Under The Bed (another revised repost of a child's tale and quite long)

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David2
Member

since 2000-03-22

Posts 407

0 posted 2004-02-22 09:17 PM

Under The Bed

Upon a hill there stood a home,
These many years ago.
Where lived a strong willed little boy,
Whose secret soon you’ll know.

He was a handsome, happy lad,
With soft brown curly hair.
Who wiled away his waking hours,
In play without a care.

Now Ryan was the little king,
And full of boyish grit,
So if he fell or tumbled hard,
He didn’t mind a bit.

He played outside most every day,
In worlds he would create,
And battled raging fiends and foes,
In castles made of crates.

He played until the sun would set,
In search of pirate’s gold,
Until he’d hear his mother yell,
“Your supper’s getting cold!”.

His mother made delicious meals,
And served them piping hot.
Her cooking was the best around
and always hit the spot.

So in he’d rush to wash his hands,
And scurry to his seat,
To clean his plate of every crumb,
And leave it nice and neat.

At last his belly full and fat,
His thoughts would turn away,
To magic lands of knights and kings,
And dragons he might slay.

He’d curl up in a cozy chair,
And read some books for fun,
Of dinosaurs that roamed the earth,
Or rockets to the sun.

When it was time to go to bed,
He went without a fight,
He brushed his teeth and washed his face,
And kissed his mom goodnight.

He scampered quickly up the stairs,
And with a mighty leap,
He jumped into his nice warm bed,
And quickly fell asleep.

He dreamt of cowboys while he slept,
Like most rambunctious boys,
When suddenly he sat upright,
Awakened by some noise.

It came from underneath his bed,
And sounded like a purr.
He thought he felt his mattress move,
But couldn’t be quite sure.

Then fearlessly he looked below,
And there against the wall
Beneath the bed He only saw,
His worn out soccer ball.

“ That wouldn’t make that noise,” he thought,
As one more glance he took.
“But still I better crawl around,
And get a closer look.”

And so he crept beneath the bed,
With mischief on his mind,
But just that silly soccer ball,
Was all that he could find.

When suddenly, just like a mouth,
The floorboards opened wide,
And swallowed him with just one gulp,
To lock him deep inside.

He hurtled down a long dark chute,
Not knowing where it led.
Before he felt a stinging blow,
That glanced aside his head.

When he awoke he found himself,
Upon a bed of grass.
Amidst a forest full and green,
The sky as clear as glass.

He looked around to find the chute,
That dumped him in this land.
When there was none, he wondered why,
And couldn’t understand.

Still woozy from the blow he took,
He tried to clear his head,
He felt a fear begin to grow,
And sensed a touch of dread.

He took a breath of crisp clean air,
Which helped him feel more sure.
And gathered all his wits until,
At last he felt secure.

He looked around at last to see,
A land pristine and lush.
So wonderful in every way,
The beauty made him blush.

The trees were full of brilliant birds,
He didn’t recognize
With feathers bright and beautiful,
That danced before his eyes

Alone in this exotic land
He set out to explore.
And wandered while in anxious thought,
Of what must be in store.

Then as he walked along a path,
Beneath an aqua sky,
The sparkle of a polished stone,
Did catch his roaming eye.

A crystal lay upon the ground,
And shimmered in the light.
He picked it up and ventured on,
And smiled in his delight.

He walked along a little while,
Until he found a cave,
A massive structure struck in stone,
Both ominous and grave.

He wandered through a labyrinth,
Of passages in rock,
Until he found an opening,
That startled him with shock.

Magnificent and glorious,
The sight he stood before,
A wonderland of nature’s best,
Comprised its very core.

The ceiling opened to the sky,
As sunlight bathed the walls.
Inside a garden paradise,
With flowing waterfalls.

One waterfall had carved a hole,
And flowed most gracefully,
Right through the caverns granite walls,
Cascading to the sea.

The sea, four hundred feet below,
Did pound the rocky shore.
No sight but half as beautiful,
He’d ever seen before.

The center of this garden held,
A tree with leaves of gold,
And chained there to its mighty trunk,
A woman frail and old.

As he approached she raised her head,
And smiled the faintest smile.
“Are you the child to rescue me?”,
She whispered without guile.

