Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare | Page 9

that
he had made a mistake, and set about looking for Demetrius, and having found him, put

some of the juice on his eyes. And the first thing Demetrius saw when he woke was also
Helena. So now Demetrius and Lysander were both following her through the wood, and
it was Hermia's turn to follow her lover as Helena had done before. The end of it was that
Helena and Hermia began to quarrel, and Demetrius and Lysander went off to fight.
Oberon was very sorry to see his kind scheme to help these lovers turn out so badly. So
he said to Puck--
"These two young men are going to fight. You must overhang the night with drooping
fog, and lead them so astray, that one will never find the other. When they are tired out,
they will fall asleep. Then drop this other herb on Lysander's eyes. That will give him his
old sight and his old love. Then each man will have the lady who loves him, and they will
all think that this has been only a Midsummer Night's Dream. Then when this is done, all
will be well with them."
So Puck went and did as he was told, and when the two had fallen asleep without meeting
each other, Puck poured the juice on Lysander's eyes, and said:--
"When thou wakest, Thou takest True delight In the sight Of thy former lady's eye: Jack
shall have Jill; Nought shall go ill."
Meanwhile Oberon found Titania asleep on a bank where grew wild thyme, oxlips, and
violets, and woodbine, musk-roses and eglantine. There Titania always slept a part of the
night, wrapped in the enameled skin of a snake. Oberon stooped over her and laid the
juice on her eyes, saying:--
"What thou seest when thou wake, Do it for thy true love take."
Now, it happened that when Titania woke the first thing she saw was a stupid clown, one
of a party of players who had come out into the wood to rehearse their play. This clown
had met with Puck, who had clapped an ass's head on his shoulders so that it looked as if
it grew there. Directly Titania woke and saw this dreadful monster, she said, "What angel
is this? Are you as wise as you are beautiful?"
"If I am wise enough to find my way out of this wood, that's enough for me," said the
foolish clown.
"Do not desire to go out of the wood," said Titania. The spell of the love-juice was on her,
and to her the clown seemed the most beautiful and delightful creature on all the earth. "I
love you," she went on. "Come with me, and I will give you fairies to attend on you."
So she called four fairies, whose names were Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and
Mustardseed.
"You must attend this gentleman," said the Queen. "Feed him with apricots and
dewberries, purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries. Steal honey-bags for him from the
bumble-bees, and with the wings of painted butterflies fan the moonbeams from his
sleeping eyes."
"I will," said one of the fairies, and all the others said, "I will."
"Now, sit down with me," said the Queen to the clown, "and let me stroke your dear
cheeks, and stick musk-roses in your smooth, sleek head, and kiss your fair large ears, my
gentle joy."
"Where's Peaseblossom?" asked the clown with the ass's head. He did not care much
about the Queen's affection, but he was very proud of having fairies to wait on him.
"Ready," said Peaseblossom.
"Scratch my head, Peaseblossom," said the clown. "Where's Cobweb?" "Ready," said
Cobweb.

"Kill me," said the clown, "the red bumble-bee on the top of the thistle yonder, and bring
me the honey-bag. Where's Mustardseed?"
"Ready," said Mustardseed.
"Oh, I want nothing," said the clown. "Only just help Cobweb to scratch. I must go to the
barber's, for methinks I am marvelous hairy about the face."
"Would you like anything to eat?" said the fairy Queen.
"I should like some good dry oats," said the clown--for his donkey's head made him
desire donkey's food--"and some hay to follow."
"Shall some of my fairies fetch you new nuts from the squirrel's house?" asked the
Queen.
"I'd rather have a handful or two of good dried peas," said the clown. "But please don't let
any of your people disturb me; I am going to sleep."
Then said the Queen, "And I will wind thee in my arms."
And so when Oberon came along he found his beautiful Queen lavishing kisses and
endearments on a clown with a donkey's head.
And before he released her from the enchantment, he persuaded her to give him the little
Indian boy he so much desired to have. Then he took