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| Sunday, 9 February 2003 |
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"A lion among ladies is a most terrible thing.' That was Bottom practising some lines and walking round his favourite tree one fine mid-winter morning in the forest. "What lion among which ladies are you talking about?' asked Snout who loved poking is nose into everything. "I was not talking to you.'snapped back Bottom. 'I was talking to myself.' 'Only crazy people talk to themselves.' 'Are you daring to put His Most Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in such a category?' asked Bottom, trying to sound royal himself. What has HRH got to do with this?'asked Snout. 'His Royalmost Highness is known to talk to the plants in his beautiful herb garden in his home in Gloucestershire,'Bot said,looking as if had won round one. 'That's to his plants, not to himself,' came Snout. Will you please go away and mind your own business?'asked Bottom. 'My business in this is that you were repeating lines written four hundred years later by Will Shakes,' said Snout who, for his name,was quite an educated individual, in his own way. "Oh,dont be so boring. This whole thing about plagiarism and such things has been gone over again and again and now I am quite sick of it,' said Bottom. "A lion among ladies is a most terrile thing, a lion among ladies is a most terrible thing, a lion among ladies i a most terrible thing, a lion....'went Bottom like a repeating groove. Snout vanished, closing his ears with his hands. 'What's all this about lions and ladies?'That was Oberon himself,on hearing the exchangs between Bot and Snout. 'Well, sire, we were talking about our impending visit to the island of Sri Lanka to see its famous zoo,' said Bottom with a lordly bow. 'There are no lions in Sri Lanka,' said Oberon,looking every bit a king and striking the palm of one hnd with his wand. 'I do beg pardon, sire.but,with great humility, may I ask, are there not lions in the zoo there?' 'yes there are lions in the zoo, but you dont find lins in Sri Lanka,'said Ob,suddenly looking bored. 'Are there tigers there, then, sire?'asked Bot with what I saw as slight sarcasm which, had Ob caugt onto it, would have meant temporary 'curtains' for Bottom. 'There were tigers there once upon a time, but they have all been tamed and now there is nothing to worry about,' said Oberon. 'Oh, thank you sire, thank you,' said Bot, backing his way out of the scene. There was not much time to get ready for the Sri Lanka meander;our wardrobes wree hardly ready and Geography lessons as well as Historyn had to be crammed, and medical checks to be done in case anyone died from heatstroke in Sr Lanka's hot climate. But that land is in the Northern hemisphere -only seven degrees-and therefore it is never as hot as some places, this being midwinter. They say the icy winds from the Himalayas touch the island at the Southern tip of India at this time of year, and there is even a part that is so cold it has ground frost at this time. Just then Starveling came round, his mouth full of pins,and reams of cottom wound round his neck, as he was in the middle of an important tailoring job.He needed to see Oberon to be told what the royal requirements were,sartorially speaking, for the trip to Sri Lanka, but Oberon had gone into his chambers and could not be disturbed. "Queen Titania,' Starveling said, addressing me,'what do you suggest ?' 'You will have to speak direct to Oberon who, as you know, is very particular about his clothes," I said to the conscientious tailor. (Between us,Ob might even despatch a designer team to India to buy the finest Kashmere silk and brocade for Ob's clothes). Meanwhile, people were goping about their respective business,quite excited at the thought of taking off on a midnight flight to the exotic island to see its famous zoo and see whether one like it could be set up right here in the forest. Just then Ob came down sipping his hot coffee and munching a piece of toast and marmalade-his favourite breakfast. He had overheward Starveling talking to me and had come down to exchange some ideas about clothes. 'I have already sent Puck to Paris to fetch the best fabrics to be had there for our wardrobes,'said Ob. I was rather taken aback;he naver mentioned anything about Paris earlier. It was a delightful thought-wearing clothes made of the finest fabrics from the pinnacle of fashion. Just then Bottom appeared sipping, of all things at that time of the morning,Orange Cinzano in a glass that sparkled with little jets inside the glass, lighting up the contents as well as the face of the drinker. 'To your maj,'said Bot, raising his glass to Oberon who was not surprised at all at what he saw, Bottom being Bottom. Tit |
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