A Well-meaning Villain

A well-meaning villain conquers the night;
Will it be love or fight at first sight?
Nobody knows the strength of his force
Till the well-meaning villain pinches him on the nose!
His pretentions are blatant, and slow is his step;
He crawls on the roof, drooling some crap;
The dark is all over and the moon is above,
The villain is tired and his mood is just rough.
The town is asleep, only ghosts are awake,
Their whispers subdued in the wood by the lake;
Our hero slides homeward,
Pondering of the day,
When he faces two figures,
Who stray, unaware of his presence
In a dirty alley…
Animatedly arguing,
But apparently sober;
Their looks are so average,
But their postures seem fraudulent…
«She’s dumb as a tomb, but
Her beauty is striking,
She’ll agree to elope
With the speed of a lightning! »
« Don’t be so self-assured!
She’s nobody’s fool!
And her father just knows how to play the things cool! »
«Do away with the old man
And charm the sweet girl!..»
On these words conversation became tumble and twirl;
Villain stood flabbergasted
And unable to chase
Two figures, who starved
For maiden’s sweet grace…
Soon he promptly forgot
Of this shady occasion
(He was plotting against
Northern witch’s invasion)
Once he strolled  through the fair,
Tasting some Irish stew,
When familiar figure caught in his view:
He was gaudily dressed
And sold all sorts of honey;
His goods were delicious,
People parted with money;
Man was dealing with bargains,
His face was all smiles,
But some trifles betrayed,
That he had inner lies.
Two of the customers waited in line,
A father and daughter,
Whose looks were divine!
The seller liked old man
They greeted like friends;
He said, just for him
He had latest trends…
And from jealous eyes
He hid precious jars,
But especially for him
His cellar’s ajar!
Taking daughter aside
Father told her to wait,
And followed his guide,
Seller’s step was so gay!
All of a sudden a carriage appeared;
It looked as if taken from the medieval period…
The horses galloping
With glittering eyes;
The passenger stood up –
He was in disguise.
With atrocious swiftness
Graspind her by the hand,
He took girl in the carriage,
Its track covered with sand…
The well-meaning villain was promptly alert;
Saddling nearest horse,
«Stop! », – was all that he thought.
But the coachman was masterful,
And the chase took a while;
The villain used magic and the horse was agile;
When he neared the carriage
Hero took out a bow,
He fired a shot,
Then six, with a howl;
One of the arrows
Was quicker than others,
And it set apart
Two unfortunate lovers;
And the coachman was hurt,
So the jubilant villain
Addressed the girl:
«I’ll take you from here! »
As if deaf to demands
The girl kept on kissing
The dying guy’s hands,
Crimson love she was missing.
Then she stood up and ran
To the grove very fast,
Leaving villain alone,
His spirit aghast;
No one saw her since then…
But in street clown’s sweet features
Villain could see her frown;
Just the same,
But in breeches.