Dallas: Fireside Folk Tales presents A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare Act 2, Scene 1.
Puck: How now, spirit. Whither wander you?
Over hill, over dale, through brush, through.
Briar, over park, over pale, through flood, through fog.
We do wander everywhere, swifter than the moon's sphere.
And we serve the fairy queen to do her orbs upon the green, the.
Cowslips tall her pensioners be in their.
Gold coat spots you see, those be Ruby's very favours. In those freckles live their savours.
We must go seek some dew drops here, and hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear. Farewell, thy love spirits will be begun.
A queen and all her elves come here.
Dallas: Woe.
Puck: The king doth keep his revels here to night. Take heed the queen come not within his sight. For Oberon is passing fell in wrath, because that she as her attendant hath a lovely boy stolen from an Indian king. She never had so sweet a changeling. And jealous Oberon would have the child knight of his train to trace the forest wild. But she perforce withholds the loved boy, crowns him with flowers and makes him all her joy. And now they never meet in grove or green, by fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen, but they do square that all their elves for fear creep into acorn cups and hide them there.
Either I mistake your shape in making quite or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he that frights the maidens of the villagery, skim milk, and sometimes labor in the quern and bootless.
Make the breathless housewife churn, and sometime make the drink to bear no barm mistly, and night wanderers laughing at their harm.
Those that hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck you do their work, and they shall have good luck.
Are not you he?
Puck: Thou speakest aright? I am that merry wanderer of the night. I jest to Oberon, and make him smile when I a fat and bean fed horse beguile, neighing in the likeness of a filly foal. And sometimes lurk I in a gossip's bowl, in the very likeness of a roasted crab. And when she drinks, against her lips I bob, and on her withered dewlap pour the ale. The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale. Sometime for a three foot stool mistaketh me. Then slip I from her bum, down topples she, and tailor cries and falls into a cough. And then the whole choir hold their hips and laugh, and waxen in their mirth and knees, and swear, a merrier hour was never wasted there. But, room, fairy.
Here comes Oberon, and here our mistress. Would that he were gone. Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.
Titania: What, jealous Oberon? Fairies, skip hints. I have forsworn his bed and company.
Tarry, rash wanton. Am I not thy lord?
Titania: Then I must be thy lady. But I know when thou hast stolen away from fairy land and in the shape of corn, sat all day playing on pipes of corn and versing love to amorous Phyllida. Why art thou here? Come from the farthest steep of India, but that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon, your buskin'd mistress, and your warrior love to Theseus must be wedded, and you come to give their bed joy and prosperity.
How canst thou thus for shame, Titania, glance at my credit with Hippolyta, knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Didst not thou lead him through the glimmering night from Perigenia whom he ravished? And make him with fair aeglies break his faith with Ariadne and Antiopa?
Titania: These are the forgeries of jealousy. And never since the middle summer spring met we on hill, in dale forest, or mead, by paved fountain, or by rushy brook, or on the beached margent of the sea, to dance our ringlets to the whistling wind. But with thy brawls thou hast disturbed our sport. Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain, as in revenge, have sucked up from the sea contagious fogs, which, falling in the land, hath every pelting river made so proud that they have overborne their continents. The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain, the ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn hath rotted ere his youth attained a beard. The fold stands empty in the drowned field, and crows are fatted with the murian flock. The nine men's morris is filled up with mud, and the quaint mazes in the wanton green, for lack of tread are undistinguishable. The human mortals want their winter here. No night is now with him or Carol. Blessed therefore the moon, the governess of floods, pale in her anger, washes all the air that rheumatic diseases do abound. And thorough this distemperature we see the seasons alter. Hoary headed frosts fall on the fresh lap of the crimson rose, and on old Heim's thin and icy crown an odorous shaplet of sweet summer buds is as in mockery set the spring, the summer the childing autumn, angry winter changed their wonted liveries. And the maced world, by their increase now knows not which is which. And this same progeny of evils comes from our debate, from our dissension. We are their parents and original.
Do you amend it, then? It lies in you. Why should Titania cross her Oberon? I do but beg a little changeling boy to be my henchman.
Titania: Set your heart at rest. The fairyland buys not the child of me. His mother was a vultress of my order. And in the spiced Indian air by night full often hath she gossiped by my side and sat with me on Neptune's yellow sands, marking the embarked traders on the flood. When we have laughed to see the sails conceive and grow big bellied with the wanton wind, which she, with pretty and with swimming gait following her womb, then rich with my young squire would imitate and sail upon the land to fetch me trifles in return again, as from a voyage rich with merchandise. But she, being mortal, of that boy did die. And for her sake do I rear up her boy. And for her sake I will not part with him.
How long within this wood intend you stay?
Titania: Perchance till after Theseus wedding day. If you will patiently dance in our round and see our moonlight revels, go with us. If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.
Give me that boy, and I will go with thee.
Titania: Not for thy fairy kingdom. Fairies, away. We shall chide downright if I longer stay.
