"Catch!" shouted the Restless Knight, as the ball hurtled through the air.
"I got it, I got it!" shouted the Great Pawn Hunter. Backward he ran,
the sun shining in his eyes, the sweat coming down his brow, and like
many a great ball player, ...lost the ball in the sun. It bounced
on the ground and rolled through the bushes behind him.
On this day, a mouse was busy foraging for food by some bushes when ..."Kablam!"
went the ball off of his unsuspecting noggin. He staggered left, he staggered
right and then he fell...and there he was, out like a light.
"Oops!" said the Restless Knight. She didn't see the mouse, yet. All she was
thinking was "Wow!, I can really throw it that far!" It was then that she found
the ball and discovered ...the tragedy!...and promptly started crying. "Did I do that?"
sobbed Restless. The Great Pawn Hunter came running over to see what was the matter.
"Wow!" shouted the Great Pawn Hunter..."You hit him square on the noggin."
...Well, she cried even louder and ran into the house. The Great Pawn Hunter had really put
his foot in it this time. "What am I gonna do now," said he, "Mom, is really gonna kill
me, deader than the mouse!" He walked over to the steps of the porch, slouched down on
a step, and sunk his face into his hands.
Meanwhile, the mouse was starting to wake up. Just a twitch at first...then a deep breath...and
then, target sighted, he made a mad dash through the door and into the house!
Ya know, there are many ways to skin a chess player, and this mouse had something going for him, sympathy
and a keen intellect. Every mouse knows this spells ...a full belly.
Down the hallway he scurried. He knew there was little time to execute his plan. Staying close
to the wall, he darted into the Kitchen. First going left and then going right, his feet
slipping on the kitchen floor, he finally made it into the pantry..."Safe at last!" he thought. This
was a piece of cake...hmmm, cake mix. There's a great idea...and after finding his cake mix and
eating it too, it was time for him to go. So, he jumped down off of the pantry counter and was
just about to leave...when...it hit him. No, it was not a broom, It was not a boot. It was
the scent of...the call of...the allure of the sweet potato! "Ya know,
there is always room for potatoes," he thought. First a nibble, then another, and then a big bite.
He was in heaven! However, the mouse was not sticking to his plan of eating the
cake mix and leaving. SLAM! went the front door...and a shudder went through him.
Down the hallway came the Restless Knight. The mouse's little heart was
palpitating! He could hear her footsteps. She walked into the kitchen and ...opened the pantry door.
Well, the mouse motioned to go left, and then he motioned to go right. His feet slipping on the
pantry floor. That's when it hit him, or should I say he hit it...the sack of sweet potatoes.
"Kablam!" and there he was, out like a light...again!
When he came to, he was lying in the garden. "What a knightmare," he thought. I must have imagined it.
Little did he know, Restless had felt sorry for him. She picked
him up, ever so carefully, and carried him out to the garden where he remains
eating sweet potatoes until this very day.
Copyright © Manus Patrick Fealy 1994-2002
I truly want you to become a better player.