In the early mornings of June, when the sweetest sounds of the Mocking Birds sung their songs of earnest, when the sun's glare irritated the eyes of the working man, who chopped down trees and mined the mines; it was then that a beauty, a woman, fair and gracious – with the eyes of diamonds – stood upon her Majesty's balcony. There, she watched a worldly village buzz to life; a village that she hadn't really known, for her life had been secreted for years behind closed doors, and only now had she finally established her fateful place among the Halls of Royalty. For, Elsa, was a Queen.
"Mercy! Today is so beautiful," she had said from her pedestal among the balcony.
June 27th was the exact date, and the summer sun had not been kind with its heat. Today was entirely without exception. However, heat doesn't just easily persuade beauty to withhold itself, and there was a great battle between the two: heat and beauty. For, even though the sun's scorches welted the skin, the day's beauty – with the breeze carrying the chirps of the Mocking Birds – made it so that the heat was barely noticed. The poor sun, it must've been quite jealous, because it seemed to shrivel behind men's sweaty eyelids and reddened skin, but yet, no matter how hot, every creature appeared more enthused to what's known as a gorgeous summer's day.
Even Elsa herself, standing as proudly as ever from her perch's view, admired such a satisfying morning, tasting the sensational summer air, hearing the wind's whistles – or was that the Mocking Birds? At the time, it didn't really matter much to her whether the Mocking Birds be singing their songs, or if it was the wind calling upon her name – but, surely, that was all her imagination's doing – wasn't it?
The Queen of delicate features, whose smile was glistening white, and bright pink lips brought men to tremble, and whose gown glimmered splendidly upon the wooden balcony that was polished by the castle's maids, inhaled a large sensation of air. She said:
"Glorious tis' today! I only dream of days like this, and to think, my dreams come true!"
Her boastful happiness was yielded back behind a face of silent splendor as the glass door behind her was opened. Elsa turned quickly, expecting either a person of importance, or her sister, but was surprised when she saw not a morsel standing before her.
"Clearly it was the gust!" she said, examining the strange spectacle for a mere minute, a few questions still clouding her mind – How did the gust cause this? - alas, she hadn't dwell upon doubtful thoughts, for it was most definitely the wind. She went on to closing the glass door once more, confirming that the latches were shut tight, saying as she ventured back to her balcony, "Ah, much better then!"
At the time she had said this, a little Mocking Bird found its way upon the balcony's rails. It was strikingly plump, the thing was absolutely adorable in every regard, and amid the center of its breast – between the dark blue feathers – was a patch of fuzzy white, like a ball of pleasant cotton: fluffy, and more so, silky to the faintest touch.
Wishing not to spook the creature away, Elsa hadn't dared to fondle it. Instead, she admired the beast from an appropriate separation between them, gazing into the bird's soulful eyes – eyes rounded like perfect little dots and were black as a moonless night. Its head twitched every so often, however, the thing never flew off; in fact, it appeared to grow a liking toward Elsa. Looking upon the distant woman, it chirped a few harmonious tunes.
She was grateful for the bird's friendly gesture, and she smiled aptly. "You like to sing?" she asked it, like speaking to a loyal friend. Again, the bird chirped, almost looking to nod its tiny head. Elsa laughed, and said:
"You are a silly creature aren't you?"
Almost like it knew what she was saying, the bird didn't answer. Slanting its head slightly, its thoughtless expression proposed the question: "Can you sing?"
Certainly it would be rude for a question such as that to go ignored, and Elsa answered with a song:
When I hear the songs of the Mocking Birds
I say unto you, oh dearest one
Listen to them gently
For a Mocking Bird's song is such beauty
Listen to them, quiet now
Listen. . .
For a Mocking Bird's song is a child's joy
Listen to them, my dearest boy
Listen to them, my dearest girl
Let their songs carry you into a distant world
Stopping before the chorus, Elsa realized that the bird was engrossed entirely into her marvelous voice, for, if it presumed be said, looked as if it was smiling!
"So, am I as good as the Songs of the Mocking Birds?"
The bird only tweeted another pleasant melody, and Elsa's soul sensed like it was being raised from her contented heart. This bird had a talent unlike any other: a sound, like honey, to the Queen's ears. She proclaimed in glee:
"Marvelous little bird! Your voice is unmatched to anything I've ever heard!" [The bird continued to harmonize its sensational melodies.] "Wonderful, glorious, there isn't anything to say! I'm speechless by such a pleasant sound!" Consumed by her desires to forevermore listen to the bird's fantastic songs, Elsa seized an abrupt hand toward the creature, spooking it in the process.
With a sharp tweet, and with perfect anticipation, the blue feathered beast evaded the woman's strike, flying away in the wake of its alarm.
"No!" she cried, her bright eyes aching with disappointment, as she watched the marvelous little creature fly off into the sky. Elsa scorned her foolish endeavor to capture the animal, saying:
"What fool I am to think I could constrict such a pleasant beast. A beast, in that of itself, is beyond compare – so beautiful, so elegant, that no words can describe it! Surely, it deserves to be free! Free from persecution by my hand, free of the restrictions in a cage, free of ridicule, free to be itself! Is this not the lesson I learned today? Is this not a lesson everyone should learn? I bid you farewell Mocking Bird – so gracious and grand as you sail the sky with your brothers and sisters – but please, I ask that you not forget me, for I do care for you so. I only wish you safe journeys as you depart to embrace this world before us all! I will not forget the lesson you taught me here today! If one wishes to be truly free, one must address another's freedom as well. For one's freedom will only be thy's martyr if the other's be in bondage!"
