IN THE SOORENDARNATH SKUL

King: “In this tenebrous realm of dark,

I lay contemplating my final moments

Atoning for my treacherous mark

It was my foolishness that led to my end.”

T’was a heavenly night, the city bustling with life,

I’d brought order, Everything a uniform price,

be it rice or milk or ghee – there doth be no strife

All creatures vanished at day and rose at night!

--scene change--

Disciple: gaze upon the heavens, O' Master fair

Where grains flourish with paint, the buildings stand tall

The days may haste, yet night's dark tendrils snare

A tranquil haven, 'way from wastelands' sprawl

Master: Yes, indeed my son,

But I am famished and wish for a feast.

I’d rather leave quickly than stay on

For something sinister is brewing underneath

-they walk into a shop-

Disciple: Oh indeed, this doth be staggering!

Look, this platter is of a coin,

This gallon of milk, a bunch of grapes of a coin,

Every item the same, the land so enchanting

Master: Ah, my gullible apprentice, heed my plea

With haste, we must make our way,

This realm, a court of fools, I see,

Not meant for my longer stay.

Narrator: The disciple stayed; the master walked away

Indeed, their paths diverged,

Destiny and purpose fragmented,

But their fate intertwined, they shall meet a day

--to the thief--

Thief: O’ the Almight, T’day be thy payday

So easy to slip in this fool’s abode

A small hole I made to slip in, while he slept through the mayhem

I will be the richest of all realms, once I hit the road

Narrator: Foolish be as foolish do, they say.

Of course, the lady luck frowned upon him, her way

The very wall collapsed upon the poor chappay

he was buried beneath the fray and promptly passed away

His brother heard of the tragedy,

Oh, what a calamity

His mind in sobriety

His emotions in instability

His heart, in discontinuity

He thirsted for revenge, in his eyes – hatred and heat

Entrenched in a fog of rage and sorrow,

He ran to the serpent, fell on his feet

Begged for mercy in defeat

“He was pursuing his ancient art

Trying to strike it rich anew

That evil merchant played his part,

Bring justice to my brethren, I beseech of you”

King: RIP that bozo

“Bring that Merchant to me without delay! I shall root out all evil in my lands, I say!

Narrator: A very scared, very shiny merchant walked inside

Merchant: “Forgive me my lord, but ne’er did I kill the man!

I am but a victim of this occurrencean,

It was the bricklayer who laid the wall

He is the one at fault!”

King: “Bring that bricklayer to me without delay! I shall root out all evil in my lands, I say!

Narrator: A frightened, and weak and aged brickmason walked inside

Bricklayer: “Forgive me, your majesty!

Indeed, the wall was no good, I see

The sole reason was a dancing girl, prancing up and down the street all day

Her anklets distracted me from my task, the reason the bricks crumbling down the way
King: “Indeed, the case deepens. Bring that dancing girl to me without delay! I shall root out all evil in
my lands, I say!”

Narrator: A shivering, wrinkly ol’ woman walked inside

Woman: Forgive me, Your Highness, T’is not my blame to bear,

'Twas the goldsmith's cunning that led to this affair,

A million excuses, my jewels he'd delay,

A thousand trips up and down, and this bricklayer chanced upon my way.

King: “Indeed, you poor thing, thou art not to blame.

Bring that goldsmith to me without delay! I shall root out all evil in my lands, I say!”

Goldsmith: Oh, divine lord, a humble jeweler, I stand

Indeed, she waited, but blame not on me to lay

The rich merchant's order, a priority so grand

Impatient wealth, I serve, as sun follows day

King: “Indeed, the merchant is at fault as I predicted

Bring that man to me without delay! I shall root out this devil from mine land, I say!”

Narrator: What goes around, comes around, they say,

The man once more stood 'fore the king's array,

Trembling before the gallows' sway,

Yet the minister had another plan at play.

Goofy ahh snakey minster: The poor bloke's frame, too frail for the death's call,

Injustice it'd be, both to my aesthetic and gall,

A man to replace him, we must urgently install,

Plump enough, deserving to face the gallows' thrall.

Narrator: The king’s bailiffs searched far and wide

For a man, to fit the noose laid wide

And lo and behold, there be a man just as wide

The plump apprentice, who gobbled every edible up and gotten wide!

The greedy disciple was put to the trial

And there he trembling lay

But his master was a true oracle

He saw the future, clear as day!

When all hope was lost,

A ragged old man stood out of the commotion

The one, whom disciple wanted the most

the master himself emerged, whom the disciple gave his devotion

Master: “Oh wise lord, before you kill the traitor,

and put that man to gallows

Think of the lore, who’s greater?

The master or the one who follows?

King: “Indeed, T’is the master!

Master: So, put me to eternal slumber, as my standing is higher

Disciple: No, it shall be me, I can’t see my master on a wire!

King: I am puzzled indeed, why fight the all-consuming fire...?

Master: Promise to kill me first, if I tell you, lest I be called a liar!

King: Go on, go on my hearing’s never been higher

Master: hark! Hear ye, this land is the land of righteous

And these gallows are the gallows of justice’s hand

All of whom die by its divine will, the mightiest

Shall be reborn king and aide and rule the land

Narrator: The foolish king, now with his minister

Didn’t want to give up his dukedom and land

To be reborn again and rule with an iron hand

He plotted a plan, a plan very sinister

-scene change: king and executors--

King: Heed my words, kill the first man who enters

And the second one just after

But turn away the rest of dissenters,

For they shall be the imposters

Narrator: So, the king meets his fate

And the minister not so late

While the Cunning Master and Disciple wait

They know they'll make the kingdom into something great

The subjects now knew the end of the fool’s errand

The subject, now lacking a monarch,

The subjects, approached the master with folded hands

The subjects, felt that this was their new path to embark

The Master First Hesitated

Broadly denied and stated

“We’re not suitable to be herritated”

But after the disciple aided, his doubts eventually faded

In the new era, the new king and the new aide

Brought wisdom, peace and pride

And overturned every law, which the fool had derived

And the sun, shone on the golden kingdom for years to come, very, very bright

And now we draw the curtains,

on the tale of the kingdom of fools

And we beseech you, the viewer to heed to warnings certain

Lest you let the inane win and ideocracy rule

Once a den of idiots, now a kingdom so wonderful

where wisdom prevailed and lunacy cast into misrule.