And Mab, his merry Queen, by night

Bestrides young folks that lie upright[[1]]

(In elder times, the mare that hight),

Which plagues them out of measure.

Hence shadows, seeming idle shapes,

Of little frisking elves and apes

To earth do make their wanton scapes,

As hope of pastime hastes them:

Which maids think on the hearth they see

When fires well-near consumed be,