The Merchant of Dreams

"'Tis time to seek my fortune!"
Was my very thought,
And so goodbye I kissed my kin,
Mounted the ass I bought.

The donkey was a stubborn thing--
Far too old and worn,
But hardly cost a song to sing
Plus a bag of corn.

On I rode, on a road
That 'twixt the mountains went,
While I dreamed of a grand abode,
good wine, and merriment.

My visions I did fill
With the beasts that I would slay,
A modest castle on a hill,
A new maiden everyday.

But my valiant steed had other dreams.
She preferred to sleep.
So while I conjured heroic schemes,
Her gallop was a creep.

Frustrated one night, I set up camp--
Tied my companion to a tree.
And in the mist, fog, and damp,
She did escape from me.

So through the dark I made my way,
Along the mountain side.
How dare my mount me betray--
No sign of tail nor hide!

Around a bend I traced the trail,
And before me stood my ass!
But farther yonder from her tail,
There was a great impasse.

The width of the path: a marketplace--
Here in the dead of night?
I grabbed my ride to end the chase
And pondered at the sight.

Rows and rows of lean-to stands
Did light and buzz and trade.
Beings from across the lands
Bartered, bought, and paid.

Seeing my chance to finally quest,
I led my donkey thither.
Perhaps I could trade my pest
For a mount that didn't slither.

I scanned the crowd--an odd one too,
All pointed ears and wings.
The stalls themselves: gold and blue.
The wares? Spells and rings.

"Kid," said a man, scarred and masked,
"Nothing is what is seems."
"Then who or what are you?" I asked.
"Why I'm the merchant of dreams!"

"Of dreams?" I ask. "What do you charge?
Surely silver, velvet, or gold
Are prices all much too large!"
"Well, if your mount's unsold...."

The merchant then looked at me.
A smile behind the mask?
"I shall take thy donkey,
So you can resume thy task."

What fortune had I! What a deal!
"Then I, a dream shall take!"
This bargain was a steal:
He did not know his mistake.

"Good," said he, "for your ass
Is no ass at all!
Look at her through this glass!
Her importance is not small!"

And lo, in her reflection
Stood a lovely maid.
Ignoring my objection,
This the man conveyed:

"This donkey is a princess,
That I shall now return,
And so I'll reap her father's riches
And you her father's spurn,

For saddling his daughter
And using her through the land.
He'll find you for the slaughter
And perhaps give me her hand!"

"Wait!" I said. "My dream, my dream!"
"I remember," said he,
"And so a hero of great esteem,
You shall always be."

My trickster now crowned,
Sits upon a kingly throne,
His dear wife gowned,
In his castle of stone.

From time to time, I slay a beast,
But there's no gold in that.
But if I don't, the dragons feast
On good ol' hero fat.

There are no courtly maids for me,
Nor women of the town
Though bar wenches gaurantee
Some ale for half-a-crown.

The dream I had dreamed and sought
Was not the dream for me.
'Twas much better when I had bought
A stubborn she-donkey.