Might well have made our sport a comedy. 884
King. Come, sir, it wants a twelvemonth and a day,
And then 'twill end.
Ber. That's too long for a play.
Enter Braggart [Armado].
Arm. Sweet majesty, vouchsafe me,—
Prin. Was not that Hector? 888
Dum. The worthy knight of Troy.
Arm. I will kiss thy royal finger, and take
leave. I am a votary; I have vowed to Jaque-
netta to hold the plough for her sweet love three 892
year. But, most esteemed greatness, will you
hear the dialogue that the two learned men have
compiled in praise of the owl and the cuckoo? it
should have followed in the end of our show. 896
King. Call them forth quickly; we will do so.
Arm. Holla! approach.
Enter all.
This side is Hiems, Winter; this Ver, the Spring;
the one maintained by the owl, th' other by the 900
cuckoo. Ver, begin.
The Song.
[Spring.]
'When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver-white
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue 904
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men; for thus sings he,
Cuckoo; 908
899 Cf. n.
903 lady-smocks: cardamine pratensis, May-flower
904 cuckoo-buds: buttercups or cowslips
