Dream ♥ I
Before there are images, there's sound - children singing happily with the sound of laughter beyond that. Though the singers aren't visible, their tune is the only thing that can be heard throughout the dream.
Tom, Tom, he was a piper's son,
He learned to play when he was young.
Flashes of faces, familiar to the dreamer, but likely not anyone else. Bright colors and lights and circus tents.
And all the tune that he could play
Was over the hills and far away;
A man with red hair and a skeletal arm, grinning at a crowd. A woman with dark curly hair and a tiger jumping through a hoop. In the background, another young man throws daggers with deadly precision.
Over the hills is a great way off.
The wind shall blow my top-knot off.
A small man and woman on the flying trapeze. An incredibly large man breathing fire. A teen wrapped in snakes with scales along his own skin.
Tom with his pipe made such a noise,
That he pleased both the girls and boys,
A man with dark hair and red eyes. A stern gentleman with glasses. They seem to be arguing... while standing on the highwire.
And they all stopped to hear him play,
'Over the hills and far away'.
A young boy with a bright smile, the falseness of which she can't read...
Tom with his pipe did play with such skill
That those who heard him could never keep still;
The boy is sneaking around outside one of the tents. Saving him from being caught by the others, she then asks him to explain himself.
As soon as he played they began for to dance,
Even the pigs on their hind legs would after him dance.
He begins to cry, promising he won't try and steal again, and she forgives him.
As Dolly was milking her cow one day,
Tom took his pipe and began to play;
It's night and she's in her bed, watching him toss and turn. Thinking he might feel better with company, she gets in beside him.
So Dolly and the cow danced 'The Cheshire Round',
Till the pail was broken and the milk ran on the ground.
The boy is exhausted and sick. She stands at his bedside worriedly.
He met old Dame Trot with a basket of eggs,
He used his pipe and she used her legs;
The boy and the man with the red eyes have left. She's reprimanded by the other performers.
She danced about till the eggs were all broke,
She began for to fret, but he laughed at the joke.
Landscape flashes by as she urges the horse into a gallop, heading towards where the man with the red hair currently is...
Tom saw a cross fellow was beating an ass,
Heavy laden with pots, pans, dishes, and glass;
A glimpse of the boy's smile...
He took out his pipe and he played them a tune,
And the poor donkey's load was lightened full soon.
Suddenly everything is burning.
---
"What...?" Doll is awake now, and staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. "What was that?" She's completely unaware that anyone has seen this but herself.