Well, go thy way. Thou shalt not from this grove till I torment thee for this injury. My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememberest since once I sat upon a promontory and heard a mermaid on a dolphin's back, uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath that the rude sea grew civil at her song. And certain stars shot madly from their spirit to hear the sea maid's music. I remember that very time I saw. But thou couldst not. Flying between the cold moon and the earth, Cupid all armed. A certain aim he took at a fair vestal throned by the west and loosed his love shaft smartly from his bow as it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts. But I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft quenched in the chaste beams of the watery moon. And the imperial votress passed on in maiden meditation. Fancy free, yet marked. Aye, where the bolt of Cupid fell, it fell upon a little western flower before milk white now purple with love's wound, and maidens call it love in idleness fetch me that flower, the herb I showed thee once. The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid will make man or woman madly dote upon the next live creature that it sees. Fetch me this herb, and be thou here again ere the leviathan can swim a league.
Puck: I'll put a girdle round about the Earth in 40 minutes.
Having once this juice, I'll watch Titania while she is asleep and drop the liquor of it in her eyes. The next thing then she waking looks upon, be it on lion, bear, or wolf or bull, on meddling monkey or on busy ape, she shall pursue it with the soul of love. And ere I take this charm from off her sight, as I can take it with another herb, I'll make her render up her page to me. But who comes here? I'm invisible, and I will overhear their conference.
I love thee not, therefore pursue me not. Where is Lysander and fair Hermia? The one I'll slay, the other slayeth me. Thou toldst me they were stolen into this wood, and here am I, and woed within this wood, because I cannot meet with Hermia. Hence. Get thee gone, and follow me no more.
You draw me, you hard hearted, adamant, but yet you draw not iron, for my heart is true as steel. Leave you your power to draw, and I shall have no power to follow you.
Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair? Or rather, do I not in plainest truth tell you I do not, nor I cannot love you?
And even for that do I love thee the more. I am your spaniel. And, Demetrius, the more you beat me, I will fawn on you. Use me but as your spaniel. Spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me, only give me leave, unworthy as I am, to follow you. What worser place can I beg in your love, and yet a place of high respect with me, than to be used as you use your dog?
Attempt not too much the hatred of my spirit, for I am sick when I do look on thee.
I am sick when I look not on you.
You do impeach your modesty too much to leave the city and commit yourself into the hands of one that loves you not. To trust the opportunity of night and the ill counsel of a desert place with the rich worth of your virginity.
Your virtue is my privilege, for that it is not night when I do see your face. Therefore I think I am not in the night. Nor doth this world lack worlds of company. For you in my respect are all the world. Then how can it be said I am alone when all the world is here to look on me.
I'll run from thee and hide me in the brakes and leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.
The wildest hath not such a heart as you. Run when he will, the story shall be changed. Apollo flies and Daphne holds the chase. The dove pursues the griffin, the mild hind makes speed to catch the tiger. Bootless speed when cowardice pursues and valor flies.
I will not stay thy questions. Let me go. Or, if thou follow me, do not believe but I shall do thee mischief in the wood.
Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field. You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius. Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex. We cannot fight for love as men may do. We should be wooed, and we're not made to woo. I'll follow thee and make a heaven of hell to die upon the hand I love so well.
Fare thee well, nymph. Ere he do leave this grove, thou shalt fly him, and he shall seek thy love. Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.
Puck: Aye, there it is.
I pray thee, give it me. I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows quite over canopied with luscious woodbine, with sweet musk roses and with eglantine there sleeps Titania sometimes of the night, lulled in these flowers with dances and delight. And there the snake throws her enameled skin weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in. And with the juice of this I'll streak her eyes and make her full of hateful fantasies. Take thou some of it and seek through this grove A sweet Athenian lady is in love with a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes, but do it when the next thing he espies may be the lady. Thou shalt know the man by the Athenian garments he hath on. Effect it with some care that he may prove more fond on her than she upon her love. And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.
Puck: Ah, fear not, my lord. Your servant shall do so.
Dallas: This episode of A Midsummer Night's Dream featured the vocal talents of Nala J. Woo as Puck Missy Rowland as Peaseblossom Pandora Beatrix as Cobweb Zell Tracy as Moth Obscura as Mustardseed Sebastian Crane as Oberon Chijoke Williams as Titania Christopher Wilson as Demetrius Emma Shurjarko as Helen.
Titania: A.
Dallas: Midsummer Night's Dream was produced and directed by Dallas Hawthorne with the assistance of Roz Ray Powers. Cole Burkhart was the Sound designer Allie Hilton composed the music. Adam Raymonda composed the theme song. This show would not have been possible without the support of friends, family and many, many, many of our respected peers in the audio drama sphere. If you want to provide your support to the cast and crew of the show, please consider donating to our Ko Fi page, which you can find linked in the Show Notes. If you wish to donate directly to a cast or crew member of your choosing, you can find out how to do that in the Show Notes as well. Transcriptions of each episode, including the edits made during production, can also be found linked in the Show Notes. Generally, anything you might need to know should be down in the Show Notes. Thank you for listening.