The Frightening Beast

A deathly, hard bargain,
To down the huge beast,
Sharp talons a-drivin’,
And yearning to feast.

Challenging no one,
With dubious desire,
The humans will run
From his quenchable fire.

A boy and girl scamper
To the hard-flowing river,
To escape and to damper
The beast, with a quiver.

They dive into safety,
And paddle and swim,
Hoping that maybe,
Their hopes will not dim.

But the beast eyes the water
With the splash of his food,
Still wishing to slaughter,
Unaware where he stood.

He heads in, feet first,
And soon realizes his fate,
Facing death, oh, the worst,
But knowing too late.

The children reach the shore
Down the river quite a ways,
Surviving and more,
From a river where he stays!

Now this monstrous beast
Will never stalk again –
This bane who cares least
How our fortunes have been!