Bramble Ben & Bramble Beth

Bramble Ben & Bramble Beth
By: Casey Allison Crumby

Bramble Ben and Bramble Beth were quite a terrible pair
They loved to cause great mischief, and their parents great despair

But one bright day they followed a path to see where it would lead
What they found was not quite normal, but a rather large blue tree.

“What is this Bramble Beth, what could this possibly be?”
“I don’t know,” said Bramble Beth, “but it could be Blue Nonie”.
“Blue Nonie?” asked Bramble Ben, “is this a special tree?”
“Yes”, said Bramble Beth, “It does things magically.”

“Some have said that water sprites live in its great blue trunk”.
“Knock just three times and the forest king comes, who happens to be a purple skunk”
“And he greets you very kindly, and asks you to sing a song.”
“Sing a song?” asked Bramble Ben. “Does it have to be long?”

“All you have to do is sing about the water sprites that live inside this tree.”
“And when you’re finished, the forest king decides if you may be allowed to see.”
“See what, Bramble Beth? What will he let us see?”
“The water sprites, Bramble Ben, that live inside the tree”.

“For the water sprites will soon come out to fly over the land”.
“And when they do we both must hide, for they don’t like to be seen”
“For most only know them as myths and creatures of their dreams.”
“But if we sing a song the forest king likes, we can see them at Chelsea Spring.”

“So knock three times on the blue tree’s trunk with all your strength and might”
“So we can meet this great forest king who guards the water sprites”
And so Bramble Ben and Bramble Beth went up to the trunk of the tree
And took five deep long breaths and prepared to meet the king

They knocked three times and waited for a sign
And hoped the great forest king didn’t really mind
That they came to visit and sing a song to see what the sprites looked like
Perhaps they were silver, perhaps blue like the tree or maybe the color of wind at night

Bramble Ben and Bramble Beth also imagined how the forest king might appear
Maybe he had red eyes, or maybe he had a yellow nose or big green pointy ears!
But when they heard a noise from inside the tree they began to doubt
What all the myths and legends had been talking about

He just couldn’t be very menacing, he’s probably really shy
For he was just a smelly skunk king, and he certainly couldn’t deny
That Bramble Ben and Bramble Beth should have the great honor
Of singing songs of water sprites, it shouldn’t be a bother

But when the Nonie Tree’s blue trunk door opened, what a sight they saw
For the forest king was hardly shy; how could he be? He was very tall!
Standing at least 20 feet high, he was as tall as the tree was tall!
Maybe they shouldn’t try to sing a song today after all

But then he spoke with such a kindness that they had never heard
And they thought that this most definitely could be the strangest thing to ever occur!
Then the forest king, who was just a little smelly, began to ask them to sing
They hadn’t thought about that before, and they couldn’t think of anything!

“What will you sing for me today, Bramble Ben and Bramble Beth?”
The children were startled, he knew their name! They had to take deep breaths.
“Well, Mr. Forest King, sir, I thought we’d sing about the water sprites gold crowns
That sit atop their little heads as they wear their silver gowns”

“Well that sounds nice,” said the forest king, “Go ahead, proceed.”
But Bramble Beth just couldn’t start, so Bramble Ben took the lead
“Oh where are you my tiny sprites that dance on the water’s face,
And sprinkle magic dust about this land though an imaginary place?”

Then Bramble Beth got up her courage, for she was quite afraid
And began to sing about the sprites, as her fright began to fade
“When the sun has come to pass and the moon reigns over all
Water sprites can come and dance, for the time is nightfall

“So come to us, oh water sprites of the tall Blue Nonie”
It’s time to dance beside Chelsea Spring and sip the moonlight honey”.

And so they finished singing to the king, and waited for him to say
That they sang wonderfully and could see the sprites today
But to their dismay he closed the door and didn’t say a word
And Bramble Ben and Bramble Beth thought this was just absurd

They thought they’d sung a fantastic song and entertained the king
For him to just shut the door and not even say a thing
But then the door flew wide open and flurries of sprites poured out
And flew toward Chelsea Spring to dance all about

For nightfall had come, and that’s when they come out to play
And sip the moonlight honey beneath the reeds that sway
Then the forest king appeared and smiled and began to speak
“I absolutely loved your song, and I thought it was unique.”

Bramble Ben and Bramble Beth were so very excited
To get to see the water sprites made them so delighted
So they ran down to the Chelsea Spring to watch the water sprites dance
Upon the glassy top of the water as though they were in a trance

Some were blue, some were green, and some were rather white
There were a few pretty silver ones, a few with lots of stripes
They all wore crowns upon their heads and all had flowing manes
That sparkled in the bright moonlight like curly strands of rain

Some lay upon the lovely Chelsea Spring Bluebells
And flitted about excitedly casting magic nighttime spells
Then it was time for them to drink the moonlight honey until the break of dawn
When the sun wakes up and the night’s dark curtains are finally drawn

And so they danced and drank moonlight honey until time for sunrise
And hurried off to the Nonie Tree before they could say goodbye
Because Bramble Ben and Bramble Beth, had already gone to sleep
The fairies hurried off quietly, careful not to make a peep

But when Bramble Ben and Bramble Beth had woken the next day
They couldn’t quite believe what had happened to them yesterday.
“Was it real?” asked Bramble Ben to Bramble Beth. “Did it really occur?”
“I think it did,” said Bramble Beth. “But it’s mostly still a blur.”

“But where is the Blue Nonie tree, where we fell asleep?”
“I’m not sure,” answered Bramble Beth, “Perhaps it was all a dream.”