Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Adaptations; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Stories, plots, etc. -- Juvenile literature
Puck (or as he was sometimes called, Robin Goodfellow) was a shrewd and
knavish sprite, that used to play comical pranks in the neighbouring
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 labour 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 neighbours 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
neighbours 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 Lore 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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