They say ‘silent as a mouse’ ,
but there was once a mouse
still more silent than that
for this mouse never even opened his mouth.
But make no mistake, there was good reason for this;
the mouse knew,
from experience true,
that if he opened his mouth not a peep would come out,
not a peep,
but a ROAR!
The mouse that roared could bring down a house
with the vast sound that would come out
when he opened his mouth.
All the other animals would flee in fear
with that awesome sound ringing in their ears,
save only a few,
the big, brave and dumb,
who from miles around, from far and from near,
would round about come,
to seek out the roar, the source of the sound,
’cause to rule the forest you have to show your might,
you have to give it a fight,
O what a sight!
The lions and tigers and bears would show up,
and rhinos and panthers,
and boa constrictors,
and hippos and leopards,
and poisonous lizards,
scorpions, spiders and laughing hyenas,
elephants, crocks,
and great big gorillas,
but by far worst of all
for a mouse so small,
were the falcons and owls and eagles all regal,
with their eyes that could see day and night night and day
the tiniest movements a tiny mouse could make.
The battleground was prepared all could see,
and all did battle because none could see,
beyond his own wish to rule
his wish to be right
to rule the forest
if not right, then by might.
The gorillas threw down fruit from the trees,
the scorpions brought the bears to their knees,
owls warred lions and tigers through the night,
the falcon drove the rhino right out of sight,
the lizards ate the spiders with glee,
the eagles erred in coming down to see,
the spiders bit the boa constrictor,
the elephant stomped and thought he was victor,
the hippo downed the poisonous lizards,
the panthers and leopards fought though they’re sisters,
the crock bit the hippo right in the butt,
and the hyenas laughed ’till they split a gut.
In the end all were done and none won,
save one who looked on, alone, unsung:
the mouse, the mouse that roared,
who stayed out of the fray and whom all had ignored.
He crawled out from his hole,
surveyed the state of dismay,
and announced that the forest
was free for a year,
or a month or a day,
’till the big brave and dumb
would regret what they hadn’t overcome or won,
and would gather together,
and defeat one another again all over, and all over again,
and the mouse could then announce, once again, plain as day,
that the forest was free,
for a year or a month or a day.
—————————————-
That is why,
you must now know and now see,
that the mouse that roared never made even a peep.
He escaped the uproar his roar would make
and lived alone, yet safe, in a cave.
He bit his tongue, trained it to behave,
knowing yet, if the time should come,
come what may, maybe it would,
that he could open his mouth and roar in need,
and roar he could, roar loud, indeed!