THE CLEVER ONE

The dwarf - the clever dwarf -

he hid behind the mirror

and said what small sweet nothings he could

to please his mistress.

"You are fair," he said

"You are fine," he said

"You are everything divine.

"You are the sun and the moon

and all in-between," he told her

and, since he spoke with a voice of authority

she believed him.

And his mistress grew

in stature and esteem

and she believed

what her hidden suitor told her.

And she laughed a beautiful laugh

and she danced a lovely dance

that he could spy

beneath the mirror

for his perspective was a foreshortened one.

And he enjoyed her pleasure

for years and decades.

And he thrilled to her glee

at her mirror's praise.

Finally, though he tired of her

self-centered way

the way he had engendered.

And he realized

her egotism must end.

"There is one prettier than you," he said

and fled home

thinking that his story had ended

when really

it had just begun.

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