The Lady of the Mountain
A fairytale in poetry form.

High upon a mountain top
lived a lady, kind and fair,
Her eyes; blue as the deepest sea
and angel-blonde her hair.

This lady had a talent,
one more extraordinary than most,
When she sang - a rainbow shone!
A glorious sight to boast!

Her gentles tones soothed all around
that lived in the neighbouring kingdom,
A fountain flowed in the centre of town,
Its waters coursed with wisdom.

This lady had a beauty to her -
She loved to see others smile,
So she made sure she sang night and day
to encourage the fountain's style.

She knew that if she were to stop
the vibrating of her chords,
the fountain would flow no longer
and the people would resort to war,

A war for water, a fight for thirst -
A thought she couldn't bare!
So she never, ever stopped singing
and the fountain flowed so fair.

A rainbow hung over the kingdom,
an omen that all was well,
this spectrum earned the town its name -
'Calix', their own word for 'shell'.

For that it was, a protective case -
With the rainbow, no harm would come.
Travellers knew Calix to be safe,
there'd be no danger - only shelter and love.

The people of Calix were caring,
they accepted all those not themselves,
the only species they never included
were those devious creatures, the elves.

Calix thought elves to be tricky,
they didn't work - just sat around all day.
They thought it unfair that those so pretty,
should be so lazy and yet still have their way!

The elves of Calix lived in a cave
(for they weren't allowed in the town),
One little elf in particular
was always seen wearing a frown.

It seemed this was never to change,
in time the elves forgot to protest.
Everything settled in Calix
and the lady’s singing was at its best.

But changes were about to take place,
Calix was soon to know sin!
And this, my friend, is the part
where my endearing tale begins…

For you see, on the edge of this kingdom
stood a forest of dying ash trees,
and hidden within the soft winds of Calix,
there lay a sinister breeze.

The breeze was controlled by a madman
who went by the name of Letrisse,
Letrisse was an old and twisted elf
who had tired of the town’s prejudice.

As a young man he had decided
to leave the kingdom so fair,
The other elves wished him good luck
but to leave their cave? They wouldn’t dare!

And so Letrisse had lived in the forest,
Planning how to get back at the town -
For he believed that elves deserved happiness
instead of despair and a frown!

Each day and each night he would plot
how to bring about the fall of Calix,
He remembered the rainbow and the lady…
…and his thoughts became clouded with malice.

He decided to kidnap the lady,
and to silence her eternal song,
He knew then the rainbow would vanish
and the rights of Calix would all become wrong!

But he didn’t dare to leave the forest,
He had grown afraid of the town,
So it was fortunate that on that day
wandered past the little elf with a frown.

This little elf was called Cora,
He was but twelve years old.
He had forever lived in the cave –
And to Calix his heart had grown cold.

Cora wished to live among them,
He wished to visit the great fountain,
And what he wished for more than anything
was to see the Lady of the Mountain!

And so when Letrisse saw him,
Walking solemnly by the edge of the forest,
He saw his chance and persuaded him
to do a deed most wicked and horrid…

“What’s wrong, little boy?” he did ask,
his face contorted with glee.
“Why are we elves so hated?” Cora said,
“Why do the townsfolk ignore me?”

“That’s because, my young friend,
they don’t appreciate elves.
They think we are lazy,
when it is really themselves

“who don’t do any work,
we slave away all day!
But it’s okay, little boy,
I think I’ve found a way…

“To make them all love us!
To let us go into the town!
But you must help me, dear boy,
this job will earn you a crown…

“You must go to the Mountain
where the Lady lives alone!
Tell her you’ve lost your parents,
in this forest below!

“She’s kind, and she’ll follow
you down to the trees,
and you’ll bring her through the forest
and lead her to me!

“Calix will worry,
their fountain won’t flow!
Then we’ll bring them their Lady
and the whole town will know

“That we’ve rescued their princess,
and the rainbow will appear,
we’ll be hailed as heroes!

Elves will be held dear!
“So you see my dear boy,
you must go up there right now!
Cry to the lady, and she’ll close her mouth!”

Letrisse was wicked,
But he knew how to act.
Cora fell for his story,
And that was that.

Of course, the wicked and twisted elf
was never going to give the Lady back.
He intended to keep her -
And as Calix crumbled, he’d laugh!

But little Cora didn’t know this,
And he left for the Mountain.
He’d always wanted to see the Lady
and drink water from the fountain!

He walked day and night,
Hardly stopping for rest,
At last, he could see the top!
He ran to where the Lady would nest,

Sure enough, he found her –
Curled up in a ball,
She appeared to be sleeping
and singing through her snores!

