A Jester's Tale

Within a large kingdom there was once upon a time a silly little jester who loved all life. He enjoyed the company of others, and avoided any sort of violent strife. He loved to make people laugh, and he was quite terrible at math, but he did not care, nor did he have any hair. But that was the least of his concerns, as he had always yearned for himself to learn about the world around him. But as he was just a simple jester, Lester was out of the race to embrace a life beyond the castle. What a hassle it became for such a man to be trapped within the land of sand at the hands of the King who had asked Lester the Jester to sing before every dinner event. It meant that Lester had cemented a relationship with the kingdom of Sandonia. It was a sign that the poor jester’s life was now in the hands of another, for he had not a father nor a mother, and his brother had been killed in the war some time ago. It was a sad life for Lester, but he remained a jester to all those around him, making others laugh and cry, and smile.

On one day, a hot afternoon, Lester was called before his king to sing a lovely tune that was to make all life around the barren kingdom bloom once again. It had been years since the last tears of the heavens showered upon the ground, leaving not a single face without a frown. But the crown did not appear to fear this heavenly drought as they now had a weapon that would put out the everlasting drought. But what if Lester the Jester could not sing a tune that was to make life all around the kingdom bloom? If he could not complete such a task, he may ask to live, but to give the jester a few more tries would mean that the king had pity upon his cries. Thus he would not do so, and in all lost hope the jester would have nowhere else to go.

As Lester the Jester entered the great hall, he stood as tall as he could, walking with all that he would, before meeting the eyes of the King whom he would now sing a graceful song to. As the crowd around waited for the sound that would soon woo the crown, the jester spoke a few words before he continued.

“My lord, my lord!” the jester called out, “What may I bring forth to your earthly ears as such a song should bring tears from the heavens to shower upon all the land and wash away the devilish sand?”

“You must play your instrument, and sing a song like no other, that not a single mother nor child may turn away, listening ever so gracefully to the sound that shall bring forward clouds of rain upon this desert plane!”

“But what if no rain shall make its way from the clouds that are meant to shower this miserable plane?” the jester proclaimed!

“Then it will it will be your final end, my fool of a friend! I can not show any such signs of weakness, and this land has shown its utter bleakness for far too long in this world. Should you not deliver, I may hurl you into the next dimension, that room over there!”

Lester the Jester peered towards a room where he saw his impending doom. Almost instantly, he began a silly dance that led him to prance and prance until he could dance no more! But the more he danced, the more he pranced, and the less and less he could retain a single stance.

All faces began to laugh and to laugh meant that Lester was being the jester that the king had requested. But such a dance did not bring any rain to the land, nor did it wash away the desert sand. The king saw this and immediately stood from his chair, as he held out his hands to quiet all the good folk. He did not care for a dance that did not bring rain, nor did he care much for a jester without hair if he did not deliver his promise to shower the land of sand with the tears of the heavens that have not been seen for countless of years. All other folk quieted down and sat around the throne room, waiting for the lovely tune that would bring rain before the next moon.

All eyes and ears were now pressed among the silly fool who seemed like more than just a simple tool that would bring a great amount earthly tears to the barren land that had only seen sand for so many years. But none more should fear for the next year because Lester the Jester was now about to fight such a drought. He began a few notes, and to all others, his lovely voice was more than anyone could have hoped Surely it would bring rain! And soon, there would be no more pain! His words would not be said in vain. The song went as such:

Rain-Oh rain, oh wondrous rain

I bring forth a hymn for thee to listen

I beg of you, shower the land"this desolate plane

And I will forever be yours, yours truly

I beg of thee, show me the drops of life

End all suffering; defeat any such strife

And I will be yours, always and forever after

I will be, I will! Can’t you see? Don’t you believe?

Just believe...!

And such a song was sung with brilliance at the top of the jester’s lungs. But still there was no rain. Not a hint amongst the desert plane. There had to have been another way, but it was far too late for the fool who was seen as a broken tool. His words did not bring rain; rather, it frightened off the birds that had come to listen to the jester’s lame song.

In fact, as all the good folk began to shout about, and boo the terrible fool, his attempt to woo the crown was left with a frown. The King realized what he now had to do, but even though he knew that it was his duty, the King adored Lester, his most trustworthy jester. He decided to give the man one last chance to bring rain to the land.

It was then that Lester had realized the true reason for the drought. Before his final moments, he understood now. It was the treason of the King himself that brought one last battle to the ring of good folk that sat before the “thought-to-be” honorable king. A new plan was now in play.

“King, oh honorable king!” The jester proclaimed, “I shall bear you a gift so that you shall be swift and on your way if I shall not live to see the next day. I would not wish for your hands to become tainted with the blood of a lousy fool.” He spoke with tremendous courage.

“Lester, my fair-hearted jester… I must accept your gift so that I shall be swift and on my way if you shall not live to see the next day. What is it you wish to give to me?”

The jester began to dance, and to dance meant that he pranced and pranced around and about the king’s court. As he danced, and as he pranced, he held out from his hand a golden key.

“This golden key, you see, is your final gift. It shall unlock a door, that door over there. But I should not tell you what is behind the door. It could be a w***e, or four, or possibly more. Who knows? I do, but you do not. Care to take a gander and make your way over to the door and take a peek? It may be more than you could ever seek in your lifetime!”

With this, the King’s curiosity grew more and more. He stepped down from his throne while removing his crown and handing it to the nearest guard to keep it safe. He made his way to the oddly-looking door-a door that could have a w***e, or four, or more behind it. This, the king liked. As the King now held the key, he could see his fortune growing by three times greater. He was happy, and his old bones were now jumping for joy as he fumbled the key into the keyhole, and as he turned it, the lock clicked and open it came.

As the door swung open, he noticed that standing before him was not a w***e, or four, or more, but a ferocious lion that seemed to have a hunger for meat.

Seeing this, the king shrieked a few final words. “How dare you!” the King shouted angrily, “You dare defy me? Don’t you see, I am your king!” The jester calmly exchanged words before the King was eaten alive. “You are also a tyrant,” the jester said, “I am no so defiant as you are guilty of a treason that which gives the heavenly sky a reason to no longer have the need to cry the tears of life. You bring this land strife; you bring it nothing but sand. You are the reason for such a drought that has been brought about to no end.”

And with said words, a murmuring audience now screamed death to the king! Once all was quiet again, the ferocious lion threw up his claws, grabbed the King, and devoured him whole. The door was then closed and the key was returned to Lester the Jester, who now was given applause as he had saved the kingdom from the reign of the tyrant.

Suddenly, a roar from the heavens called down to the land that which was covered in sand. Thunder, it seemed. And lightning appeared thereafter, which only meant...rain was on its way. And sure enough, there it was. Showers began, washing away all of the sand. Then as the grass grew, so did the trees, and even lovely flowers. All of the land’s sand had gone away, and life began to bloom once more. No more gloom, it appeared, and the good folk rejoiced at the new crowned King, his name being Lester. And as it rained for several nights and several days, the kingdom was well on its way to becoming a kingdom once again. And thereafter, all was well again. Lester and his loyal subjects lived happily ever after until his death shortly after. The land was prosperous from then on, and all good folk lived in peace for the rest of their days, so it was said.

Reviews

[Dustin Lee Spradlin]

This is amazing! You need to keep writing! :)

[steven]

This is great, keep it up. I never really got into poetry, but i actually liked this, your a great poet!