Ok ok!! It ties into midsummers here, I promise, (I hope)!!
2
Xiao An Ren,
Ran day and night,
Till night and day did end.
And as he ran,
Thought to himself,
And tried his heart to mend.
He did not know
Why he tried to escape
Or why he had succeed'd.
He only knew,
That for once in his life,
That now he felt defeated.
At the Prince's home
He had a life
Although a life not great.
And on the slaver's cart
He was shuffled here
To the fair Athena's gate.
Should he be thankful?
Sit down and pray?
Xiao An Ren did not know.
His mind it seemed,
To back and forth,
To toss him to and fro.
So stumbling on,
In this manner,
It was that Xiao An Ren came,
Upon a forest,
Both big and small,
That I need not to name.
Xiao An Ren stood,
Right at the entrance,
At the threshold seeming bold.
And as he resided
Before the flow'ring trees,
His head he seemed to hold.
The most peculiar feeling!
Whimsy and fleeting!
And his heart did seem to swell.
Why he seemed to grow taller!
Yet at the same time, smaller,
And he persisted a little, to dwell.
So when he opened his eyes,
Imagine his surprise!
At seeing the ground, at new level.
The trees, swaying tall,
And his body, oh so small!
Could this be, the work of the devil?
"But no!" Xiao An cried
"No more time, I will bide,
on thinking thoughts, of that kind!"
And he took a running leap
Landed, right off of his feet,
And himself, in the air, he did find!
"My God, how could this be?
No wings, do I see
On my back, nor angels, in the sky.
"But yet I'm flying free,
past every tall tree,
Tis possible, that I, did now die?"
So Xiao An Ren, stopped to think,
For he sat, on the brink,
Of discovery, of the eminent sort.
Because, little did he know,
That he was but a throw
Away from Titania's Faerie Court.
Hence onward he flew,
O'er the morning dew,
Waiting still to encounter, another.
Was it possible, he thought,
If I'm not caught,
I'll encounter of mine, a brother?
So how flustered he was
When came from above,
The very kind that he had looked for.
"Are you a guest" the man asked,
"claiming rest, so fast? Tell me-
why have you come to this moor?"
Xiao An Ren balked
And at realizing his fault,
Bowed to the gentleman, head low.
"I am so sorry sir,
but I will concur,
I'm a guest, but know not where I go.
"So please, stay your hand,
I'm a stranger in this land,
But please,
With your leave,
May I fly?"
The man scoffed, and replied:
"Of course you may fly!
You're a Faerie, same as I!
Or don't you know your own wings,
You small boy, little thing?"
Xiao An Ren looked down,
Way below him, at the ground,
And waited, for the man, to have out.
But the man, simply muttered,
And with nary a flutter,
Sat on a branch, and imparted a pout.
"Look boy, what's your name?
and why this way you came?
Why not have taken, another quick route?"
Xiao An smiled,
For he was beguiled,
Of the stranger's fancy talk, and his lure.
"My name is Xiao An Ren,
I come from my town.then
Was taken, came to this forest (most obscure).
And in China, I did stay,
Until I, ran away,
From the men, who took me on their travels."
And with remembrance of that fact,
Xiao An Ren did act,
He jumped up, thoughts unraveled,
Hastily asked of the man:
"Oh sir! If they find me, this band,
I'll surely be struck, and then tied.
They'll take me to Rome,
Sell me to slavers, unknown.
Please sir, will you please, help me hide?"
And so the wingéd man thought,
About whether he ought,
To let the little shrimp tag on for the ride.
"Little Boy, I'll tell you what,
perhaps I'm a nut,
But I'll let you stay here, for a time.
"You'll meet the Faerie Queen,
and if you, she does deem,
worthy, you'll stay. Nary cost you a dime!"
Xiao An giggled then,
And looked 'round the fen.
His home this place, could soon be!
He ran to the man,
And grabbed hold of his hand, told him,
"Thank you sir, because of you, I am free!"
So together they flew,
(as Faeries often do)
Into the forest, chasing shadows and dreams.
Mister's Puck, and Xiao An,
Laughing each as they can,
Flitting quickly, through the forest's light beams.
