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COMPETITION

II ISLE Of

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sma msu swum w siso

One rhyme only

Jaspistos

IN COMPETITION NO. 1967 you were invited to write a verse fable using only one rhyme.

This game was played by Jane Austen, her sister Cassandra, their mother and their nephew Edward, 'rose' being the given rhyme word. Only Jane managed to work in 'beaux', but it was Mrs Austen who took the biscuit with 18 lines, ending, 'I find I grow stupid e'en while I compose;/If I write any longer my verse will be prose.' On a higher level, I notice that Browning in 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' contrived no less than two runs of six consecutive rhymes.

Chambers' definition of 'fable' leaves room for those who didn't want to deal with either animals or morals; nevertheless the best pieces submitted were in the tradi- tion of Aesop. Chris Tingley, Mary Holtby, Philip Dacre and V.M. Cornford all shone, but the glittering prizes (£25 apiece) go to the prizewinners printed below, and the bonus bottle of Isle of Jura Single Malt Scotch whisky (excellent: I drank some the other night) belongs to Philip A. Nichol- son.

Gasped a wolf to a heron (or was it a crane?), 'There's a bone in my gullet and if you would deign To remove it, thus easing this terrible pain, Your reward for an action both deft and humane Is my firm undertaking that never again Will you want for a thing in my rural domain Just ask and the asking will not be in vain.' Thus wheedled, our heron could hardly abstain; Out came the bone like a plug from a drain. `Now,' said the heron, 'you've made it quite plain That I'll be rewarded, pray what do I gain?' 'You're a fool, Master Heron, I can barely con- tain My desire to devour you, 0 bird of small brain,' Sneered the wolf as he ambled away down the lane. (Philip A. Nicholson) A gay, Hispanic, young cicada Chirped all day with skill and ardour, And danced, till every louche regarder, Each idle tippler and tankarder, Propping the bar of the posada, Swore that he really was a card, a Trump, a troubadour, a bard, a Three-piece band for a lambada! His aunt cried, 'This won't fill our larder!' Was Auntie's warning a retarder? Nada!

Dancing and stridulating harder, He won a scholarship to Rada.

(Alyson Nikiteas)

A group of mice, desiring to protect Themselves from feline foes, which did infect Their state, despatched an elder of their sect, Who found the Chief Tormentor, tail erect, Questing for prey. Before it could detect His ploy, the Mouse began: '0 richly decked, Is it these days politically correct To flaunt such furs? Your finery reject! So shall you gain much worship and respect.' His words had wide, immediate effect: Cats shaved their fur in droves. As you'd expect, All died, their subtle mechanism wrecked. For you who like a moral more direct Strength is no mark of higher intellect.

(Godfrey Bullard) Attired in sober morning dress, The Minister was under stress. Whilst others might well effervesce And bray in order to impress, Part-truths that added up to less Than crystalline straightforwardness, He was expected to assess What damning 'info' to suppress When questioned, yet he daren't transgress The rule 'Thou shalt not acquiesce In telling lies to this congress.'

Thus honour-bound and urged, 'Confess, Is not your regime in a mess?', He paused, then answered, TranIdy, yes!'

(Chas. F. Garvey) `Now's the time for overspending, Borrowing but never lending, Credit limits need extending, Live it up's what I'm commending. The Millennium is pending And you'll see this old word ending.' Thus a prophet was contending, With the gullible attending, Naive ears all round him bending.

Deadline came with debts impending And the world remained, unending.

He's in Rio, views emending, His disciples vilipending.

They're in jail, uncomprehending.

(Giles Ewing) Beneath a grove of leafy trees A hedgehog wandered, ill at ease Thanks to the hordes of eager fleas That swarmed upon its flesh like bees.

A fox — ostensibly to please A fellow creature — said, 'I'll squeeze The vermin that torment and tease To death, and let you roam the leas Unpestered. Promise. It's a breeze.'

`Alas,' the hedgehog said, 'though these May be evicted, their demise Is pointless, since it only frees A space for all their legatees To take their place. Life sucks. Hard cheese.'

(Basil Ransome-Davies)