What hempen homespuns have we swagg’ring here,
So near the cradle of the Fairy Queen?
What, a play toward? I’ll be an auditor –
An actor too perhaps, if I see cause.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3, Scene 1. As Bottom and his companions rehearse their play for the Duke’s wedding, Puck, unseen, enters with these words. He is amused at these "hempen homespuns" or "country bumpkins" trying to act and making so many mistakes. He decides to stay and watch their terrible acting – and be an actor too, if he sees fit! Puck is hinting here that he can cause chaos. Foreshadowed here is the play’s chief mischief maker giving Bottom a donkey’s head.