Beauty and the Beast – inspired …

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February 27, 2016 by petrujviljoen

Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie invites participants to tell a tale, a factious fairy tale. I’m inspired by the Revolting Tales of Roald Dahl.

 

The horse who had Sense

Beauty, not hard to understand – it was there

for all to see –

true blue-blooded immutable beauty. She was clever too.

Father,

a merchant, rich beyond dreams, became poor. Three

brothers, brave we hear, yet none we get to really

know. Ah,

but the duo of sisters! How well

we know their score!

 

A tale about Women, mostly, then – and now;

a double tale of trouble,

A single one of cunning

insight, few are thus bestowed.

 

The cast is ready, the tale shall unfold

 

but wait!

 

The horse is yet untold!

Twice it knew its way:

Once it got, woeful father, lost

in the forest –

Or so we are told, yet

it sensed

an Other burdened Beast

whom Father meets when … he plucked the rose.

It was for his daughter you know.

 

Breakfast over, judgement cast –

Father has to die – unless

… the virgin …

 

Horse, sensibly (‘’of his own accord’’), leads merchant home.

What followed we know, we were told so.

 

Except!

 

Beauty has read widely, she has a horse of her own;

She listened to father, closely, as his misadventure was told;

• about the Beast
• the bounty
• what the horse did

too engrossed for tears.

 

Her decision:

I shall go!

Brothers railing, father protesting,

sisters rejoicing,

Enigmatic her insisting:

I shall go!

 

Beauty, on her own, (we twist the tale a bit)

Now at the castle,

keenly watched as her steed, undeterred, enter the stable

on his own accord.

 

Satisfied, a smile, she turned

and faced her fate,

allowed the Beast

to show her his place(ment).
We skip the rest to the very end:

Father frail, brothers away, sisters at bay – and angry.

We see Beauty, smugly

thumping her nose at her sisters

as they stole away.

 

Just horse sense my dears

she sneered.

The horses – and thus she – knew

there was nothing to fear.