الاغ و ملکه

PART FOUR

The Donkey and the Queen

Bottom and his friends had met in another part of the wood, and they were busy with the rehearsal for their play. Their rehearsal was not going smoothly, however, and they had some problems to resolve.

‘Friends,’ said Bottom, ‘there are some things in this play that I don’t like - I don’t like them at all. For instance,’ he went on, ‘Pyramus has to kill himself with a sword.

I think the ladies in the audience will be frightened if he does that.’

‘You’re right,’ agreed Snout. ‘We can’t frighten the ladies. Why don’t we get rid of that part?’

‘We don’t have to do that.’ Bottom argued. ‘Why don’t we add a prologue to the play?

We could explain that Pyramus isn’t really killed at all and we could also say that I am not really Pyramus, that I’m really Bottom. Then the ladies wouldn’t be frightened. What do you think?’

‘I think you’re right.’ Quince told him. ‘We’ll put in a prologue to explain that part of the play.’

‘What about the lion?’ asked Snout. ‘Won’t the ladies be frightened of the lion, as well?’

‘A lion is a very terrifying creature, you know,’ Bottom pointed out.

‘Let’s have a second prologue.’ Snout suggested. ‘We can explain that it isn’t a real lion at all.’

‘Yes,’ said Bottom. ‘And when you play the part,’ he said to Snug, ‘you should show your real face. And then you could speak in your own voice.

You could say: “Ladies, don’t he frightened. I’m really Snug, I’m not a lion at all.” Then they wouldn’t be scared.’

‘I agree,’ said Quince. ‘We don’t want to frighten the ladies, that would be a terrible thing. But there’s something else that worries me. What about the moon?

It says that Pyramus and Thisbe meet in the moonlight. How are we going to put moonlight into the play?’

‘We need an almanac,’ cried Bottom. ‘Get an almanac!’ he cried excitedly.

Quince opened the almanac at the date of Theseus’s wedding. He read the details carefully.

‘It’s all right!’ he told them. ‘There is a good moon that night.’

‘Then it’s easy.’ Bottom said. ‘We leave a window open in the room where we’re playing. Everyone will see the moonlight.’

‘Or one of us could carry a lantern,’ Quince suggested. ‘He could explain that he represents the moon.’

The actors were happy. They thought they were solving all their difficulties very cleverly.

‘But what about the wall?’ Quince asked. ‘It says in the play that Pyramus and Thisbe talk to each other through a hole in the wall. How are we going to show the wall?’

Everybody looked thoughtful for a moment, and then Bottom spoke again.

‘One of us must represent the wall,’ he said. ‘He can carry a brick, to show what he is.’

‘Good, that’s settled then,’ said Quince. ‘Let’s begin, shall we? You go over there. Bottom, and when I call you, you come on the stage. All right, everybody?’

Everybody said they were ready, and Bottom went a little distance away.

Puck had heard the voices of Bottom and his friends, and he had hidden behind a tree to see what they were doing.

At first, he did not understand what Bottom and his friends were doing. Their behaviour was very strange. Then he realised what they were doing.

‘They must be actors!’ he said to himself. ‘Of course they are - but they’re surely the worst actors in the world. I think I’ll play a trick on them.’

He saw that Bottom was out of sight of his friends, and he used his magic to change Bottom’s head into the head of a donkey.

Bottom felt nothing, so he did not notice the trick that had been played on him.

The other actors were now ready to begin.

‘Bottom!’ cried Quince. ‘Where are you, Bottom? You’re supposed to be on stage now!’

Bottom stepped forward, ready to speak his lines.

‘If you loved me, Thisbe -‘ he began.

‘Run!’ cried the actors. ‘There’s a monster! Run away, everybody!’

Bottom could not understand why the actors had run away.

‘What’s the matter with them?’ he wondered. ‘Where have they gone?’

He waited for them to return, but no one came back.

‘Now I understand!’ Bottom thought. ‘They want to frighten me, that’s all it is. Well, I won’t be frightened. I’ll stay here - I’m not scared!’

Bottom began to walk up and down, and to sing one of his favourite songs. He sang very loudly. His singing woke Titania.

She looked at Bottom, and the magic flower worked on her immediately. The fact that he now had a donkey’s head made no difference at all. She fell in love with him straight away.

‘Your singing is wonderful, sir.’ she told him. ‘And you are beautiful, as well. I’m in love with you!’ she confessed.

She called all her servants, and told them that she was in love with Bottom. She ordered them to take very good care of him, and to do exactly what he wanted.