“This will prove a brave kingdom to me, where I shall have my music for nothing,” said Stephano.
“When Prospero is destroyed,” put in Caliban.
“That shall be at once,” replied Stephano.
“The sound is going away; let us follow it, and do our work afterwards,” said Trinculo.
“Go on, monster; we will follow,” said Stephano to Caliban. “I would I could see this taborer; he plays bravely.”
So with his mysterious music Ariel lured the three villains away. He led them a pretty dance, through briars, sharp furze, prickly gorse, and thorns, which ran into their poor shins; and finally he left them in the filthy water of a stagnant pool, not far from Prospero’s cell.
In the meanwhile Alonso, King of Naples, and his party were still wandering about the island; but by-and-by they grew so weary that poor old Gonzalo declared he could go no further.
“I cannot blame you,” said King Alonso, “for I myself am dull with weariness. Sit down and rest. Now here I give up hope that I shall ever see my son again. He is drowned, and the sea mocks our useless search on land.”
The traitor Antonio was delighted to see that the King had lost all hope, and he begged Sebastian not to give up their wicked scheme because it had been once repulsed.