At Ford’s house the wives have revealed all of their merry pranks to their husbands, and Ford finally realizes that his jealousy was unfounded and that he has been a fool.
Along with Sir Hugh Evans, the Pages and the Fords decide to play one more prank upon the fat knight. This time the two wives will inform Falstaff that they will meet him late at night in Windsor Forest. According to an old legend, a ghost called Herne the Hunter haunts the forest. Herne has huge horns on his head, and the two wives will tell Falstaff to disguise himself as Herne in order to scare away anyone who might be walking that way late at night. The irony is that instead of Page and Ford wearing horns (as cuckolds) on their heads, Falstaff will be the one with horns: Falstaff will be the fool.
Further, a number of children will be dressed as fairies or goblins and approach Falstaff shortly after he encounters the wives (fairies were often considered dark or evil creatures during the Renaissance). Mistress Page and Mistress Ford will then run off as if they are frightened, and the fairy children will pinch the fat knight until he confesses. Evans will join the children in humiliating Falstaff; and, after he confesses, all of the good folk of Windsor will come to mock the knight.
In describing this plot, Mistress Page adds that her daughter, Anne Page, will be dressed all in white as Queen of the Fairies. In an aside (so that no one else hears), Master Page says that after the