Tales from Shakespeare | Page 8

at the place where she lived the cruel law could not be
put in force against Hermia (this law not extending beyond the
boundaries of the city), he proposed to Hermia that she should steal out
of her father's house that night, and go with him to his aunt's house,
where he would marry her. "I will meet you," said Lysander, "in the
wood a few miles without the city; in that delightful wood where we
have so often walked with Helena in the pleasant month of May."
To this proposal Hermia joyfully agreed; and she told no one of her
intended flight but her friend Helena. Helena (as maidens will do
foolish things for love) very ungenerously resolved to go and tell this to
Demetrius, though she could hope no benefit from betraying her
friend's secret, but the poor pleasure of following her faithless lover to
the wood; for she well knew that Demetrius would go thither in pursuit
of Hermia.
The wood, in which Lysander and Hermia proposed to meet was the
favourite haunt of those little beings known by the name of Fairies.
Oberon the king, and Titania the queen of the Fairies, with all their tiny
train of followers, in this wood held their midnight revels.
Between this little king and queen of sprites there happened, at this
time, a sad disagreement; they never met by moonlight in the shady
walks of this pleasant wood, but they were quarrelling, till all their fairy
elves would creep into acorn-cups and hide themselves for fear.
The cause of this unhappy disagreement was Titania's refusing to give
Oberon a little changeling boy, whose mother had been Titania's friend;
and upon her death the fairy queen stole the child from its nurse, and
brought him up in the woods.
The night on which the lovers were to meet in this wood, as Titania
was walking with some of her maids of honour, she met Oberon
attended by his train of fairy courtiers.

"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania," said the fairy king. The queen
replied, "What, jealous Oberon, is it you? Fairies, skip hence; I have
forsworn his company." "Tarry, rash fairy," said Oberon; "am not I thy
lord? Why does Titania cross her Oberon? Give me your little
changeling boy to be my page."
"Set your heart at rest," answered the queen; "your whole fairy
kingdom buys not the boy of me." She then left her lord in great anger.
"Well, go your way," said Oberon: "before the morning dawns I will
torment you for this injury."
Oberon then sent for Puck, his chief favourite and privy counsellor.
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 dairy-maid 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 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;