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| Sunday, 1 June 2003 |
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'Midsummer Madness' We all took a small break last weekend after a hectic Spring, and to rest a while in time for the even more hectic summer to come when all the best plays, concerts and cricket matches will stud the card for the season. We were all rather fagged after the unusual Spring rush, what with dance and play troupes coming from distant lands like Sri Lanka to entertain us in the forest with their talents. 'Midsummer Madness' was really quite something. Imagine Pyramus and Thisbe waltzing into our domain unexpectedly,sending Bottom and the rest into a flat spin. The rest was good for everyone; Puck crept into a foxglove to sleep most afternoons and nights; Bottom bedded down on his favourite mossy bank;Starveling took his sewing kit and retreated into a thicket; Titania rested on a bed of feathers in our tree and the Blithe Spirits of the Night each slid into a bluebell to sleep their heads away, they were so tired. There was not a leaf stirring even in Sherwood. We were told that Robin and the rest had taken off to the Holy Land to help King Richard against the might of Saladin's Saracens. All quiet on the Western front but we were not so sure that Bottom would be resting for too long. He gets bored and wants to get upto all sorts of mischief with Puck, but Puck announced that he wanted a long rest and would not want to be rushing around with Bottom. There was total silence in the forest except for the rustling of the branches in the breeze which was very restful. Bottom was not the only one who found resting for too long boring; my queen Tit is also prone to boredom when there is nothing happening. She loves activity - especially of the social and sporty kind - and it cannot be predicted for how long she would want to rest till the summer season begins. Not a mouse stirring. Only the cooks got about their work silently - Tit is very particular about meals and so am I, for that matter, and so are all the rest, for a matter of that. She wants her breakfast scramble eggs done only with eggs - naturally - and butter. No seasoning, no scraps of this and that thrown into it and just the consistence she demands. She also wants her soups either piping hot or icy cold - in the summer, of course - and her Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding just right. Sometimes she dismisses the cooks and gets into the forest kitchen herself to turn out this or that delicacy. The only music was the panpipes being played by a poor man each time he passed by on a forest road to some unknown destination. Nights were cold and dark with only a bonfire to warm us up a bit. It was Puck's job to light it every night, but some nights he deliberately forgets and someone else has to do it. As the rest days went by,one fine day Bottom came rushing up to our quarters in great haste. 'Your maj! Your maj! There's a lion in the forest! What shall we do?' He was wringing his hands and jumping up and down. 'A lion in the forest?' we asked. 'Yes,your maj,it's true,'said Bottom,by now very anxious. To add to the excitement Puck rushed up as well,his eyes sparkling,mischief written all over his face as he danced and leapt from one place to another. 'Ask Puck! Ask Puck,your maj.' Puck vanished at that with a giggle that said something. 'Your maj,I heard the roaring as the lion got closer to us.It's a most terrible thing as we have ladies in our midst. What shall we do?'went Botts. We advised him to keep very still,but that did not work so well. 'Your maj,what if he comes right into our part of the forest? Who is going to get him out?' At this, Titania came down.'What's going on,? she asked,having paid her respects to me.'And,'she continued,'Botty, how do you know that this,this lion is a 'he'? 'By the way he roars,your most royal ladyship,by the way he roars.' 'But lady lions also roar,'Tit said. 'But your maj,not so loud.' 'And how do you know that,Botty?Have you ever been in lion country?'Tit asked. 'No,your maj,but the players who came from Sri Lanka brought a lion with them and it was a male,'Bottom said. Just then Puck came rushing up glistening with glee followed by what could have been a 'made-up' lion-that is,two people covered with a rug pretending to be a lion and roaring as well. Puck began to laugh and couldn't be stopped.Coverinbg his mouth with his hand, he went into hysterics,saying:'YOur majesty, it's Snout and Starveling pretending to be a lion!' The two were covered with a tawny-coloured cloth resembling the colour of a lion almost identically. Bottom was about to pass out on the grass,but he was so relieved that he too went off into uncontrollable laughter. 'But youo shouldn't have done that,' he said,addressing the two 'actors' adding:Because a lion among ladies is a most dreadful thing, and the queen is here.' 'Now that the problem has been solved,shall we all have a celebratory drink?'I only mentioned the word when Bottom and Puck went rushing off for the cocktails in the forest pantry,scaring the stewards who thought they were demented. Out came the tray-and the smiles-as the wine was taken round. 'Now,that's what I call a good idea!' That was Bottom settled on the grass,his cocktail poised on the palm of his hand. -Oberon |
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