Now until the break of day
Through this house each fairy stray.
To the best bride-bed will we,
Which by us shall blessèd be,
And the issue there create
Even shall be fortunate.
So shall all the couples three
Ever true in loving be,
And the blots of nature’s hand
Shall not in their issue stand.
Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar,
Nor mark prodigious, such as are
Despised in nativity,
Shall upon their children be.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 5, Scene 1. After the mischievous Puck provides a dark view of the world after midnight, Oberon lightens this by singing this song of hope and love for the three newly-wed couples. He orders his fairies to wander through the palace and bless the royal marriage bed so that children from it will have good luck. He promises that all three couples will be faithful in love and will be blessed with perfectly-formed, defect-free children. The Fairy King provides the perfect, happy ending to a play that has seen so much quarreling, confusion and discord.