Crunchy

There once was an errant knight,
Seasoned by many a battle,
With iron courage and a shield of elm,
His loyalty was infallible.

In a wood not far from him,
A leafy figure muttered,
The trickster grinned and stood,
And off to the sea he pattered.

They met by the glassy shore,
The knight and mocking trickster,
Standing on the ivory sands,
Each frowning at the other.

But their contemplation was interrupted,
By the soft notes of a melody,
A Siren tugged their heartstrings,
With her lilting voice and beauty.

The knight pranced forward,
Puffing his chest with pride,
“Fair lady, I’ll defend you,
If you choose to be my bride!”

The trickster laughed and scoffed,
Mocking the armored man,
“He has brawn, but I have brains!”
He stated with an outstretched hand.

The knight growled and drew his sword,
“I challenge you, you leafy jester!”
The trickster turned and smiled with malice,
“I’ll take that bet, thick headed smasher!”

The knight charged with a righteous cry,
Waving his sword at the wooden figure,
But the jester danced out of his reach,
And drew a poisoned dagger.

“A cut from this, and you’ll be gone!”
He cried with joyful glee,
“A little bit of slice and dice,
And the siren’s all for me!”

The knight had no fear of poison,
And charged and charged again,
But the trickster just swerved and slashed,
With an oh-so-mocking grin.

They fought and clashed for hours,
Kicking sand up in the air,
Stopping blows with shields or limbs,
But the battle was too fair.

Her long hair waving in the breeze,
The siren watched with an evil grin,
Although they had seen her icy eyes,
The men had missed their scaly glint.

When both were lying on the sand,
Furious but equally matched,
The siren unfurled from her stone,
To consume her double catch.

Scales erupted on her ivory skin,
Strong wings burst from her spine,
The dragon slithered towards the men,
“Mine!”, she cried, “You’re mine!”

The shield of elm was crunchy,
And the trickster’s bark-skin too,
The dragon chuckled happily,
Munching her suitors two.