Part 1:
“Now sit back yond travelers, and ye of good ilk,
Sit back and sip ginger or brandy or milk,
Kindly sit back now and lend me your grace,
For a tale of the time the king’s wrath I did face.
He’d banished me forth on a dubious quest,
Yet another affront suffered at his behest,
But events then did twist in a manner most curious,
And saved I might be from a death most injurious.
The creature whose eggs I was told to purloin,
Had graciously offered mine quest now to join,
And a lady she was, despite status as beast,
An opinion, I’d find, that in time would increase.
Our journey began in the sun’s early glint,
And we walked side by side the first part of that stint,
Her stride could outgain me, so quick was her speed,
A question arose as how best to proceed.
Sit back and sip ginger or brandy or milk,
Kindly sit back now and lend me your grace,
For a tale of the time the king’s wrath I did face.
He’d banished me forth on a dubious quest,
Yet another affront suffered at his behest,
But events then did twist in a manner most curious,
And saved I might be from a death most injurious.
The creature whose eggs I was told to purloin,
Had graciously offered mine quest now to join,
And a lady she was, despite status as beast,
An opinion, I’d find, that in time would increase.
Our journey began in the sun’s early glint,
And we walked side by side the first part of that stint,
Her stride could outgain me, so quick was her speed,
A question arose as how best to proceed.
She said I should mount her, should climb on her backside,
I declined most politely and said I would not ride,
Our species so coupled, out in public forum?
Would shatter all sense of good taste and decorum.
’Twas improper to bother a lady so fair,
Even if she be dragon, or wolf-hound, or bear,
How could I uphold the strict practice of honor,
And ride in the grounds with mineself full upon her?
But soon I acknowledged the times they were strange,
And already I rode, on the great wheel of change,
So to blazes with custom, to blazes with worry,
Her motives were pure and her backside quite sturdy!
Arrooo, arrooo, arroo oh jenny and rye,
Arroo hey-hey, arroo hey-hey, arroo oh jenny and rye,
Arrooo, arrooo, oh high do we now ride,
Arroo hey-hey, arroo hey-hey, oh high do we now ride.
I declined most politely and said I would not ride,
Our species so coupled, out in public forum?
Would shatter all sense of good taste and decorum.
’Twas improper to bother a lady so fair,
Even if she be dragon, or wolf-hound, or bear,
How could I uphold the strict practice of honor,
And ride in the grounds with mineself full upon her?
But soon I acknowledged the times they were strange,
And already I rode, on the great wheel of change,
So to blazes with custom, to blazes with worry,
Her motives were pure and her backside quite sturdy!
Arrooo, arrooo, arroo oh jenny and rye,
Arroo hey-hey, arroo hey-hey, arroo oh jenny and rye,
Arrooo, arrooo, oh high do we now ride,
Arroo hey-hey, arroo hey-hey, oh high do we now ride.
Thus with me holding tight, she galloped through nature,
As smooth as a breeze is how thus I might rate her,
We’d encountered no trouble, of that we could boast,
I hoped luck would hold as we neared a guard post.
We approached without haste, but by no measure tardy,
A-seeing the first guard, I hollered out ‘Hardy!
Hardy, good man, put your weapon down briefly,’
‘Sir Winthrop,’ he gawked, ‘there’s a dragon beneath ye!’
An artist by trade, he oft served as guard,
But as artist and painter he’d earned more regard,
Acclaim he’d achieved for his bold, bright mosaics,
But with children to feed, he sought steady pay slips.
And so then as good guard his capacity be,
His wonder now strong, his eyes still upon me,
‘Should'st I stand down?’ he asked with great kindness,
‘Does this mean success for your quest for his Highness?’
‘I hope you’ll stand down, dear artisan friend,
Though mine labors as knight do here now quite end,
Not serving in that role am I thus to be,
And I turn mineself over to your custody.’
Hardy gave a sly grin, ‘Oh come now, you jest,
You are a proud knight, surely one of the best,
If backing you need, then of course I will do,
But know sir, please know, I salute full to you.’
As smooth as a breeze is how thus I might rate her,
We’d encountered no trouble, of that we could boast,
I hoped luck would hold as we neared a guard post.
We approached without haste, but by no measure tardy,
A-seeing the first guard, I hollered out ‘Hardy!
Hardy, good man, put your weapon down briefly,’
‘Sir Winthrop,’ he gawked, ‘there’s a dragon beneath ye!’
An artist by trade, he oft served as guard,
But as artist and painter he’d earned more regard,
Acclaim he’d achieved for his bold, bright mosaics,
But with children to feed, he sought steady pay slips.
And so then as good guard his capacity be,
His wonder now strong, his eyes still upon me,
‘Should'st I stand down?’ he asked with great kindness,
‘Does this mean success for your quest for his Highness?’
‘I hope you’ll stand down, dear artisan friend,
Though mine labors as knight do here now quite end,
Not serving in that role am I thus to be,
And I turn mineself over to your custody.’
Hardy gave a sly grin, ‘Oh come now, you jest,
You are a proud knight, surely one of the best,
If backing you need, then of course I will do,
But know sir, please know, I salute full to you.’
‘I am no ‘sir’ now, I’ve shed thoughts of that dream,
Against our good king I now freely blaspheme,
I renounce all mine titles and names and high standing,
To be placed under guard will be all I’m demanding.’
‘As you wish, Sir Winthrop, but I’ll defer clearly,
And trust there’s apt cause you ride dragons so freely,’
‘May I please,’ I replied, ‘introduce you two properly?’
‘Just as long sir I don’t find sharp teeth hard atop me.’
‘She’ll bring you no harm, this I pledge without quibble,
Now let us commence with acquaintance most civil,
Joacquil meet Hardy, Hardy this is Joacquil,’
She offered ‘Hello’ and he honked like a quack-bill.
Regaining his bearings, he at last gave full greeting,
His uneasy tenor now quite quickly fleeting,
With pleasantries offered and kind words exchanged,
The time was forthwith to see what next could be gained.
Against our good king I now freely blaspheme,
I renounce all mine titles and names and high standing,
To be placed under guard will be all I’m demanding.’
‘As you wish, Sir Winthrop, but I’ll defer clearly,
And trust there’s apt cause you ride dragons so freely,’
‘May I please,’ I replied, ‘introduce you two properly?’
‘Just as long sir I don’t find sharp teeth hard atop me.’
‘She’ll bring you no harm, this I pledge without quibble,
Now let us commence with acquaintance most civil,
Joacquil meet Hardy, Hardy this is Joacquil,’
She offered ‘Hello’ and he honked like a quack-bill.
Regaining his bearings, he at last gave full greeting,
His uneasy tenor now quite quickly fleeting,
With pleasantries offered and kind words exchanged,
The time was forthwith to see what next could be gained.