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Paranoid Heron

By: Eva Guberman

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 29 seconds. Contains 498 words

There once lived a young heron
In a kingdom not too far away
Who heard of a plot to kill the king
And sought to warn those along the way

She first warned the orange cat
Whose fur was dusty and matte
“Hear me, hear me, hear me as I cry-
There is a plot to kill the king, you mustn't let him die!”
But the cat simply laughed and scoffed in her face
“A plot to kill the king? You must have heard wrong-
The king has ruled for years, why wait so long?”
The heron sighed and flew off
To hopefully find someone who wouldn't scoff

Next she warned a small black rabbit
Whose personality was nasty and crabbit
“Hear me, hear me, hear me as I cry-
There is a plot to kill the king, you mustn't let him die!”
But the black rabbit laughed, to the heron’s surprise
“A plot to kill the king, who is warm and true?-
Anyone who tries to hurt the king; surely they are a fool!”
Disappointed once again, the heron took to the sky
Hoping to find at least one soul who will believe it wasn’t a lie

Thirdly she warned an old brown mouse
Who tended to the wheat fields surrounding her house
“Hear me, hear me, hear me as I cry-
There is a plot to kill the king, you mustn't let him die!”
But the mouse simply sighed, concern in her tone
“Perhaps you’re just tired, why don’t you go home?”
So the heron yawned and flew to her nest
Wondering if she would truly benefit from some rest

But even in sleep, not was all as it seemed
As her mind still warned her, shown in her dreams
The heron awoke, an idea her dreams did sing
If no one believed her, why not go straight to the king?

So to the king she went, determination in her eyes
For surely the king would not dismiss it as lies
“Hear me, hear me, hear me as I cry-
There is a plot to kill you, my king, you mustn't doubt you will die!”
But the king did doubt, and with a worried yell
“This poor heron is woefully paranoid, take her to a cell!”
The heron was imprisoned, high in a tower
Left with only her thoughts and the sun to count the hours

The heron thought and thought, anxious for her sire
For now he too believed that she was a liar
The threat was real, that she knew was true
But since nobody believed her, what could she do?

Escaping from her tower prison, she slowly made her way down
Making sure to make no noise, walking without a sound
Slipping into the king’s bedchambers, she slowly raised a knife
And with one cut, swift and deep, she ended the king’s life

As the sun rose over the town, the heron flying overhead
With pain and sorrow in her heart, this is what she said
“The king is dead, the king is dead, hear me as I cry-
The king is gone, you’ve all been wrong, now know I haven’t lied!”

Was the threat truly real, or just in the heron’s head?
It matters not, lest you forgot, that now the king is dead