness’; the juice of that little purple flower laid on the
eyelids of those who sleep will make them, when they awake, dote
on the first thing they see. Some of the juice of that flower I
will drop on the eyelids of my Titania when she is asleep; and
the first thing she looks upon when she opens her eyes she will
fall in love with, even though it be a lion or a bear, a meddling
monkey or a busy ape; and before I will take this charm from off
her sight, which I can do with another charm I know of, I will
make her give me that boy to be my page.”
Puck, who loved mischief to his heart, was highly diverted with
this intended frolic of his master, and ran to seek the flower;
and while Oberon was waiting the return of Puck he observed
Demetrius and Helena enter the wood: he overheard Demetrius
reproaching Helena for following him, and after many unkind words
on his part, and gentle expostulations from Helena, reminding him
of his former love and professions of true faith to her, he left
her (as he said) to the mercy of the wild beasts, and she ran
after him as swiftly as she could.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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