ACT SECOND
Scene One
[A Wood near Athens]
Enter a Fairy at one door, and Robin Goodfellow at another.
Puck. How now, spirit! whither wander you?
Fai. Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,4
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moon's sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,8
To dew her orbs upon the green:
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,12
In their freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits: I'll be gone;16
Our queen and all her elves come here anon.
Puck. The king doth keep his revels here to-night.
Take heed the queen come not within his sight;
For Oberon is passing fell and wrath,20
Because that she as her attendant hath
A lovely boy, stol'n from an Indian king;
She never had so sweet a changeling;
Scene One S. d. at one door; cf. n.
Robin Goodfellow; cf. n.
3 Thorough: through
4 pale: fence
7 moon's sphere; cf. n.
9 orbs; cf. n.
10 pensioners; cf. n.
12 favours: love-tokens
16 lob: bumpkin
17 anon: presently
20 passing fell: exceedingly angry
wrath: wroth
23 changeling; cf. n.
