Shakespeare's Thieves and FairiesShakespeare's Puck, the mischievous house elf Robin Goodfellow, resembles a more benevolent sketch of Sir John Falstaff and the other motley thieves in Henry IV, Part One. Both Robin and the thieves tend to go at night, use disguises and magic, and act as jesters for their respective royals. Falstaff declares: "...we who take bags go towards the moon and the seven stars, and not towards Phoebus...". [I.ii.13-15] and adds: "We are Diana's rangers, lords of the shadow, servants of the moon... under whose face we steal." [I.ii. 25-30] The action of A Midsummer Night's Dream also takes place in the moonlight; in fact, Robin worries aloud to Oberon that he may not be quick enough to undo the love spell's damage by dawn, when his powers will presumably have diminished. Robin often travels invisible or in disguise, as when he imitates the voices of Lysander and Demetrius in turn, or eavesdrops on the crude mechanisms without being spied on. Poins, for his part, produces visors for everyone on the evening of the planned robbery. Gadshill says he has "the fern seed receipt, we walk invisible." [II.i.89] And just as Robin and Oberon put stars in their lover's eyes with an enchanted pansy, Falstaff declares that Poins must have given him "medicines to make [Falstaff] love him." [II.ii.18] Falstaff clearly occupies a privileged position as a kind of court jester, his constant jabs at Hal and the crown itself accepted without punishment - save Hal's verbal parries against Falstaff's sloppiness. Robin explains to a passing fairy that his purpose is to "joke... middle of paper... so that things can be made right:" The man will have his mare again and all will be well. " [III.ii.463]Even when they try to portray evil, Falstaff and Robin do such a poor job that we are certain of their relative harmlessness. Puck boasts, "I am feared in the field and in the city," [III.ii .398] but given his previous account of his pastimes [II.i.43-56] we cannot take this statement seriously. What should we fear from one who merely makes an old woman pour beer, or impersonates a stool three-legged? And who in their right mind would believe that the burly Falstaff fought an ever-increasing number of buckskin warriors and later single-handedly finished off Harry Hotspur Robin can't be evil and Falstaff can't be cunning, and really ? the malicious one must exhibit both properties.