The Merrie Betrayal of Jannick the Lad

By: Arimand Posted on: November 12, 2005

A handsome and mischievous man, a Jester's life he lives,
By playing merrie pranks on all, humour's gift he gives.
Jannick's fame has grown fair large 'mongst those his pranks amuse,
Though dour and greyfaced citizens sometimes do his gifts refuse.
As happy with his life he was, our lad's ambitions grew
He planned a day of fun to make him famed Achaea through.
He'd start tonight with fading light and stepped into the street,
To spread his mirthful mood among most anyone he'd meet.

He cast his twinkling eyes around and set upon a man,
A cooper walking along the road with his lady holding hands,
"What ho, good man!" The jester yells, as heads are turned, surprised,
"Your lady merits more from you than you have between your thighs!"
Dancing away with a bold cartwheel he grins and thumbs his nose,
While the crowd guffaw and the cooper sore from the teasing homeward goes.
With the street's attention, he thought he'd taunt a fellow passing through,
A dockhand from the river below, receives an earful too!

The day is going well is it not? Thinks Jannick with a smile,
My teasing is but warm-up work, the real fun comes from guile.
He spies a grumpy old magistrate's house, and into it he sneaks,
Replacing the venerable hammer of oak with a fake which when hit, it squeaks!
Resolving his mind to pay a visit to the courthouse later on,
Our lad decides a grander plan must now be settled upon.
As chance would have it a useful tidbit of gossip came to him,
The prince of the town, would be walking around the market on a whim.

With knowledge forearmed, the Jester prepares his trick at a market stall,
When the prince comes, he'll be alarmed as from the sky confetti will fall,
As the stall explodes in a shower of glitter, the prince before the crowd,
Would acknowledge the wit of the master Jester, and make the city proud.
But when the fateful moment comes and Jannick pulls the cord,
The blast knocks the prince to the ground alarmed and the crowd fails to
applaud,
And when smoke clears and his ringing ears clear up, here is the scene:
The stunned prince told, his carriage of gold, is smashed to smithereens!

Oh no!

Jannick runs! the guards give chase,
He knows he cannot win this race,
Dashing away from the market square,
He looks for solace anywhere,
And when a voice rings out:
"Quick, hide here!", don't doubt
Our jester so adept,
Into the barrel leapt
And ducked his head down low,
We must guess he didn't know,
As the nails were hammered in,
What would be happening to him,
But too late! He realised,
The barrel was capsized,
And was sent tumbling on its way
Poor Jannick began to pray.

Tumbling and rolling past guards patrolling, lovers out strolling and layabouts
lolling the barrel shoots on down the hill at a dash, then plunges on riverwards
with a great splash!

Alas!

Poor Jannick is soaked right to the bone, with water cold as ice,
Revenge is sweet for the cooper man, who chuckles once then twice.
Shouting aloud for some aid to come, our hero fears he'll drown,
But his cries are heard by a quick dockhand who saves our noble clown.
Shiv'ring and wet, he is ushered away by his rescuer into the warm,
Where a fire burns high and a bath to soak his aching bones is drawn.
So rising from his pleasant respite he looks to dry and dress,
He panicks to finds himself thrown outside, cold and trouserless!

Running naked and cold past his friends young and old, his shame uncontrolled
he knows he'll be told, this story at many a juncture ahead, of his cold
fingers white and his cheeks flaming red.

Alack!

Poor Jannick was caught with his pants down my friends, as payback for his
teasing,
But don't yet expect that this story is done and our hero's trauma is easing!
As he reaches his home his spirits are dashed he spies the guards await,
But cold and despondent he bows his head down, he must accept his fate.
Wrapped in rags, the guardsman drags his prisoner through the town,
And Jannick winces as both cooper and prince are gleeful at his frown.
The pranks of the day, for them he'll pay, with a trial in the town's great
court
He knows his luck has come unstuck, and can't help feel distraught.

Alas! Alack!

Yes you've guessed it our jester, Jannick by name,
stands before magistrate head bowed in shame,
and curses his luck for he's one and the same,
that Jannick had earlier with pranks enflamed.
Though the verdict was hardly a difficult call,
the final denoument is yet to fall,
for just as our magistrate sits down to think,
a fair maid from the crowd gives him a wink,
and then our Jannick widens his eyes,
for he recognises his lady, Pandora, disguised
and gives a great laugh cos he knows he's been played:
the Trickster goddess, his faith has betrayed
But to such an effect that Jannick is charmed,
and the sentence, though stiff, leaves his spirit unharmed,
accepting his punishment, he knows he's a sinner,
he's smiling yet still - for humour's the winner!