Even Grimmer Tales

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Even Grimmer Tales Page 5

by Valerie Volk


  The others felt it; so did I.

  He played me for a sucker,

  and I fell for it. Now, looking back,

  I simply can’t see why

  I gave him mastery.

  I tell you, I’d do anything he wanted.

  Amazing, how he managed me.

  Such skill.

  Looked helpless, needy. I added extra clients,

  worked long hours, put every cent I made

  into his hands. He took it all, and told me

  what a very clever little Puss I was. I purred

  and preened myself, happy just to serve.

  I didn’t realise he had a string of other kitty-cats

  who curled up on his knee whenever I was busy.

  They worked their butts off for him too. I guess

  they had their own especial fields.

  His business acumen was pretty sharp; no wonder

  he did well. It didn’t take him very long at all

  to grow beyond what I could do for him, and then

  it was to be a swift farewell.

  Or so he’d thought.

  Biggest mistake he ever made, to let me fall in love.

  For cats have claws, you know. I guess he had forgotten

  that big cats don’t take kindly to bad treatment.

  The exit that he’d planned did not go quite

  as he had wanted.

  He’s found stiletto heels can leave

  some very nasty scars;

  girls won’t look at him

  in quite the way they did before.

  For boots have many uses

  that he hadn’t quite foreseen.

  The judge was sympathetic. Not surprising, when

  we looked across the court in silent recognition

  of past services he’d paid for, and received …

  Six months inside gave me a little time

  to think and plan. I’m calling in

  some favours, and I’ve gone legit.

  A shoe shop.

  “Puss in Boots” seems a good name.

  The tax man doesn’t need to know about

  what’s offered in the salon at the back …

  Epilogue

  The mind’s a dark and devious place;

  none of us can be too certain

  about potential we’ll reveal

  once we raise the inner curtain.

  We’ve thrown some light on lurking depths,

  black places that within folk lie.

  In honesty we all ought say

  “There, but for God’s good grace, go I!”

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