The King and the Jester

 
Once upon a time in a land far away.
There lived a man whose name was Chester,
And Chester’s last name was Sylvester
And he happened to the be court’s jester.

Chester Sylvester lived in the village
Near a lake surrounded by green parks
But the waters were very infested
With piranhas, eels, crocodiles and sharks!

Nobody dared drink the water,
Let alone swim in the lake at all,
It was the most beautiful scene in the kingdom,
No one came near, no one was so gullible.

Then one day, the trumpets played,
And the bridge lowered in the castle,
The king came out in his royal clothes,
With his horses and chariots in a hassle.

They went to the village where everyone waited,
All of them bowed their heads in honor of royalty,
As the king in his chariot announced in the town square,
“To all men in the village, I want to test your loyalty”

And so they followed the king down the path,
The king was about to make a proclamation
Everyone wondered what he had in mind,
They were shocked when they go to their destination

“If anyone dares swim this lake from shore to shore,
I will give him one of these three things,
Become governor of this land or take half of all my treasure,
Or the hand of my daughter in marriage for being loyal to me”

All the so-called brave men stood on the pier,
Looking at the water and at the king,
For every single one of them lived in fear,
Nobody would make it alive or prove loyalty to him.

For two hours on that hot summer afternoon,
Those men stood still in fright for this great feat,
Even if the temptations for honor and reward was great,
But sure death waited underneath their feet.

All the villagers looked around and murmured
Who would be Governor, or the take the cash?
Or marry the beautiful princess, who’s brave enough,
When suddenly everyone heard a splash!

They all turned around to see who it was,
To see who was the one that jumped into the water,
And it was the king’s jester! from his court!
The king’s fool had jumped into a sure slaughter.

Chester Sylvester swam for his life, with all his strength,
He paddled and kicked as fast as he could,
Because the sea creatures started to swim toward him,
As he feared for his life like anyone would.

He paddled and kicked and stroked and stroked
As the piranhas started to nibble at his feet,
The eels started to shock him in the ribs,
And the crocodiles tried to get a chunk of meat.

But the sharks would proved to be the worst
To be the ones to deliver the deadly blow.
And everyone cheered “go Chester, go Chester”
But this fool would not turn out to be so slow.

And everyone cheered “go Chester, you can do it”
As he was beaten and bitten but he would not drown,
It was the spectacle of the year, a showstopper,
Everybody would have respect for this clown.

Chester Sylvester the Court Jester swam for his life
And the water creatures would only get a little bit,
Because the man kicked and screamed with fury,
For honor and reward the jester wouldn’t quit.

Chester Sylvester finally made it to the shore,
Bloodied and beaten, he passed the test,
And now it was time for him to claim his reward,
Everybody knew from then on he was the best.

The entire village ran to his side around the lake,
And the king came to him very much surprised,
Even though the joker was bruised and battered,
He had proven his loyalty in everyone’s eyes.

The king stood in front of him stoic,
With the proclamation in his hand,
The king congratulated the loyal jester,
Tired and beaten but a successful man.

The king quieted the villagers and then said:
“For many years in my court you’ve been a fool,
Now you have made a name for yourself,
You have been the only one to obey this rule,

Now tell me, do you want to become Governor?”
But Chester Sylvester answered no.
“Then do you want half of all my treasures?”
But the court Jester again replied no.

“So it’s the hand of my daughter in marriage,
It’s the beautiful princess who you want!”
But Chester Sylvester again said no.
“Then what could you possibly want?”

And the court jester catching his breath said:
“I don’t want any riches, I don’t want anything,
But what I do want to know is,
Who’s the one that pushed me in?”