There once was a boy
With a remarkable smile
It was bright as a star.
It was long as a mile.
It could light up a room.
It could make a new friend
It could ease a bad day
Or help a broken heart mend
You couldn’t help ponder,
Where did it begin.
Did it grow check to check?
Did it grown nose to chin?
One way or another
That smile did grow.
And the boy loved to wear it
Wherever he’d go.
He would smile at school
He would smile on the street
He would smile at who ever
He happened to meet.
When he shared it with others
It made them smile so.
And if they were already smiling
It would make their smile grow.
You had to ask when you saw it
— So bursting with joy —
If the boy had the smile
Or if the smile had the boy.
Once when the boy played
(He’d been smiling all morning)
A stranger approached him
With a mysterious warning
“If I had that smile
I’d be cautious to use it.
It’s brilliant. It’s bright
You don’t want to lose it.”
That’s when it happened
Though it sounds kind of weird,
Just out of the blue,
The boy’s smile disappeared.
There the boy stood
— A blank look on his face —
Thinking a smile like his
Would be hard to replace.
And with all of his heart
He began to lament
Just how he had lost it
Just where it had went.
He thought and he thought
But as hard as he tried
He couldn’t imagine
Where a smile could hide.
He searched high and low
He searched here and there.
He looked in his closet
And under the stair.
He checked the yard and the park
And his school playground.
But that poor missing smile
Was nowhere to be found
He felt sadder and sadder
As he looked for his grin.
Until a frown took the place
Where his smile had been.
He got home that evening
Amid dinnertime chatter
When his mom saw that frown
She asked “Whatever’s the matter?”
“My smile,” the boy responded
With a big, heartbreaking sigh.
“I think I have lost it.”
And he tried hard not to cry.
She said, “You can’t loose a smile,
There’s no cause for dismay!
A smile is never farther
Than a happy thought away.”
And from the corner of his mouth
A grin started to peak
And it grew nose to chin
And it grew cheek to cheek.
Then the boy and his family
All burst into laughter.
And that boy with his smile
Lived happily every after.
The boy and the smile united
And lived happily ever after.
And that boy and his smile
Were united ever after.
Though the seed planted by the stranger
Had grown to make him to doubt it,
But his smile was never lost!
And he would never be without it!
Flying figure-eights, he pondered how to help.
He knew the least he could do was try.
So weaving between reeds and fronds he flew,
To greet the young woman – eye to eye.
She was taken aback by his bold approach,
But it was her nature to show kindness and love.
She put out her hand for him to land,
But the dragonfly hovered just above.
“Why so sad?” the dragonfly asked.
“I had some bad news,” she replied.
Then she wouldn’t utter another word.
It was breaking his heart how she cried.
“I’m sorry for whatever happened,” he said.
“Our life plans don’t always prevail.
I know this you see, it happened to me.
Perhaps it would help if I told you my tale.”
Wistfully the young woman nodded
To the dragonfly still hovering near.
“I come from a magical place,” he said.
“Just how magic soon will become clear.
“It was a time of castles and princesses,
Of wizards and fairies and elves,
And mighty knights not afraid of fights
With dragons too full of themselves.
“Every hillside and lane were perfectly groomed –
There’s never been a more beautiful place.
Trees and flowers blossomed all the year long.”
He had a far-away look on his face.
“It was home to peace and harmony,
Almost a miracle to behold,
Until it happened,” he said, his eyes full of dread,
“The first time a dragon caught cold.
“The dragon went to town for medicine
But as he said ‘Antihistamine please,’
– He tried hard but he couldn’t control it –
He let fly a gargantuan sneeze.
“When dragons sneeze, they sneeze fire.
The drug store went up in a flame.
Those in the store assumed it was war,
And were quick in assigning the blame.
“It was called the war of the dragons,
And the kingdom’s response was brutal.
From mountain to valley the battles raged,
Shields and armor were futile.
“The war would have gone on,” the dragonfly said,
“Had the wizards not been quite so wise.
They ended the fray in a magical way,
Transforming all dragons to dragonflies.
“I was one of those mighty dragons.
Life sometimes doesn’t go as we plan.
I’ve learned to accept things I cannot change,
And to get by the best that I can.”
When the dragonfly left in a flourish,
The young woman felt a bit more serene.
She knew in a sigh, she too would get by.
Perhaps it WAS a glimmer of hope she had seen.
After a moment the young woman stood,
And she brushed the dust off her knee.
Sadly and slowly she returned to her home,
To reheat her untouched cup of tea.
Fabletime 