Cora gently woke her,
fake tears flowing free.
He lied that his father
was lost amongst the ash trees!

The Lady said at once
that she would help with his task.
She left the Mountain top,
and her singing stopped at last!

Down below in the forest,
Letrisse watched her come near.
He jumped out and placed rope round her
and whispered “My dear,

“I have you at last!
Now all of Calix will die!
There’ll be no rainbow to protect them!
No fountain flows tonight!

“You’ll never see your Mountain!
You’ll stay here with me!
thank you little boy,
Here’s a crown for your fee!”

Little Cora looked at his payment
with a glare of dismay,
“Oh, what have I done?” he cried,
“How bitter this day!”

He ran back to his cave
and hid under his sheets,
His mother tried to coax him out,
but got only teardrops and bleats.

Cora couldn’t believe
what he had helped Letrisse do!
He looked out of the window
and saw all hell breaking loose!

The people of Calix had noticed the fountain,
They saw that its stream flowed no more!
Some of them left, afraid for their lives,
And the others – they resorted to war.

The last drops of water were horded
by the strongest of men,
The weakest were left
to die a torturous death!

Cora watched with dismay
As Calix was destroyed,
He knew what he had to do,
but he was just a little boy!

So he ran into the town
and called for quiet –
The people stopped their fighting
and halted their riots.

“Listen!” the elf called,
“I am Cora from the caves!
Your Lady has been kidnapped,
And I can lead the way!”

“But you’re an elf!” the crowd cried,
and they refused to believe
that Cora would be the hero
that they should so badly need.

“I know I’m small,” he called back,
“And I know you all hate my kind!
But if you want your Lady back,
We have to leave that behind!

“Forget that you hate elves,
pretend we’re the same!
We need the Lady as much as you,
We’re all part of this game!

“Now I know where she is,
bound and tied against her will,
and if you don’t let me help you
the fountain will remain still!”

The town’s people agreed to listen,
So thirsty they were!
They listened as little Cora
told them what had occurred…

“There is an elf in the forest,
and he is evil and wrong!
He tricked me into making
the Lady stop her song!

“So now she is out there,
and he says he won’t give her back!
But if we all work together
I know we’ll overcome that!

“Grab your pitchforks and knives
And then follow me!
I’ll take you to the forest
and through the dying ash trees –

“There’ll you find Letrisse
(for that is his name),
we can take back the Lady,
and we can all save the day!”

The townsfolk roared
and picked up their blades,
They followed the elf-boy
with sharp rakes and spades,

When they reached the dark forest,
They shivered with fright.
But no amount of horror
would deter them from their might.

They made their way through
to where a log cabin stood –
This was the home of Letrisse!
Carved out of dead ash tree wood!

The people banged on the door,
The people broke through the windows,
And Inside they could see -
- The most beautiful glow!

It was their Lady of the Mountain,
gagged and tied on her knees!
She was still trying to sing,
Her words stolen by the breeze.

They broke into the house
and untied the sweet girl,
They took her back to the Mountain,
and the waters started to whirl!

Since then she has stayed,
Safe from harm atop her home,
The rainbow shines brighter
than you ever could know!

The people now take turns
to guard their Lady from harm,
And nothing makes them happier
than to hear her sweet charm.

The people who left
soon came flocking back,
And then once again
Calix was living at last!

And what happened to Cora,
the elf with a frown?
Well, he now is a hero
and the talk of the town!

You see, the Lady excused him
for the trick he had played.
“You owned up for what you did,
and put right the bad that you made.

For that I am grateful,
And so is everyone here!
I would very much like
To keep you quite near!”

And so the elves made their way
into Calix itself,
On every street there is a home
with at least one happy elf!

Cora has his own home,
halfway up the mountain.
The Lady visits him frequently,
and drinks from his own private fountain!

With past troubles forgotten,
Elves and Calix now unite!
And high above this happy scene,
the Lady’s rainbow shines bright…

…But far, far away,
where the rainbow’s rays can’t quite reach,
there are fields of grey sands
stretching down to the sea.

Living with the starfish
is the bad elf Letrisse,
At the very last moment,
He had escaped the dark forest!

He had seen the mob coming
and had feared what they’d do,
He decided to save himself,
and through the forest he flew!

He didn’t stop running
until his feet moved no more,
And even then he crawled,
his belly scratched and sore.

In the sands, he waits,
drinking from the seas around him.
The salt makes him more bitter,
more corrupted with sin.

He spies on the rainbow
as he eats weeds and plants,
He vows revenge on Calix!
And the flames in his eyes dance…