He said he really didn’t know,
But that he’d like to try.
He grabbed the chains and rattled them,
Which made the woman cry.

“Oh stop, please stop! It hurts so much.”
She sighed in hurried breath.
“If you should break these chains my boy,
I’d face a certain death.”

“ The only way to set me free,”
She whispered quietly,
“Would be to take a golden leaf,
And use it as a key.”

T’was then he saw the golden lock,
Securing golden chains.
He knew he had to grant her wish,
And free her from her pains.

And as he plucked one golden leaf,
The tree began to sway,
The very earth began to shake,
Which caused him great dismay.

And as his unbelieving eyes,
Took in what happened next,
He stood there frozen to the ground,
Confused and quite perplexed.

The little woman, frail and old,
Was never in distress,
For as he watched she soon became,
A gruesome horrid mess.

She grew to quite a monstrous size,
And sprouted one more head,
Four more arms and horns as well,
Her skin was crimson red.

Each head adorned with but one eye,
She bore a writhing tail,
With cloven hooves instead of feet,
And teeth like sharpened nails.

Before him then a cyclops stood,
And laughed a wicked laugh.
“For stealing from my tree,” said he,
“I’ll tear your heart in half!”

And so the monster lunged at him,
But Ryan leapt aside,
And raced towards the waterfall,
To try and save his hide.

As Ryan reached the open cliff,
He dove towards the sea.
The Cyclops snatched him from the air,
And snarled most fiendishly.

“I have you now you guttersnipe!
You needn’t try to fight !
You’ll make a tasty little snack,
To curb my appetite!”

This six armed Cyclops slowly raised,
Poor Ryan towards his jaws,
And there he faced a certain death,
But for a moment’s pause.

He didn’t know what made the beast,
Slow down or hesitate.
But that was all he needed and,
He prayed he’d not be late.

His pocket held the shining stone,
He’d found upon the ground,
And as he pulled it free he flashed,
It quickly all around.

Each facet of the crystal shone,
As sunlight magnifies,
And brilliant rays of golden beams,
Did blind the giant’s eyes.

So startled by the blinding light,
His feet began to stumble,
He teetered on the slipp’ry ledge,
As rocks began to crumble.

He lurched about the precipice,
So staggered by the blow,
And falling forward, hurtled towards,
The jagged rocks below.

But Ryan was determined not,
to share the monster’s fate.
And grabbed a limb that grew between,
Two massive stony plates.

The Cyclops met his violent death ,
Four hundred feet below.
But Ryan held his breath and hanged,
And prayed he’d not let go.

And then a voice quite soft at first,
Began to call his his name.
Then louder still it grew until,
His fear began to wane.

He opened up his eyes to look,
And saw his mother’s face.
He glanced about and realized,
A most familiar place.

No longer did he dwell within,
Those strange and distant lands,
He found himself upon his bed,
The head rails in his hands.

His mother kissed his fevered cheek,
And with a mommy’s charm,
She whispered, “Dear, you’ll be all right,
No one can do you harm.”

He sighed in such a great relief,
And held his mother near,
And in the comfort of her grasp,
He shed a single tear.

He thought he’d tell her of his tale,
As odd as it did seem.
But surely she would have to say,
“You’ve only had a dream.”

So Ryan never told a soul,
What happened while he slept.
And locked it deep inside his heart,
And there his secret kept.

But no one seemed to understand,
When morning followed night,
Why Ryan’s pretty curly hair,
Had changed from brown to white!

So when you go to bed tonight,
Leave on a little light,
For monsters never come around
Unless they think it’s night

You don’t believe this story’s true?
C’mon at least pretend,
For when you give up fairy tales,
Your fun begins to end.

[This message has been edited by David2 (02-23-2004 06:50 AM).]

Krawdad
Member Elite

since 2001-01-03

Posts 2597

1 posted 2004-02-22 09:52 PM

Enjoyed this tale, David.
Reminds me of my own childhood fever nightmares, and I had many, though none were quite so classic as this!
Thanks

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis

since 1999-11-08

Posts 9269
Pennsylvania

2 posted 2004-02-23 07:00 AM

Bravo!, Enjoyed this from beginning to end. My grandchildren will love it
Thanks for posting
Liz

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