Image courtesy of Iuliia Pavlenko via Shutterstock
The Queen's Mosquitoes
PART I — BUGGED
Many long years far in the past
And a thousand miles to the west
A Queen inside her castle
Was bothered by a pesky, little pest
Each night when she would get in bed
And blow the candles out
She'd start to hear a tiny mosquito
Buzzing all about
It would buzz around her head
Until she'd light a candle
Then the bug would disappear
But breezes gusted through the room
Blowing out the candle’s flame
So the mosquito went right back to
The Queen spent hours in sleepless ire
Swatting the nighttime air
Until at last she'd had enough
And called her staff in despair
"It's been at least a week," she cried
"Since I've had a good night's rest
Something must be done tonight
To get rid of that pest!"
Her top advisors came together
And met for hours on end
But every plan they came up with
They could not recommend
They wanted to seal the windows shut
But the weather was too hot
They thought about burning candles all night
But the night breeze meant they could not
At last the Maid, who was listening in
Told them with a shrug
"All you have to do, my friends
"Is be smarter than the bug"
"If you're so smart," the advisors said
"Come up with a plan yourself"
"All right, I will," answered the Maid
As she took down a fan from the shelf
"Is that your plan?" the advisors laughed
But the Maid would have her say
"I'll fan the air above the Queen's head
To keep the mosquito away"
"I like that plan," the Queen chimed in
"It sounds like it's the best
Let's try it out this very night
And put it to the test"
So when the Queen was ready for bed
The Maid brought in a fan
She waved it through the air all night
Until the morning began
And when the Queen awakened
From her first full night of sleep
She told the Maid she hadn't known
That sleep could be that deep
"I haven't slept that well," said the Queen
"Since I was just a child"
And for the very first time in quite awhile
Her Highness actually smiled​
PART II — SURPRISED
The next night with the fan around
The mosquito stayed away
And the Queen awoke refreshed again
Ready to start her day
The same thing happened every night
For one week, then for two
The mosquito stayed away from the fan
And the Queen slept the whole night through
But the Maid who was busy fanning the air
Keeping the pest away
Still had chores throughout the castle
That she had to do each day
So she never got to sleep herself
In daytime or at night
Until one evening she nodded off
Under the pale moonlight
Now the mosquito who was quite nearby
Saw the Maid's head hit her chest
And the bug knew that this was the best chance yet
To disturb the good Queen's rest
So it flew right over to the royal bed
And landed on the Queen's cheek
While at the same moment somewhere in town
A cat let out a SHRIEK!!!
The Maid awoke and saw the bug
She raised her hand and brought it down
Slapping with all her might
The Queen yelled out and sat straight up
Holding the side of her face
"How dare you," she cried and the Maid replied
"Forgive me please, Your Grace"
"Forgive you for slapping royalty?"
The Queen said in full fury
"Why, I'll recommend your head be served
On silver plate to the jury"
And the guard who was standing just outside
Her Royal Highness's room
Entered the chamber with three of his men
And took the Maid off to her doom
They dragged her down to the scary dungeon
And attached an ankle chain
Then they closed and locked the heavy door
Before the Maid could explain
The room was cold and dark and wet
And the poor Maid started to cry
"I didn't mean to hurt the Queen
And I'm much too young to die"
"Won't somebody please believe me?"
She shouted into the air
But no one came to rescue her
And she sat down in despair
At last she cried herself to sleep
On a damp little pile of straw
With her knees drawn up just under her chin
And a hand underneath her jaw
PART III — OUTRAGED
The next day when the dawn broke forth
The castle staff stirred awake
And when word got out that the Queen had been slapped
They said, "For goodness sake"
Then the Queen came out still half asleep
And the servants all tried to hide their eyes
But they couldn't help taking a peek
The Queen walked on by like nothing was wrong
And told the head of the guard
"Build a place to behead that horrible Maid
Somewhere out in the yard!"
"And to make sure she suffers properly
For slapping me on the cheek
I rule the beheading won't take place
For another day and a week"
So the Maid spent her time saying good-bye
To her friends and family
While the Queen was cursed by mosquitoes again
Who attacked her endlessly
Though the Maid had killed one, hordes more of the pests
For mosquitoes require little more than
Some water where their eggs can float
So every night a thousand bugs
Gathered high above the Queen’s bed
And avoided the fan a new servant waved
From the Queen's toes up to her head
The mosquitoes bit the mighty Queen
On her face, her neck and each hand
The swarm was so big, some were always away from
Wherever the servant just fanned
The bugs bit the Queen until she arose
Screaming in pain and fright
And returned every evening, ready for blood
Until the Queen was a terrible sight
Each morning a nurse placed a dab of mud
Upon every one of the bites
While the Queen yelled at anyone anywhere near
For not killing the pesky mites
Soon the dungeon was filled with the many who
Had fanned the queen and failed
And cries were heard throughout the castle
From the servants who were jailed
Now the Maid could hear these mournful moans
From her tiny, airless room
And she knew that something must be done
To get rid of the gloom
PART IV — OUTSMARTED
The night before her days were done
The Maid’s friends came to pray
And while they were there, she thought up a plan
To keep the mosquitoes away
She sent her friends—the fisherfolk
To fetch their nets and string
And when they returned she started to work
And even began to sing
She worked all through the darkened night
Until the break of dawn
And when the guards came to her cell
"I'd like to see the Queen," said the Maid
"As my one and final request
I think I may just have a way
To foil those pesky pests"
The Maid was taken to the Queen's room
Where she bowed down on one knee
"Before I'm sent off to my death
I'd like to make one last plea"
"Save your breath," the Queen replied
"I don't care about your scheme
The last time I trusted one of your plans
I woke up with a scream"
"But this one's different," the Maid exclaimed
"I'm absolutely sure
Please just take a look at it
Before sending me out the door"
The Queen let out a deep, long sigh
Then took the thing she was handed
She unfolded it to take a look
And the bundle quickly expanded
"What on earth," the Queen remarked
So the Maid began to explain
"Just hang this above your bed tonight
And your sleep will be free of pain"
The Maid went on to describe her idea
Since the Queen was full of doubt
"You see, instead of catching things
This net keeps them out"
"I took a net that was used to trap fish
And scrubbed off everything briny
Then wove in lots of string throughout
Until all the holes were tiny"
"So when you make a curtain
Of this net around your bed
The mosquitoes can't get in to bite
While you're resting your weary head"
The Queen held the net up close to her eyes
And gave it a thorough inspection
While her top advisors all gathered around
Waiting for her rejection
But instead the Queen laughed and clapped her hands
And took a little leap
"At last, an end to my misery
I can finally get some sleep!"
With that the Maid and all of the servants
Were saved from a terrible fate
In fact, the Maid was put in charge
Of the Queen's entire estate
And the mosquitoes, well they tried and tried
To fly right through the net
But at last they left for another land
Where they hadn't been outsmarted yet
And so my friends, the lesson here
Is simple but still true
If at first you don’t succeed
Keep trying until you do
​
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THE END