title: A Midsummer Nights Dream (The Annotated Shakespeare)
author:  William Shakespeare 
description: From the hilarious mischief of the elf Puck to the rough humor of the self-centered Bottom and his fellow players, from the palace of Theseus in Athens to the magic wood where fairies play, Shakespeares marvelous <i>A Midsummer Nights Dream is </i>a play of enchantment and an insightful portrait of the predicaments of love.
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  ![](Karen%20Moning%20-%20Beyond%20The%20Highland%20Mist.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Karen Moning - Beyond The Highland Mist
  
  
  
  
  
  Karen Marie Moning
  
  
  
  
  
  BELTANE
  
  
  (Spring)
  
  
  
  
  
  You spotted snakes with double tongue
  
  
  Thorny hedgehogs be not seen;
  
  
  Newts and blind worms, do no wrong Come not near our fairy queen.
  
  
  SHAKESPEARE, A Midsummer Night's Dream PROLOGUE
  
  
  
  
  
  SCOTLAND
  
  
  
  
  
  1 FEBRUARY 1513
  
  
  
  
  
  THE FRAGRANCE OF JASMIN AND SANDALWOOD DRIFTED through the rowan trees. Above
  dew-drenched branches, a lone gull ghosted a bank of mist and soared to kiss
  the dawn over the white sands of Morar. The turquoise tide shimmered in shades
  of mermaid tails against the alabaster shore.
  
  
  
  
  
  The elegant royal court of the Tuatha De Danaan dappled the stretch of lush
  greenery. Pillowed chaises in brilliant scarlet and lemon adorned the grassy
  knoll, scattered in a half-moon about the outdoor dais.
  
  
  
  
  
  "They say he is even more beautiful than you," the Queen remarked to the man
  sprawled indolen