2
Xiao An Ren,
Ran day and night,
Till night and day did end.
And as he ran,
Thought to himself,
And tried his heart to mend.
He did not know
Why he tried to escape
Or why he had succeed'd.
He only knew,
That for once in his life,
That now he felt defeated.
At the Prince's home
He had a life
Although a life not great.
And on the slaver's cart
He was shuffled here
To the fair Athena's gate.
Should he be thankful?
Sit down and pray?
Xiao An Ren did not know.
His mind it seemed,
To back and forth,
To toss him to and fro.
So stumbling on,
In this manner,
It was that Xiao An Ren came,
Upon a forest,
Both big and small,
That I need not to name.
Xiao An Ren stood,
Right at the entrance,
At the threshold seeming bold.
And as he resided
Before the flow'ring trees,
His head he seemed to hold.
The most peculiar feeling!
Whimsy and fleeting!
And his heart did seem to swell.
Why he seemed to grow taller!
Yet at the same time, smaller,
And he persisted a little, to dwell.
So when he opened his eyes,
Imagine his surprise!
At seeing the ground, at new level.
The trees, swaying tall,
And his body, oh so small!
Could this be, the work of the devil?
"But no!" Xiao An cried
"No more time, I will bide,
on thinking thoughts, of that kind!"
And he took a running leap
Landed, right off of his feet,
And himself, in the air, he did find!
"My God, how could this be?
No wings, do I see
On my back, nor angels, in the sky.
"But yet I'm flying free,
past every tall tree,
Tis possible, that I, did now die?"
So Xiao An Ren, stopped to think,
For he sat, on the brink,
Of discovery, of the eminent sort.
Because, little did he know,
That he was but a throw
Away from Titania's Faerie Court.
Hence onward he flew,
O'er the morning dew,
Waiting still to encounter, another.
Was it possible, he thought,
If I'm not caught,
I'll encounter of mine, a brother?
So how flustered he was
When came from above,
The very kind that he had looked for.
"Are you a guest" the man asked,
"claiming rest, so fast? Tell me-
why have you come to this moor?"
Xiao An Ren balked
And at realizing his fault,
Bowed to the gentleman, head low.
"I am so sorry sir,
but I will concur,
I'm a guest, but know not where I go.
"So please, stay your hand,
I'm a stranger in this land,
But please,
With your leave,
May I fly?"
The man scoffed, and replied:
"Of course you may fly!
You're a Faerie, same as I!
Or don't you know your own wings,
You small boy, little thing?"
Xiao An Ren looked down,
Way below him, at the ground,
And waited, for the man, to have out.
But the man, simply muttered,
And with nary a flutter,
Sat on a branch, and imparted a pout.
"Look boy, what's your name?
and why this way you came?
Why not have taken, another quick route?"
Xiao An smiled,
For he was beguiled,
Of the stranger's fancy talk, and his lure.
"My name is Xiao An Ren,
I come from my town.then
Was taken, came to this forest (most obscure).
And in China, I did stay,
Until I, ran away,
From the men, who took me on their travels."
And with remembrance of that fact,
Xiao An Ren did act,
He jumped up, thoughts unraveled,
Hastily asked of the man:
"Oh sir! If they find me, this band,
I'll surely be struck, and then tied.
They'll take me to Rome,
Sell me to slavers, unknown.
Please sir, will you please, help me hide?"
And so the wingéd man thought,
About whether he ought,
To let the little shrimp tag on for the ride.
"Little Boy, I'll tell you what,
perhaps I'm a nut,
But I'll let you stay here, for a time.
"You'll meet the Faerie Queen,
and if you, she does deem,
worthy, you'll stay. Nary cost you a dime!"
Xiao An giggled then,
And looked 'round the fen.
His home this place, could soon be!
He ran to the man,
And grabbed hold of his hand, told him,
"Thank you sir, because of you, I am free!"
So together they flew,
(as Faeries often do)
Into the forest, chasing shadows and dreams.
Mister's Puck, and Xiao An,
Laughing each as they can,
Flitting quickly, through the forest's light beams.