ACT III put them

out of fear.
SCENE I. The wood. TITANIA lying QUINCE
asleep. Well, we will have such a prologue; and it
shall be
Enter QUINCE, SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, written in eight and six.
SNOUT, and STARVELING BOTTOM
No, make it two more; let it be written in
BOTTOM eight and eight.
Are we all met? SNOUT
QUINCE Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?
Pat, pat; and here's a marvelous convenient STARVELING
place I fear it, I promise you.
for our rehearsal. This green plot shall be BOTTOM
our Masters, you ought to consider with
stage, this hawthorn-brake our tiring-house; yourselves: to
and we bring in--God shield us!--a lion among
will do it in action as we will do it before the ladies, is a
duke. most dreadful thing; for there is not a more
BOTTOM fearful
Peter Quince,-- wild-fowl than your lion living; and we
QUINCE ought to
What sayest thou, bully Bottom? look to 't.
BOTTOM SNOUT
There are things in this comedy of Pyramus Therefore another prologue must tell he is
and not a lion.
Thisby that will never please. First, Pyramus BOTTOM
must Nay, you must name his name, and half his
draw a sword to kill himself; which the face must
ladies be seen through the lion's neck: and he
cannot abide. How answer you that? himself
SNOUT must speak through, saying thus, or to the
By'r lakin, a parlous fear. same
STARVELING defect,--'Ladies,'--or 'Fair-ladies--I would
I believe we must leave the killing out, when wish
all is done. You,'--or 'I would request you,'--or 'I would
BOTTOM entreat you,--not to fear, not to tremble: my
Not a whit: I have a device to make all well. life
Write me a prologue; and let the prologue for yours. If you think I come hither as a
seem to lion, it
say, we will do no harm with our swords, were pity of my life: no I am no such thing;
and that I am a
Pyramus is not killed indeed; and, for the man as other men are;' and there indeed let
more him name
better assurance, tell them that I, Pyramus, his name, and tell them plainly he is Snug
am not the joiner.
Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver: this will
QUINCE Pyramus
Well it shall be so. But there is two hard and Thisby whisper.
things; QUINCE
that is, to bring the moonlight into a If that may be, then all is well. Come, sit
chamber; for, down,
you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by every mother's son, and rehearse your parts.
moonlight. Pyramus, you begin: when you have spoken
SNOUT your
Doth the moon shine that night we play our speech, enter into that brake: and so every
play? one
BOTTOM according to his cue.
A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanac;
find Enter PUCK behind
out moonshine, find out moonshine.
QUINCE PUCK
Yes, it doth shine that night. What hempen home-spuns have we
BOTTOM swaggering here,
Why, then may you leave a casement of the So near the cradle of the fairy queen?
great What, a play toward! I'll be an auditor;
chamber window, where we play, open, and An actor too, perhaps, if I see cause.
the moon QUINCE
may shine in at the casement. Speak, Pyramus. Thisby, stand forth.
QUINCE BOTTOM
Ay; or else one must come in with a bush of Thisby, the flowers of odious savours
thorns sweet,--
and a lanthorn, and say he comes to QUINCE
disfigure, or to Odours, odours.
present, the person of Moonshine. Then, BOTTOM
there is --odours savours sweet:
another thing: we must have a wall in the So hath thy breath, my dearest Thisby dear.
great But hark, a voice! stay thou but here awhile,
chamber; for Pyramus and Thisby says the And by and by I will to thee appear.
story, did
talk through the chink of a wall. Exit
SNOUT
You can never bring in a wall. What say PUCK
you, Bottom? A stranger Pyramus than e'er played here.
BOTTOM
Some man or other must present Wall: and Exit
let him
have some plaster, or some loam, or some FLUTE
rough-cast Must I speak now?
about him, to signify wall; and let him hold QUINCE
his Ay, marry, must you; for you must
fingers thus, and through that cranny shall understand he goes
but to see a noise that he heard, and is to Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every
come again. turn.
FLUTE
Most radiant Pyramus, most lily-white of Exit
hue,
Of colour like the red rose on triumphant BOTTOM
brier, Why do they run away? this is a knavery of
Most brisky juvenal and eke most lovely them to
Jew, make me afeard.
As true as truest horse that yet would never
tire, Re-enter SNOUT
I'll meet thee, Pyramus, at Ninny's tomb.
QUINCE SNOUT
'Ninus' tomb,' man: why, you must not speak O Bottom, thou art changed! what do I see
that on thee?
yet; that you answer to Pyramus: you speak BOTTOM
all your What do you see? you see an asshead of
part at once, cues and all Pyramus enter: your own, do
your cue you?
is past; it is, 'never tire.'
FLUTE Exit SNOUT
O,--As true as truest horse, that yet would
never tire. Re-enter QUINCE

