Athens. Quince's House.
 Enter QUINCE, FLUTE, SNOUT, and STARVELING.

Quince	Have you sent to Bottom's house? Is he come home yet?

Starveling	He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt he is transported.

Flute	If he come not, then the play is marred. It goes not 
	forward, doth it?

Quince	It is not possible. You have not a man in all Athens able 
	to discharge Pyramus but he.

Flute	No, he hath simply the best wit of any handicraft man in 
	Athens.

Quince	Yea, and the best person too; and he is a very paramour for 
	a sweet voice.

Flute	You must say 'paragon'. A paramour is - God bless us - a 
	thing of naught.

                               Enter SNUG.

Snug	Masters, the duke is coming from the temple, and there is 
	two or three lords and ladies more married. If our sport 
	had gone forward, we had all been made men.

Flute	O sweet bully Bottom! Thus hath he lost sixpence a day 
	during his life; he could not have 'scaped sixpence a day. 
	An the duke had not given him sixpence a day for playing 
	Pyramus, I'll be hanged. He would have deserved it: 
	sixpence a day in Pyramus, or nothing.

                              Enter BOTTOM.

Bottom	Where are these lads? Where are these hearts?

Quince	Bottom! O most courageous day! O most happy hour!

Bottom	Masters, I am to discourse wonders; but ask me not what; 
	for if I tell you, I am not true Athenian. I will tell you 
	everything, right as it fell out.

Quince	Let us hear, sweet Bottom.

Bottom	Not a word of me. All that I will tell you is that the duke 
	hath dined. Get your apparel together, good strings to your 
	beards, new ribbons to your pumps. Meet presently at the 
	palace. Every man look o'er his part; for the short and the 
	long is, our play is preferred. In any case, let Thisbe 
	have clean linen; and let not him that plays the lion pare 
	his nails, for they shall hang out for the lion's claws. 
	And, most dear actors, eat no onions nor garlic, for we are
	to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them 
	say it is a sweet comedy. No more words. Away! Go, away!
											[Exeunt.
