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Demetrius

Of this their purpose hither to this wood,
And I, in fury, hither followed them,
Fair Helena, 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 idle gaud
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 in 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 for evermore be true to it.

Theseus

Fair lovers, you are fortunately met.

Theseus

Go, one of you, find out the forester.
For now our observation is performed,
And since we have the vanguard 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.
[Exit servant]
We will, fair Queen, up to the mountain's top,
And mark the musical confusion
Of hounds and echo in conjunction.

Oberon

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 fall out with her,
For she his hairy temples then had rounded
With a coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers.
And that same dew which sometime on the buds
Was wont to swell like round and orient pearls,
Stood now within the pretty flow'rets' eyes
Like tears that did their own disgrace bewail.

Titania

I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again.
Mine ear is much enamored of thy note;
So is mine eye enthrallèd to thy shape.
And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me
On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee.

Bottom

Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason
for that. And yet, to say the truth, reason and love
keep little company together nowadays; the more
the pity that some honest neighbors will not make them
friends. Nay, I can gleek upon occasion.

Quince

Well, it shall be so. But there is two hard things:
that is, to bring the moonlight into a chamber, for you
know Pyramus and Thisbe meet by moonlight.

Snug

Doth the moon shine that night we play our
play?

Bottom

A calendar, a calendar — look in the almanac,
find out moonshine, find out moonshine.
[Enter Robin, invisible]

Quince

[Consulting an almanac] Yes, it doth shine that
night.

Bottom

Why, then may you leave a casement of the great
chamber window where we play open, and the moon
may shine in at the casement.

Quince

Ay, or else one must come in with a bush of
thorns and a lantern, and say he comes to disfigure or
to present the person of Moonshine. Then there is
[The same woods as the previous scene. Enter Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout, and Starveling to rehearse their play]

Bottom

Are we all met?

Quince

Pat, pat. And here's a marvelous convenient
place for our rehearsal. This green plot shall be our
stage, this hawthorn brake our tiring-house, and we
will do it in action as we will do it before the Duke.

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