A children's tale III

(This series of tales are children's stories adapted to modern times, yet keeping the same old style: rhyming words with a moral. The previous ones include "Alice through the Plastic Glass", about the consumer world, e "Alice in Wonderland", about fantasies).

Peter Zen

Once upon a time, and not long ago
there lived in a faraway land
a fantastic being made of dreams
known by others as Peter Zen.

Peter made friends with Time
so that age he wouldn't follow
and thus he lived forever young
but in a state of incredible sorrow;

'Cause his friends would all grow old
not him, though; he'd still be young
not only in looks, but also in soul
so that pain from fear had sprung.

He feared losing his dear friends
just as Time would not them spare
and also his life, by having no end
- such a boredom he couldn't bear!

But one day, he met Wendy the fairy
and she asked the reason for such:
-"Aren't you, my friend, Peter Zen,
the one that doesn't fret about much?"

He remembered, then such a grand
idea he'd learned a long time ago:
that in order to always stay zen
one must really learn to let go.