Fireside Folktales presents A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare Act 2, Scene 2.
Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed while I thy amiable cheeks do coy and stick musk roses in thy sleek smooth head. And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.
Where's Peaseblossom?
Ready.
Scratch my head, Peaseblossom. Where's Monsieur Cobweb? Ready, Monsieur Cobweb. Good monsieur, get you your weapons in your hand and kill me A red hipped bumblebee on the top of a thistle. And good monsieur, bring me the honey bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the action, monsieur. And good monsieur, have a care the honey bag break not. I would be loath to have you overflown with a honey bag. Signior, where's Monsieur Mustardseed?
Ready.
Give me your knee, Monsieur Mustardseed. Pray you, leave your courtesy, good monsieur.
What's your will?
Nothing, good monsieur, but to help cavalry Cobweb to scratch I must to the barbers, monsieur, for methinks I am marvellous hairy about the face and I am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I. I must scratch.
What, wilt thou hear some music, my sweet love?
I have a reasonable good ear in music. Let us have the tongs and the bow.
Or say, sweet love, what thou desirest to eat.
Truly a pecca provender. I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks I have a great desire to a bottle of hay.
Good hay, sweet hay hath no fellow.
I have a venturous fairy that shall seek the squirrel's hoard and fetch thee new nuts.
I had rather have a handful or two of dried peas. But I pray you, let none of your people stir me. I have an exposition of sleep come upon me.
Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms. Fairies, be gone, and be always away. So doth the woodbine, the sweet honeysuckle gently entwist the female ivy, so in wrings the barky fingers of the elm. Oh, how I love thee. How I dote on thee.
Welcome, good Robin. See the sweet sight, her dotage now I do begin to pity for meeting her of late behind the wood, seeking sweet favors for this hateful fool, I did upbraid her and fallout with her for she his hairy temples then had rounded with coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers and the same dew, which sometime on the buds was wont to swell like round and orient pearls, stood now within the pretty floriet's eyes like Tears that did their own disgrace bewail. When I had at my pleasure taunted her. And she in mild terms begged my patience. I then did ask of her her changeling child. Which straight to she gave me. And her fairies sent to bear him to my bower in fairyland. And now I have the boy. I will undo this hateful imperfection of her eyes. And, gentle Puck, take this transformant scalp from off the head of this Athenian swain. That he awaking when the other do. May all to Athens back again repair. And think no more of this night's accidents. But as the fierce vexation of a dream. But first I will release the fairy queen. Be as thou wast wont to be. See as thou wast wont to see. Dian's bud or Cupid's flower. Hath such force and blessed power. Now, my Titania, wake you, my sweet queen?
My Oberon. What visions have I seen? Methought I was enamoured of an ass.
There lies your love.
Oh, how came these things to pass? Oh, how mine eyes do loathe his visage.
Now silence awhile, Robin. Take off his head. Titania. Music. Call and strike. More dead than common sleep of all these five descents.
Music, ho. Music such as charmeth sleep.
Now, when thou wakest with thine own fool's eyes peep. Come, my queen, take hands with me and rock the ground whereon these sleepers be. Now thou and I are new in amity. And will tomorrow midnight solemnly dance in Duke Theseus house triumphantly. And bless it to all fair prosperity. There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be wedded. With Theseus in all jollity. Fairy king, attend and mark. I do hear the morning lark. Then, my queen, in silence sad trip we after night's shade. We the globe can compass soon swifter than the wandering moon.
Come, my lord, and in our flight tell me how it came this night that I, sleeping here was found with these mortals on the ground.
Go, one of you find the forster. For now our observation is performed. And since we have the voward of the day, My love shall hear the music of my hounds uncouple in the western valley. Let them go. Dispatch, I say, and find the forester. We will, fair queen, up to the mountain's top. And mark the musical confusion of hounds and echo in conjunction.
I was with Hercules and Cadmus once. When in a wood of Crete they bayed the bear with hounds of Sparta. Never did I hear such gallant chiding. For besides the grove, the skies, the fountains, every region near seemed all One mutual cry. I never heard so musical a discord. Such sweet things thunder.
