Idlebones

Tiny Dancer 1

There was a time, so very long ago, when a King decided that no one
should dance in his Kingdom. He wasn’t a cruel King. In fact, his
people loved him so much that when he decreed one day that “Dancing,
in all forms, shall be outlawed, forthwith, and forsooth!” they, hung
their heads and puffed their cheeks, but said nothing except to say.
“Our poor King!” In the streets, the children could not understand why
there King would want to stop then dancing. They ran to there mothers
and fathers and cried “why can we not dance? Does the King not like to
see us dance?” There fathers looked solemnly away, up towards the
Castle walls, while their mothers clutched them close and whispered
gently in their ears.

“Our King is sad, my little ones. He is sad because our dancing
reminds him of one he has lost”
The King was indeed very sad. He sat on his throne, day and night and
wept silent tears as his courtiers brought him food and wine. But he
would not eat or drink. Fearing for his health, the court wizard was
called. He flowed into the room trailing his long white magicians
cloak behind him, seeming to float above the stone flow until he came
to a halt by the Kings throne. Bending his old wizened head to the
Kings breast he listened for a moment. Then, curling his long white
beard in his fingers a he did when he was thinking, he turned to the
courtiers.
“Our Kings heart is broken. It cries to itself inside his breast. It
flutters like a bird with a broken wing, and I can do nothing for him”
The courtiers fell into tears and beseech ed the old wizard.
“There must be something you can do, oh great wizard! We have seen you
vanquish whole armies with one touch of your wand! Why, it was you who
rode the Dragons back until he breath fire no more…..!”
The wizard held out a hand to silence them.
“I have no power over love, dear friends. No mans magic is greater
than that which bewitches a heart and controls it’s beating. No spell
can undo what love has done here”
The wizard turned and looked sadly upon his King.
“Magic is not the answer here” he said quietly.
And so the days passed and no one defied the Kings decree. The
children ran about the streets and played, but did not dance for fear
their parents would scold them. The actors continued their plays but
even there the stage did not feel the tread of skipping feet. All
through the Kingdom, not even the young deer in the forest danced for
fear of upsetting the king. The King eventually ate, and left his
throne to sit in the high stone tower that over looked the little
village below and thought of his wife. The villagers below would look
up and see the candlelit window of the tower at night and shake their
heads sadly.

“Our poor King”