Re-enter PUCK, and BOTTOM with an ass's QUINCE

head Bless thee, Bottom! bless thee! thou art
translated.
BOTTOM
If I were fair, Thisby, I were only thine. Exit
QUINCE
O monstrous! O strange! we are haunted. BOTTOM
Pray, I see their knavery: this is to make an ass of
masters! fly, masters! Help! me;
to fright me, if they could. But I will not stir
Exeunt QUINCE, SNUG, FLUTE, SNOUT, from this place, do what they can: I will
and STARVELING walk up
and down here, and I will sing, that they
PUCK shall hear
I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a round, I am not afraid.
Through bog, through bush, through brake,
through brier: Sings
Sometime a horse I'll be, sometime a hound,
A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire; The ousel cock so black of hue,
And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, With orange-tawny bill,
and burn, The throstle with his note so true,
The wren with little quill,--
TITANIA I'll give thee fairies to attend on thee,
[Awaking] What angel wakes me from my And they shall fetch thee jewels from the
flowery bed? deep,
BOTTOM And sing while thou on pressed flowers dost
[Sings] sleep;
The finch, the sparrow and the lark, And I will purge thy mortal grossness so
The plain-song cuckoo gray, That thou shalt like an airy spirit go.
Whose note full many a man doth mark, Peaseblossom! Cobweb! Moth! and
And dares not answer nay;-- Mustardseed!
for, indeed, who would set his wit to so
foolish Enter PEASEBLOSSOM, COBWEB, MOTH,
a bird? who would give a bird the lie, though and MUSTARDSEED
he cry
'cuckoo' never so? PEASEBLOSSOM
TITANIA Ready.
I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again: COBWEB
Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note; And I.
So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape; MOTH
And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth And I.
move me MUSTARDSEED
On the first view to say, to swear, I love And I.
thee. ALL
BOTTOM Where shall we go?
Methinks, mistress, you should have little TITANIA
reason Be kind and courteous to this gentleman;
for that: and yet, to say the truth, reason and Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes;
love keep little company together now-a- Feed him with apricocks and dewberries,
days; the With purple grapes, green figs, and
more the pity that some honest neighbours mulberries;
will not The honey-bags steal from the humble-bees,
make them friends. Nay, I can gleek upon And for night-tapers crop their waxen thighs
occasion. And light them at the fiery glow-worm's
TITANIA eyes,
Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful. To have my love to bed and to arise;
BOTTOM And pluck the wings from Painted
Not so, neither: but if I had wit enough to butterflies
get out To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping
of this wood, I have enough to serve mine eyes:
own turn. Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies.
TITANIA PEASEBLOSSOM
Out of this wood do not desire to go: Hail, mortal!
Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or COBWEB
no. Hail!
I am a spirit of no common rate; MOTH
The summer still doth tend upon my state; Hail!
And I do love thee: therefore, go with me; MUSTARDSEED
Hail! Exeunt
BOTTOM
I cry your worship's mercy, heartily: I
beseech your
worship's name.
COBWEB
Cobweb.
BOTTOM
I shall desire you of more acquaintance,
good Master
Cobweb: if I cut my finger, I shall make
bold with
you. Your name, honest gentleman?
PEASEBLOSSOM
Peaseblossom.
BOTTOM
I pray you, commend me to Mistress
Squash, your
mother, and to Master Peascod, your father.
Good
Master Peaseblossom, I shall desire you of
more
acquaintance too. Your name, I beseech you,
sir?
MUSTARDSEED
Mustardseed.
BOTTOM
Good Master Mustardseed, I know your
patience well:
that same cowardly, giant-like ox-beef hath
devoured many a gentleman of your house: I
promise
you your kindred had made my eyes water
ere now. I
desire your more acquaintance, good Master
Mustardseed.
TITANIA
Come, wait upon him; lead him to my
bower.
The moon methinks looks with a watery
eye;
And when she weeps, weeps every little
flower,
Lamenting some enforced chastity.
Tie up my love's tongue bring him silently.