Fable

(c) 2002 Jari Komppa

Pat was a tomcat; he lived on a farm.

In his youth he was the king of the region,

mice he slew a legion,

thus earning his pay.

But such was no longer the way,

for time had passed, and he, old and gray,

had grown lazy, or so I'd say.

He liked to be in the barn, out of the way,

on top of a shelf, he used to lay.

And in the evenings, after the hours of heat,

he went out for a treat.

This majestic cat, moving like a gent

to his saucer of milk he went,

Only to find it empty, just drops were left

who could have done this horrible theft?

Pat was shocked, you'll understand that;

what if it happened to be a rat?

Next day he went to the saucer early on,

confident that he had already won

The milk was there, white and pure,

but touch it he wouldn't, that's for sure

For truth be told,

it was way too cold;

he preferred it slightly old,

but today he expected a guest,

and there it came, down from the west.

Much amazed, saw the cat,

that it WAS a rat,

and strange looking, at that!

Like lightning, Pat leaped, and with a hiss

Only to learn, painfully this:

Sharp indeed were the hedgehog's spikes,

they hurt his paws, like knives.

With a horrible scream Pat ran away

back to his fortress of hay.

What kind of a rat could that be,

wondered he,

whilst his paws he licked.

Whatever it was, its ass would be kicked!

Yet next day he was waiting for his saucer to be filled.

Tense he was, and angry too, for less he would have killed!

Ignoring even his ball of yarn,

he pushed the saucer into the barn.

On top of bales of hay he leaped

from there, the havoc would be reaped.

There he sat, waiting an hour at most

then had a thought, had the rat gotten lost?

Before he got tired, and drank the milk,

he heard a sound, soft as silk.

For out of the fog

in marched, the hedgehog.

As Pat tensed for the leap

started toppling his whole heap

not thinking, in panic and struck by fear

he leaped on a sack of grain, causing it to tear

Down fell, tumbling, the bales of hay

yet keeping the hedgehog out of harm's way

Pat got onto his safe home shelf filled with terror

still not seeing the fullness of his error

an old tractor got loose and rolled to a wall

with a loud bang that could be heard at the town hall

down fell the cat, then the bucket

and then like a speeding rocket

out flew the cat in a flash

into the nearby pond, with a splash.

Still on went the racket with no end in sight

but the hedgehog seemed to get off light

for one reason or another it never heard a sound

when finished with the milk, it just turned around

and walked away, no harm done

towards the edge of the forest, and then, gone.