Once Upon a Midnight Moon

Prologue

First of all I’ll set the scene, on this rare sort of book, come play, come thing,

and hope that all, if not just some or even one will read

what here will pass for your amusement. So off to Italy we go,

with all the characters in tow.

In 1583 or so

Pierrot the clown sneaked on tip-toe

To meet Flavia his secret love

Who sparkled like the stars above,

For they were to elope together

In the coming April weather

And merry as two lovers be

Naked in the grassy lea.

But oh the fates were staring down

Upon that old Italian town

And had in store another ending

For our hero’s woe intending.

The Devil came across in stripes

Playing with his Scottish pipes

A tune that mesmerised the ears

And reduced all fools to lowly tears,

To spread mischief among the troupe

Of actors in the commedia group

And reek revenge upon his foe

The one who sneaked upon tip-toe

Because he’d stole his only love

Yes you’ve guessed like stars above.

And so our story here begins

You’ll have to read to find who wins,

But there is more than meets the eye

To every lovelorn tear and sigh,

And other motives down below

Upon the senses soon will grow,

For lust and greed will show their face

In every dark and lowly place,

So if you like the sound of this

You’ll end up in a place called Diss

It’s not quite what you would call heaven,

In fact in hell it’s one of seven,

Circles or sins it’s all the same

I’m sure you will be glad you came.

So if you want a cup of tea

Or run along and have a pee,

Now’s the time before we start

To try and make this into art,

So here begins our little story

Which I’m sure will not bring glory!

Chapter one

Once Upon a Midnight Moon.

The little devil crawled through the undergrowth dirtying his trousers and pulling the threads of his tight fitting jacket. Although it was nearing midnight there was an unusual intensity to the darkness which made visibility impossible. If it was daylight an observer would be able to discern that the little devil wore on his costume odd shaped patches of green, yellow, red and brown which were sewn on and overlapped each other. He wore flat black plimsoll shoes and a felt hat with the tail of a fox hanging from the back. The deep tan complexion of his face suggested many hours spent under a burning sun, though the deviant’s low forehead and giant wart pointed to a more hellish existence as though the burning fires of hell itself had stained his skin, which it must be added, was further suggested by the inimical small round eyes.

The little devil crawled on convinced that his quarry had come this way though in truth there was no real way of knowing in the dark. It was easier to crawl because he could find the ground with his hands instead of risking a fall. The little devil had decided to use the cover of darkness to conceal his presence and keep his little plan secret for as long as he needed. But what was that plan? Because the nights had been so considerably dark the little devil had not only been able to conceal his presence from the others, but had concealed the world from himself. And he much lamented this unfortunate situation.

“Moon you wandering goddess why do you turn your back on me now? For three nights you have been absent and I have not been able to find my way. Is there some trickery at play? Some witch-craft working against me? The tides of time move slowly like the worm creeping through earth; oh worm food is all we truly are. Have you devourer of flesh devoured the moon and stars? Do you devour time and the universe? Why does the night drag on for an eternity? Oh night, are you commanded by her? Yes I know it to be true; she has you under her spell. Like that traitorous fool Pierrot. Oh Flavia!”

And he spat on the floor.

“Curse the foolish nature of the eyes which become spellbound by the softness of skin, and the voluptuous curves of the breasts. Curse the foolish nature of the noise which becomes entranced by the sent of women. And the ears, curse the foolish nature of ears which are seduced by the music of love.”

The little devil threw his arms up to the moon that no longer hung in the sky, imploring the wretchedness of his soul, and screamed.

“Look at me the famous Harlequin reduced to a gibbering wreck by the enchantment of a woman! Oh those dark curls and soft pink lips! Oh but to kiss and thrust with all ones might!”

The Harlequin fell to his knees and clasped his hands to his face.

“Are any of us man enough to stand erect and alone in control of our senses?But what’s that I hear? Voices, who could this be sneaking around at such an hour? The darkness will conceal my presence, while I listen to the secrets of the night!”

At that moment the muffled sound of two voices approached and stopped just a little distance away from Harlequin.

“Oh” said a female voice “what are we going to do? If they catch you my darling Pierrot they are sure to kill you! And why, oh why did you steal that book of plays?”

“Flavia, oh Flavia, I did it in the madness of my cursed life, love though but a flower can so mighty be! I did it for my love of you. I mistook your meaning. Oh cruel is the temper of love, I was struck by the blow of passion. I beat Punchinello because of this sickness in my heart. I thought you my Flavia…but oh to think it is to die.”

The cold moonlike face of Pierrot folded in an agony of pain. His tears splashed to the floor though there was no-one to see his pain in the darkness of the night. Flavia took his hand and spoke in a brave voice trying to keep her concern hidden.

“My Pierrot, always the same melancholy. Why does it follow you around like a poison? If you are to die I will surely die with you. But come, our end is not played out just yet. I know what we will do. We’ll run, we’ll use the cover of night to steal away. Far shall we go where no-one knows our story. Ah, this book of plays, we can use it to start our own acting troupe, away from these fools. Everybody knows that devil Harlequin wants that book. Maybe we could make a copy, steal back and place it among his things. They’ll think he made you steal it. Yes, and then we will be free.”

“Curse that retch Harlequin” announced Pierrot, as though the act of mentioning this plan had brought the truth into his mind, “he wanted that book all along, he must have, through some trickery, caused me to steal it, and even now he plans to steal it back and let me face the hangman for his crimes. And now, even now he steals the moon so he can execute his plan. We must go quickly Flavia, before that little devil catches up with us.”

The two lovers were gone, unaware of the beady round eyes in the dark, who now punched the ground with his hands.

“Oh you fool Pierrot, you traitorous fool. How one sweet word from that poisonous tongue can hold you under its spell. Oh, she is a woman indeed. She is made up of all sweet betrayal. Oh, my poor loins to get me so mixed up in this witch-craft. I’ll fix them both or my names not Harlequin. And to accuse me of stealing the moon! So you think I did it. You blame me you villainous toads. You dribble of your fathers piss!”

A malicious smile formed around his face and the little devil rose to his feet. A new plan forming in his mind.

“Ha, ha!” screamed the Harlequin, “I’ll set this clown up, I’ll play him the fool, if he thinks that the Harlequin has stolen the moon!”

And he somersaulted over the hedge that separated him from the field beyond.