K.I.S.S. (Keep It, Short Stories)

'Tis Not All Daring Deeds

A stable boy of brown locks and tall figure,

Went to groom the steeds on one very bright night.

There, he listened to the gentle breeze, when a man of silver arrived.

The gleam of metal shone brightly like stars as he handed the reigns to the boy.

Scales of the armor sheen, flashed at every movement he stepped,

Blonde, as yellow as the sun, curtained his face in graceful waves,

With the smallest of a beard stubbled his chin,

A decorated hilt latched onto a belt of woven leather,

Clanking heavily with the weight of a sheathed sword.

The boy took hold of the leather rope and groomed the steed of that very grand knight.

Whilst the knight sat down on the soft, corn-colored hay,

And the proud knight bellowed,

"Let me tell you a story, lad,

A tale only some wish to have."

Silently, the boy sat,

Listening to the virtuous man weave,

Stories he knew, as chivalrous acts.

"I killed a dragon today," He said,

"I swung my sword above the nape of its neck, and off came his head!

The day before, I found a ring, quite fit for a king.

Adorned with jewels and a wondrous design,

I gave it to my lord, and he told me, 'It's mine.'"

The stable boy, only continued to groom the chestnut fur of an exhausted beast,

While the knight mentioned with a hearty laugh, of what a mighty feast.

The more he spoke, the more did the stable boy grimaced at his pompous claim.

But all the same, he too wished to tell a tale of his own,

And on that very bright night, he decided with all his might,

"I am going to be a knight."

It was a quiet moment, a heated, intense silence.

"Hah!" The knightly man cried out,

"You? Who simply grooms the steeds of the prince?"

William's cheeks grew rosy, red and it slowly rose to his head

"Why not?" William replied hotly, "Someone once said, that 'To be a man, is to prove you are.'"

"You, who hides in the muck. You, who lingers under the stars?" The knight questioned.

"Hah, I say, and a double hah, hah to you lad.

I doubt you could bring the might of such dragon slaying!"

"I will prove to you, sir knight, that I may be a plain stable boy, but I can be a knight too!"

The knight's pearly white smile faded away,

To find the boy was serious as the sun rising each day.

"Well, then I suppose I send you god-speed, dear boy.

I await your return, when you return a warrior-worthy knight."

William nodded, clambered from his ditch and brushed his sod-soaked pants