The Village Idiot

The village idiot went for a stroll,
Wishing to escape ridicule but became lost and grew fearful.
He wandered round and round, never knowing the circles he made in the ground,
Until he finally went into a cave for shelter.
There, the poor man was nearly mauled to death by a bear!
The weary man escaped, but he wondered if anyone cared.

The townspeople noticed he was gone, but most did not care.
“I heard he went for a stroll
In the forest, totally oblivious to warnings of the wild bear,”
One man had said to another. “Surely he will encounter him; he’ll be so full of fear,”
The other man replied from his cozy home, his safe and secure shelter.
The other barked back, “If he isn’t asleep on the ground!”

The village idiot, whose name was James by the way, got up off the ground.
He had taken a nap after the event with the bear. He must take care!
It started to rain. He went for shelter.
He sat under a big tree as he waited for the rain to ease and then went on with his stroll.
James suddenly felt a burst of fear,
For, waiting for him just around the corner, looking famished, was the bear.

Back at the village, people talked about James’ sure encounter with the bear.
“I hope he’s dead on the ground.
He’s too stupid to live ‘round here.” “He must be so full of fear,
Poor soul…” “Well, what do you expect? We can’t take care
Of the idiot if he wanders off on some stroll!”
And so all the villagers that night went to their homes; their safe little shelters.

James ran for his life, trying to find shelter
From the wild and brutal bear.
He regretted ever taking his stroll.
The brutish bear caught him and threw him on the ground.
But James did not care,
And, at that moment, he felt no fear.

James decided in that moment, as it was getting him nowhere, to give up on fear,
To give up on the hope of finding some safety, some shelter.
He, going purely on instinct, plucked out his knife and, with great care,
Plunged it into the belly of the bear.
The beast confusedly looked into the eyes of his killer, and fell to the ground.
James headed back to the village after this distressing stroll.

James soon found himself back at the shelter of the village after his stroll.
He told the villagers, knowing most would scoff, how he made the bear drop dead to the ground;
Some believed him. More called him a liar. But he did not care, for he conquered his fear.