A Tail of Tales

The Tail of Tales as you may once have heard

Is supposed to show love, that is the word

But someone who knows love as well as I

May stand up and declare, 'that is a lie'

Oh, you have not heard the tale yet, you say?

Listen up, for you will hear it today

We start in a time, we start in a place

But neither exist in any real space

A mouse has been born, a lady so fair

With stars in her eyes and silk in her hair

White as new snow and pure as a sweet dove

She must have been sent from heaven above

Or so goes the tale, but I might just bet

She would look quite grey if ever turned wet

For purity is an essence of soul

And cannot be laid on part of a whole

And I know nothing else besides her looks

Because it isn't much talked of in books

So now we've begun our tale with fair Fae

The fairest of mice, as some mice might say

She alone finds herself in despair

For she has plenty but no one to share

She has no love to intertwine her tail

No one to console, if she were to wail

No sooner than she wished for love to own

The story made another brave mouse known

A mouse of great valor, bravery, and fame

His mere presence put other mice to shame

A wonder with such widely known glory

She had long ago heard his story

The two small lovers had only just met

And there is much more in store for them yet

They loved each other from their first shared glance

Such strong love does not happen by mere chance

He praised her white fur, her eyes and her tail

Her tail! He praised deeply without fail

For a mouse's tale is a crown to a king

It is more important than anything

Longer is better, the measure of it goes

It is best when it stretches head to toes

And to be a legend a mouse needs more

Something so long it takes up the whole floor

So many ways tails can be wrong to mice

Or, not right enough to make Fae think twice

But Lou, the brave mouse, had a tail just right

And to poor, sweet Fae this was quite a sight

Alas! Their tale was marked for tragedy

As they were too concerned with pageantry

They sauntered through the halls with high grandeur

They inspired frustration in mice tail-poor

They smiled and waved like leads of a play

But actors and players hearts ebb and sway

One day, a mouse small, called to their parade

'Do we know this is love, not a charade?'

The mice all looked about in great dismay

Would false love really take their darling Fae?

Her father thought as to what he should do

And said, 'I shall put it to all of you.

We shall put this fair gent's love to the test

And pit him against the four-legged pest.

If he goes to kill the murderous cat,

He will prove his love and that will be that.

But if he fails to try we shall then see

And who ever succeeds, Fae's lover they'll be."

The mice hollered with joy for their reason

With hope for Lou or their own planned treason

The day of the cat fight soon came to pass

Lou waved farewell to Fae, his beloved lass

He went to the Cat's home under the stairs

He puffed out his chest and smoothed out his hairs

The following scuffle is not described

Perhaps it wasn't properly transcribed

But the outcome matters more than the rest

Because Lou had won, he had passed the test

He had escaped to win his lady fair

But he had lost far more than just some hair

His long tail that once brought pride to his name

Was now gone, sending him into shame

What kind of a mouse does not have a tail?

He tried to keep hope, but to no avail

With no tail, he just wasn't a real mouse

So, he left his love, his fame, and his house

He told his sweet Fae before he had left

To fall in love again, to not be bereft

This is where I must pause the tale to say

What love is it, if you just walk away?

Does love not compel you to go on when you can't?

Does it not silence you when you just want to rant?

Does love not bring life where none was before?

Does it not touch down to your deepest core?

So how could Lou love her and yet still leave,

To force his dearest Fae to mourn and grieve?

These tales all speak of some great, strong hero

Working their way up from less than zero

But they paint them as perfect, full of love

When it isn't love, they are most proud of

Not afraid to die for glory or fame

Not for love but the spreading of their name

Did Lou fight for Fae or was it for Lou?

I have no answer, but leave it to you

And with poor, sweet Fae, now lonely again

This short tale has come round full circle then

With Lou now gone and Fae wishing once more

For a love stronger than the love before.

The thing about Cupid as we all know

He can be friend but even greater foe

So if you think to ask for his advice

I implore you to stop now and think twice

What he did to Fae he could do to you too

That isn't something you want, I assure you

He released an arrow on the sweet Fae

But instead of her heart, her tail did sway

Right off her back and down onto the floor

Her dear, sweet tail, was not hers anymore

In shame or in love, she ran to her knight

And from their meeting a new love took flight.

But was it love, I still wonder sometimes

Because truest love still has many mimes

And he chose to leave his love in the past

Without a thought of if her love would last

Driving poor Fae into a hopeless state

Never to find a new love or new mate

And she did not follow or seek him out

But left him to wander in shame and doubt

Until her great tail was lost to her too

So was it real love or something less true?