Part 6

He sipped his brew as silence grew

Once more around the inn.

Then scanned the room, and, through the gloom,

Gave each of us a grin.

 

But no one stirred nor spoke a word

As though we turned to stone.

For ev’ry word we all had heard

Had chilled us to the bone.

 

‘Well, Captain, that was quite the tale!’

Said Colin soft but clear,

‘Yet, seeing as you rue no sin,

What are you doing here?’

 

‘In truth ’tis not by sin nor bliss,

That drives me from the mast.

I merely come to reminisce

About my tragic past.’

 

‘And what a tragic past you have,’

Said Colin with a sigh,

‘O, Captain, now I pity you,

You’ve caused my heart to cry.’

 

‘And thus the Music Man hath found

The foolish ways that made him err,

And thus shall be more soft around

The citizenry ev’rywhere.

 

But now acquainted are we all,

And all disputes have reached their end.

How marvelous it is to call

Each one of us each other’s friend.’

 

Our laughter sprang and quickly rang

Throughout the Ballad Inn,

Releasing cheer where all the fear

And misery had been.

 

With noisy squeaks and rusty creaks

The door flew open wide.

And, heel to toe, in one straight row,

Five young men came inside.

 

‘Once more, for good measure, be ready on cue,

Witwicky, Witlicky, Withuicky, Wittwoo!’

 

Their table lay not far away

(That’s where they chose to be).

They ordered punch to suit their lunch,

And quench thirst’s raging plea.

 

The waiter came, and did the same

He did to Trent and I:

He served their lunch of purple punch,

Then dashed without reply.

 

‘Well, well, who else hath come to be

By chance within this gloomy inn?

Who else hath joined our company

Within the realm of fear and sin?’

 

‘As our Wise Man advised in his teachings to all:

“If you talk to a stranger, you’re surely to fall.”

And so you won’t have another word out of me,

And much would appreciate if you leave us be.’

 

‘Now, if I may, I’d like to say:

Although we may seem queer,

In time you’ll see that none can be

A stranger while in here.’

 

‘If such is the case, then I’ll tell you: we are

The brothers Eskare of the town of Hamar.

A town that’s so small that ev’ryone knows

Who ev’ryone is and where ev’ryone goes;

A town with no ruler- a wise man instead,

Whose teachings are heeded and eagerly spread.

Now back to the point of presenting us five,

I’m Danny by name, and was first to arrive.’

‘I’m Mickey Eskare, and I’m boy number two-"

It’s truly a pleasure to meet all of you.’

‘I’m Eddy, the third born, and though twelve years old,

I’ve the air of soldier so gallant and bold.’

‘I’m Lance, the first twin, and the fourth born of all,

I’m one who is neither so big or so small.

So neutral am I in so many ways,

But my brothers still smile and brighten my days.’

‘And last I’m twin two, and the fifth born of all,

Who’s curious and one who is not quite so tall.

I’m plainly the smallest one out of all five,

That at birth I by luck had the will to survive.

That luck was what gave me the name that I bear:

I’m Darrel-Mumu, Darrel-Mumu Eskare.’

 

‘Well heat me up and call me toast,’

Said Connor with surprise,

‘This day has brought celebrities

Of ev’ry shape and size.

 

For are you not that little boy

Who saw the lion’s glare,

Then turned into a yellow bird

And gave the rest a scare?’

 

‘What you say, sir, is true. I’m in ev’ry way he.

I’m that little boy of high curiosity.

I had strayed from the path by a grasshopper’s lead,

Thus breaking the rule I had promised to heed.

And, once at the heart, I looked in the red stare,

Of the statue, then promptly was tossed through the air.

The whole world was blurred as the winds whirled and whirred

 ’Til I had become that bright yellow bird.

My brothers had helped me be human again

By making a prayer to King Saldomain,

Who had conjured the curse in 1000 BC

To merely scare foes and cause them to flee.

For the king of the Dringies was small but so kind

(They say he the magic produced through his mind).

And thus by the hand of King Saldomain,

I promptly became Darrel-Mumu again.

Now the reason my soul is a bird of that kind

Is a question that comes across ev’ryone’s mind.

My reason for being a bird of bright yellow

With a bright orange back, so meek and so mellow

(Not to mention it also does not even live)

Is I’m curious, young, and imaginative.

It’s distinctively true, the proof is all there,

I’m he who had seen the stone lion’s red stare.

But, sir, you forget that I also am known

To have freed all of those who had been trapped in stone.’

 

‘Indeed thou art, and none should e’er

Forget that bold and noble deed.

For ’tis what proves thy heart is fair,

And that thou wouldst aid those in need.

 

And now I shall present to ye

The rest of us who sojourn here,

Who all have seen the villainy

That plagues the world year after year.

 

The man in blue and at the bar

Is Captain Seamus Silereen.

An Englishman who, near and far,

Hath sailed the HMS Irene.

 

Those two who sojourn over there,

And greet ye through this gloomy veil,

Are Trent and James, the sleuthing pair,

And from Ekmillistrom they hail.

 

There, pleasantly (unlike before),

Sits one who playeth melodies.

He’s Colin Devans, one from Tohr:

A town where music stirs the breeze.

And lastly me, an ancient man

Despite my youthful air. I’m E.

I man a fork out from which span

Three paths that daily sneer at me.’

 

‘What? That is preposterous! That cannot be!

How possible is it for you to be E?’

‘For E is a person who’s damned as can be

He cannot even move from his post by decree.’

‘And isn’t E old? Of age four-fifty-three?’

‘Yes, Eddy, that’s true, but that’s not what we see.

We see someone whose age is perhaps twenty-three.’

‘Like that man over there who claims to be E.’

‘Once more, Eddy, yes, but he cannot be E,

For E cannot ever- not ever!- be free.’

‘Nor can he quite speak unless asked which would be

The way where the lost ones could be home and free.’

‘Come on, then, don’t lie, you bizarre wannabe,

All signs plainly point to you not being E.’

 

‘That’s what these men had thought at first,

For all those tales had made them err.

My state is nowhere near its worst,

Although V’s presence puts me there.

 

For we may go where’er we please,

But, punished for our wretched crime,

We cannot go beyond the trees,

And only have two hours time.

 

’Tis why those three paths sneer at me,

And make me curse my brother more.

If only V had eyes to see

That truths are what we all adore.

 

Now all the lies these tales reveal,

The people still are relishing,

Unknowing they are not so real,

For tellers love embellishing.’

 

‘So you really are E! O what a surprise!

But really? These tellers would merely tell lies?’

‘It must be true, Mickey, what else can it be?

He gave us his reasons to prove he was E.

And as many people can boldly surmise,

It’s E who tells truths and V who tells lies.’

‘But they also surmise it’s the alternate way,

Which is why they inquire what the other would say.’

‘Yet his words must be true, for he said them with pride,

A liar would never have that at his side.’

‘So it’s true, then, the tellers told lies to us all,

O what kind of hearts would tell tales that are tall?

Our Wise Man must know this! He’ll know what to do.

He’ll know how to make all these cruel tellers rue.’

‘Indeed, Darrel-Mumu, he’ll punish them all,

For he knows it’s a sin to tell tales that are tall.

When we’re back in Hamar, with haste we will go

And tell our old Wise Man that truths that we know.’

 

‘A task that I would recommend

Before the tellers lie some more,

For all of them must apprehend

That lies are what we all abhor.’

 

Without a doubt it came about

We all agreed with E.

And then a sound rang all around,

And cried: 'Haree! Haree!'

-EDP