Fairy Tails

In bygone days when knights were bold, and I was barely six years old,
The favourite book upon our shelves was Hamlyn's Book of Fairytales.

My young, impressionable mind -although quite small- was quick to find
That every hero in that book was nothing but a selfish crook!

Young Goldilocks was just a thief who quite deserved to come to grief.
What if some uninvited bear had nicked her food and bust her chair?

And Jack that nasty beanstalk kid:- Was that a clever thing he did?
What wisdom drove him to invest the only things his mum possessed?

I wondered how he was to know the 'magic' beans would even grow?
I noticed he remained defiant even when he met the giant:-

Coz smelling a repugnant smell, (it's said Jack didn't wash too well)
The giant, fighting back the stench, said something like, "Excuse my French,"

"But who the hell invited you!" Would you have guessed what Jack would do?
Instead of calling for a truce, he rudely grabbed the golden goose,

And legged it back the way he came without a trace of guilt or shame
Thenceforth (we're told) his mum and he lived a life of luxury.

At first it caused me some distress that greed should bring them such success,
But soon I was completely sold: I simply needed power and gold.

I read that old Rapunzel story thinking honour, fame and glory
Were mine if I could only dare to hang my weight on someone's hair.

I tried it on a friend one day. Her ponytail, to my dismay
Was far too weak to take the strain ...she never looked the same again.

Most modern crooks can trace their roots to old-time villain Puss in Boots.
From him I learned that telling lies will make me rich, well-loved and wise.

Poor Rumplestiltskin did his best to help a maiden in distress.
And yet the most distressing thing was what her father told the king:

The Dad, (no mention of his wife) so coldly risked his daughter's life
By making out that she could make gold from straw - for heaven's sake!

Why was this monster just turned loose, and not had up for child abuse?
The mixed up victim later wedded the bloke who'd wanted her beheaded!

The moral of each tale was clear: I didn't need to be sincere.
My real needs (the facts were plain) were honour, riches, power and fame.

They taught me that the greatest thing -for boys- is to become a king;
Get lots of gold for happiness, and grab yourself a young princess.

In order to achieve this feat, of course I'd have to lie and cheat
(And proper heroes should at least have killed a dragon, troll or beast).

For girls the object of their life was to become a monarch's wife
Be blonde and dress in pretty pink, be delicate; but never think!

I listened quietly from my bed as my mother softly read
And she completely failed to see the trouble this was causing me.

"Don't be sad," my mum would say, "you'll be a hero too one day."
And slowly I began to doubt what Truth and Love were all about.

And though I didn't know it then, I'd walked into a lion's den.
As villainy was vindicated my conscience was indoctrinated.

So with my 'reconditioned' mind I left home (metaphorically) to find
The hero lurking deep inside....but I'd been taken for a ride:

The hero I'd been trying to find was just a product of my mind
An ego that had been force-fed with all those selfish tales I'd read.

But in another book I read, there was this man, the story said
Who ran away from home to find he'd left both truth and love behind.

So, hungry, sorry, tired and sad he went back home to ask his Dad
If he would even let him be a servant for the family.

His dad who saw him from afar, ran (he didn't have a car)
And welcomed him with open arms (no fairies, gold or magic charms)!

This diametrically opposed what I had (up to then) supposed
It had a certain strange appeal; and seemed so solid, true and real:-

The boy had found he could not cope and reached out for his only hope:
And found that life's not what you do, but who you know that rescues you.