The Fairy Queen
Come follow me, follow me,
You Fairy Elves that be,
Which circle on the green;
Come follow me, your Queen.
Hand in hand, let's dance around,
For this place is Fairy ground.
When mortals are at rest;
and snoring in thier nest;
Unheard and unespied,
Through keyholes we do glide;
Over tables, stools and shelves
We trip it with our Fairy Elves.
And if a house be foul,
Or platter, dish or bowl,
Up the stairs we nimbly creep,
And find the wretch asleep:
There we pinch their arms and thighs-
None escapes; nor none espies.
But if the house be swept,
And from uncleaness kept,
We praise the household maid,
And surely she is paid:
For we do use before we go,
To drop a tester in her shoe.
Upon a mushrooms head,
Our table we do spread;
A grain of rye or wheat;
Is manchet which we eat;
Pearly drops of dew we drink
In acorn cups filled to the brink.
The brains of nightingales
With unctuous dew of snails,
Between two nutshell stewed
Is meat that's easily chewed;
And the beards of little mice
Do make a feast of wonderous price.
On tops of dewy grass,
We do so nimbly pass,
The young and tender stalk
Ne'er bends where we do walk;
Yet in the morning may be seen
Where we, the night before have been.
The grasshopper, gnat and fly
Serve for our minstrelsy;
Grace said, we dance awhile,
And so the time beguile:
And when the moon doth hide her head,
The glow worm lights us back to bed
~ Unknown ~
