There once lived a king named Koragius, fair and tall,
Compassionate, benevolent and loved by all,
Wisdom was in his eyes, and strength in his hands,
With the aid of these gifts he conquered many lands.
.
He was kind to his conquered foes,
Spared no effort tending to their woes,
Until he had few enemies, and many friends;
But this is not how the story ends.
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He had three sons, and one beautiful girl,
Their qualities we shall discover as the story unfurls.
Quixotus the eldest, lost in his own world night and day,
Prodigus, the second, who spent more than he could pay,
Gallantus, the third, concerned himself with women and his looks,
And Zania, the girl, whose mad capering had no cure in any books.
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Koragius watched them grow up, into less than fine folk,
The boys had grievous flaws, and Zania only cracked jokes.
The old king was beset with doubt for his kingdom’s future,
He sought a successor in the land of his own stature.
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Fruitlessly and wearily he travelled far on his quest,
Till at last he reached the borders of his kingdom in the west.
Beyond was the kingdom of Guiladin the Cunning,
Whose spies had told him of Koragius’s coming.
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Guiladin gathered his army’s full might,
And ambushed Koragius in the dead of the night.
Koragius was taken captive, and news was sent to his throne,
To surrender the kingdom or they would break the king’s bones.
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The ministers were afraid, they whispered of doom,
When young Gallantus entered the room.
Hearing the tidings, he thundered in wrath,
“We shall march our armies to Guiladin’s death!”
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Hearing such words from the master of flirting,
The people were shaken and deep wonder was waking.
The armies were assembled and launched the attack,
But against Guiladin’s forces, Gallantus was driven back.
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Brave and formidable in battle, Gallantus filled the enemy with fear
But they had devastating weaponry and superior gear.
Prodigus the thrifty then revealed his hidden power,
Created marvels out of metal, and designed indomitable towers.
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Thus the tide turned in the brothers’ favour,
The enemy lines suffered heavy losses and wavered.
Just then an ominous clamour reached the battle frontier,
Opportunus, Koragius’s brother, had attacked the army’s rear.
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Hammered on two fronts, Gallantus and Prodigus looked on helplessly
When Quixotus strolled into their midst and sighed dreamily.
Hearing their plight, said he,” Why do you not employ this strategy instead?”,
A plan so impossibly fantastic, it could only come from Quixotus’ head.
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All three brothers set to work, to outsmart Guiladin and Opportunus,
But their men were tired, thinking that all was lost and hopeless.
Zania the fair then went dancing and laughing into the soldiers’ midst
Lightening hearts, healing the wounded, dispelling the gloomy mist.
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With fresh vigour the army rallied
Around the children of Koragius,
And drove off the cowardly Opportunus.
Sensing defeat, Guiladin and his army fled,
Into his kingdom the victors were led.
Koragius was freed, and long he wept,
For thinking his sons to be unworthy and inept.
.
This then, he decided, was to be done,
The four children would rule the land as one.
After this final act, the wise Koragius died next winter,
But his children ruled prosperously for ever after.
…
Note: Names and characteristics took up a lot of my time, so I’d better make sure they are appreciated.
Koragius: This one was easy. Courageous.
Quixotus: From quixotic. One of the meanings is ‘impossibly idealistic’ and another is ‘dreamy’.
Prodigus: ‘Prodigal’ means spendthrift, but ‘Prodigy’ is someone with extraordinary brilliance.
Gallantus: The transitive verb Gallant means ‘to act as a lover/wooer’ but the popular definition is the synonym to ‘brave’.
Zania: From Zany, meaning, ‘ ludicrously comical’.
Guiladin: From Guile, ‘cunning/crafty in attaining one’s goals.’. :)
Opportunus: From Opportunist.
