I was given the job
by the employer from Hell
of nanny to two girls
called Nancy and Belle.
Their father was a crook,
I knew from the start,
he was gluttonous and vile,
but cunning and smart.
He knew nothing of love,
and had only one ambition,
to torture the Kingdom's pirates
until they fell into submission.
Despite their father's flaws,
the girls were utter joys,
Although Belle was a little stubborn,
And made an awful lot of noise,
See, I was employed for a reason,
I found out on my first day.
The girls were intrigued by a forest,
and I was not to let them stray.
The Bloodcrow Forest was scary,
and huge and quite close by,
And the rumour in the city was
that Pirates were camping inside.
See, they were after something,
and my employer, Mr Pesh,
had let slip that he was responsible
for a catastrophic mess.
Mr Pesh was man of law,
and several months ago,
had captures eleven pirates,
and put their severed heads on show.
The pirates' rage was worrying
to men like Mr Pesh,
more so because his daughters,
longed to see Pirates in the flesh.
So I tried for months to control them,
but Belle could not be tamed,
she'd always dreamt of meeting Pirates,
My bedtime stories were to blame...
Before I could stop her,
she escaped in the dead of night,
We feared she might be murdered,
to her sister's cruel delight.
I'd neglected mute little Nancy
and failed to see her tears,
Belle had bullied her sister
and become the subject of all her fears.
So Nancy didn't care
whether Belle had lived or died,
but I still ran into the forest
and screamed for her to hide.
I rescued twelve-year-old Belle,
who was surprisingly calm.
She said she loved the Pirate camp,
and that the Pirates meant no harm.
I told her this was rubbish,
and she'd heard a bunch of lies,
so she screamed and me and kicked my leg
and ran to her room and cried.
The following morning saw a terror,
in the form of a Pirate siege,
which began in the Castle's Courtyard
while King Ferdinand made a speech.
Mr Pesh was a raging bull
and punched his daughter in the eye,
As it was Belle who told the Pirates
that he'd wanted more to die,
As I ran to safe-guard Nancy,
I watched a Pirate approach poor Belle,
who was being beaten by her father
and being told to rot in Hell.
The Pirate wrenched dear Belle aside
and brandished a glistening sword
and plunged it into her father's chest
until he lay dead on the floor.
I was relieved that Belle was safe,
but she clasped a Pirate's hand
and at first I was bewildered but then
I saw her smile expand.
Could it be that she had met him
during her escapade in the woods?
Could he possibly have loved her?
Could a pirate turn out to be good?
I had more important things on my mind though,
All around me, townsfolk were screaming.
I ran, shielding Nancy
from the buildings that were burning.
Through all the smoke and licking flames,
we searched for the Pirate and Belle,
we thought we saw them running,
but it was difficult to tell.
But soon the smoke began to clear
as did the panic in my head,
and we found Belle and the Pirate
hiding near the Forest's edge.
"This is John Lefevre" Belle told me.
"We're in love and I'm running away.
I'm going with him on the Pirate Ship
To find treasure on some exotic bay."
Naturally I was furious
and I punched Lefevre in the face
I begged Belle to come with me and Nancy
to some new and happier place.
Of course, she refused my offer.
Love is blinding and harming and alarming.
She wanted adventure and excitement and her Pirate,
but her sister simply needed re-homing.
Eventually, Lefevre surrendered
and passed me his young lover's hand.
Belle cried all the way to the station,
where we left for Featherjet Land.
We were happy for a while,
me as mother in a cute little cottage.
I got a job as a local teacher
and the girls became my world.
But one morning before I served breakfast,
I heard Nancy shriek Belle' name.
Belle had fled in search of her Pirate
and Nancy was never the same.
My story does not end here,
neither does Nancy's and neither does Belle's,
So I'll leave it here and collect my memories
So that next time, I have more stories to tell.