My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind, so flew so sanded, and their heads are hung with ears that sweep away the morning dew. Crook kneed and dewlapped, like Thessalian bulls, slow in pursuit, but matched in mouth like bells, each under each a cry more tunable was never hollowed to, nor cheer'd with horn in Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly. Judge when you hear. But soft, what nymphs are these?
My lord, this is my daughter, here asleep. And this, Lysander. This, Demetrius, is this Helaena, old Nidos. Helaena. I wonder of their being here together.
No doubt they rose up early to observe the rite of May, and, hearing our intent, came here in grace of our solemnity. But speak, Aegeus. Is not this the day that Hermia should give answer of her choice?
It is, my lord.
Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their horns.
Horns.
Good morrow, friends. St. Valentine is past. Begin these wood birds but a couple now.
Pardon, my lord.
I pray you all stand up. I know you two are rival enemies. How comes this gentle concord in the world, that hatred is so far from jealousy? To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity?
My lord, I shall reply amazedly, half asleep, half waking. But as yet I swear, I cannot truly say how I came here, but as I think, for truly I would speak, and now I do. Bethink me so it is. I came with Hermia hither. Our intent was to be gone from Athens, where we might be without the peril of the Athenian law.
Enough, enough. My lord. You have enough. I beg the law.
The law.
Upon his head. They would have stolen away. They would, Demetrius, thereby to have defeated you and me, you of your wife, and me of my consent. Of my consent that she should be your wife.
My lord. Fair Helen told me of their stealth, of this their purpose hither to this wood, and I in fury hither followed them. Fair Helen, in fancy following me. But, my good lord, I wot not by what power, but by some power it is, my love to Hermia melted as the snow, seems to me now, as the remembrance of an idol go, which in my childhood I did dote upon, and all the faith, the virtue of my heart, the object and the pleasure of mine eye, is only Helena. To her, my lord, was I betrothed, ere I saw Hermia. But like a sickness did I loathe this food, but, as in health, come to my natural taste. Now I do wish it, love it long for it and will forevermore be true to it.
Fair lovers, you are fortunately met. Of this discourse we more will hear. Anon, Aegeus, I will overbear your will. For in the temple by and by with us these couples shall eternally be knit. And for the morning now is something worn. Our purposed hunting shall be set aside. Away with us to Athens. 3 and 3. We'll hold a feast in great solemnity. Come, Hippolyta.
These things seem small and indistinguishable, like far off mountains. Turn it into clouds.
Methinks I see things with parted eye when everything seems double.
So methinks and I have found Demetrius like a jewel, mine own and not mine own.
Are you sure that we are awake? It seems to me that we yet sleep. We dream. Do you not think the duke was here and bid us follow him?
Yea, and my father and Hippolyta, and.
He did b bid us follow to the temple.
Why, then we are awake. Let's follow him. And by the way, let us recount our dreams.
When my cucumbers call me, and I will answer, my next is most fair Pyramus. Hey ho. Peter Quince. Flute, the Bellows. Mender. Snout the Tinker. Starveling. My gods. My life stolen hence and left me asleep. I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was. There is no man can tell what methought I was, and methought I had but. But man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen. Man's hand is not able to taste his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write.
A ballad of this dream.
It shall be called Bottom's Dream, because.
It hath no bottom.
And I will sing it in the latter end of a play before the duke. Peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at her death.
This episode of A Midsummer Night's Dream featured the vocal talents of Chisoke Williams as Titania Josh Rubino as Bottom Missy Rowland as Peas Blossom Pandora Beatrix as Cobweb Zell Tracy as Moth Obscura as Mustardseed Sebastian Crane as Oberon Nala J. Wu as Puck Hayden Ezekiel Felix as Theseus Diana Helen Kennedy as Hippolyta Delvin Green as Aegeus Christopher Wilson as Demetrius Ezra Wayne as Lysander Danielle Ellett as Hermia Emma Shurjarko as Helena A Midsummer Night's Dream was produced and directed by Dallas Hawthorne with the assistance of Roz Ray Powers. Cole Burkhart was the sound designer. Ally Hilton composed the music. Adam Raimonda composed the theme song. This show would not have been possible without the support of friends, family, family and many, many, many of our respected peers in the audio drama sphere. Thank you for listening.
Sa.