Midsummer Magic Fun and fairies
Ever wondered what inspired Shakespeare? You’ll never guess!
Moth slammed her acorn cup of nectar down on the toadstool table, her gossamer wings fluttering wildly and casting golden-brown flecks of light across the woodland glade.
“You seem upset,” her friend Cobweb said warily. She knew from experience that Moth could be one tricky fairy when she was cross.
“Upset? You’ll be upset too when you hear my news!” She lowered her voice to secret-sharing tone. “You’ll never believe what Puck has told me!”
Cobweb sipped her nectar. The two fairies loved a gossip when the queen was not around to find them something useful to do like petal polishing.
“I take anything Puck says with a pinch of pollen,” Cobweb replied.
Puck was mischievous and served the fairy king, Oberon, who encouraged him to upset the queen’s fairies.
“Not this, though! That Stratford man has only gone and put fairies in his new play!” Moth hissed.
Cobweb frowned in contemplation. “Is that so very terrible?”
“Oh dear me yes,” Moth sighed. “Humans don’t trust us. They believe we steal babies and replace them with changelings – oh yes, that’s in the play too – as if fairies would do such a thing!”
“As if,” Cobweb murmured, folding her silver wings.
She could imagine Moth doing just that. Moth’s temper was legendary. She was forever casting spells that the queen had to revoke.
“Also,” Moth ranted on, “the fairies will be sure to be played by boys; clumsy, clod-hopping boys! It’s 1595, not the dark ages! Why not use girls, rather than boys clomping across the stage? Where are Peaseblossom and Mustardseed when we need them? Off on a jolly with Titania, that’s where!”
“It’s hardly a jolly, Moth. Titania has taken them on a training course for revoking nasty spells.”
She suspected that Titania was fed up with putting Moth’s mistakes right and needed help from her fairies. Cobweb was sympathetic but wondered why she was not included. Perhaps she and Moth were too friendly?
“Cobweb,” said Moth decisively. “Find your wand. We are off to London to pay Master Shakespeare a visit. That new travel spell will get us there and back in no time at all.”
William Shakespeare held his head in his hands and groaned. The floor of his dusty attic was strewn with discarded paper. William was stumped. Queen Bess had requested a new play for a wedding feast – and when the queen wanted something she expected to get it.
He was unaware of two little visitors sitting on his desk and Moth and Cobweb were careful not to reveal their presence. This was forbidden by fairy law unless they had special permission from the queen, who didn’t know they were here and would never have let them come if she had known.
Their fluttering wings sparkled bronze and silver, but stillWilliam didn’t see them.
“He looks miserable,” said Cobweb. “He’s stuck.”
Moth shrugged. She was never comfortable with compliments.
“Serves him right, putting fairies in a
Thiswas FORBIDDEN by fairy law without PERMISSION fromthe queen
play. I’m going to turn him into something nasty for a few hours. Maybe a lizard…”
“No! No, Moth, wait. First let’s see what he does.”
William tapped his ear as though he wasn’t quite sure if he had heard something or not. He poked his ear drum with the end of his quill.
“Ugh!” the two fairies exclaimed at the same time.
“Humans are disgusting,” added Moth. “He deserves to be a lizard.”
“That’s better,” William said aloud. “Now… I need four fairy names…”
Soft-hearted Cobweb felt sorry for him. Humans did get themselves in a muddle sometimes. Before Moth could stop her she chanted softly, “Moth,
Cobweb, Peaseblossom, Mustardseed.” William looked startled. “What have you done?” Moth screeched. “He saw you!”
“If he did, he thought he imagined it,” Cobweb said calmly.
“Perfect,” William declared. “Moth, Cobweb, Peaseblossom and Mustardseed… Now I wonder how they would best serve their queen?”
Moth had never helped anyone before. She had grown up in a home for unwanted fairies and as far as she could recall no-one had ever shown her kindness. Even so, it was a fairy’s instinct to help humans and she wondered what it would be like if just for once she tried being kind…
“They sing to her when she can’t sleep!” Moth whispered and began Titania’s favourite lullaby, “You spotted snakes with double tongue…”
“Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen…” Cobweb added.
Humans cannot hear or see fairies but fairy thoughts filter through if the fairy is willing and the human has an open mind.
“They shall sing to her!” William exclaimed as though he had thought of it all by himself.
“We came here to spoil his play,” Moth grumbled. “Why have we helped him instead?”
Cobweb giggled. She had never known her friend to be helpful. Usually she was quite the opposite.
Cobweb fluttered her shimmering wings so fast that Moth was afraid they would both be seen.
“If he’s writing about us he might as well do it correctly,” Moth stated primly, not entirely happy with her change of heart. “I think I like the idea of being in a play after all.”
“But you won’t like it when Titania finds out we’ve been here,” her friend said darkly.
“Oh, she won’t,” Moth said blithely. “She’s too busy with Oberon. They’ve quarrelled again.”
It was getting dark. Titania and the other fairies would return and she and Moth would be missed.
“Moth, we should go home. Peaseblossom and Mustardseed will want to tell us about their day.”
“I don’t consider,” Cobweb added thoughtfully, “that we should tell them about ours.”
No-one noticed two flickering lights at the back of the hall as the guests applauded generously.
Moth and Cobweb had enjoyed A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The play had spells – good and mischievous – and fairies helping the queen.
“Are you glad we helped the Stratford man?” asked Cobweb.
Moth shrugged. Kindness was addictive. It made her uncomfortable because she wanted to do it more.
The two fairies didn’t see the shaft of gold on the other side of the hall.
They would have some explaining to do when Titania got her two naughty fairies home.