da were to be married.
Ariel gave them calm seas and auspicious gales; and many were the
rejoicings at the wedding.
Then Prospero, after many years of absence, went back to his own
dukedom, where he was welcomed with great joy by his faithful subjects.
He practiced the arts of magic no more, but his life was happy, and not
only because he had found his own again, but chiefly because, when his
bitterest foes who had done him deadly wrong lay at his mercy, he took
no vengeance on them, but nobly forgave them.
As for Ariel, Prospero made him free as air, so that he could wander
where he would, and sing with a light heart his sweet song--
"Where the bee sucks, there suck I:
In a cowslip's bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat's back I do fly
After summer, merrily:
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough."
AS YOU LIKE IT
There was once a wicked Duke named Frederick, who took the dukedom that
should have belonged to his brother, sending him into exile. His
brother went into the Forest of Arden, where he lived the life of a bold
forester, as Robin Hood did in Sherwood Forest in merry England.
The banished Duke's daughter, Rosalind, remained with Celia, Frederick's
daughter, and the two loved each other more than most sisters. One day
there was a wrestling match at Court, and Rosalind and Celia went to see
it. Charles, a celebrated wrestler, was there, who had killed many men
in contests of this kind. Orlando, the young man he was to wrestle with,
was so slender and youthful, that Rosalind and Celia thought he would
surely be killed, as others had been; so they spoke to him, and asked
him not to attempt so dangerous an adventure; but the only effect of
their words was to make him wish more to come off well in the encounter,
so as to win praise from such sweet ladies.
Orlando, like Rosalind's father, was being kept out of his inheritance
by his brother, and was so sad at his brother's unkindness that, until
he saw Rosalind, he did not care much whether he lived or died. But now
the sight of the fair Rosalind gave him strength and courage, so that
he did marvelously, and at last, threw Charles to such a tune, that the
wrestler had to be carried off the ground. Duke Frederick was pleased
with his courage, and asked his name.
"My name is Orlando, and I am the youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys,"
said the young man.
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