uExpress.com: Tell Me A Story by Amy Friedman and Jillian Gilliland -- (10/29/2000) adapted by Amy Friedman and illustrated by Jillian Gilliland

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10/29/2000

adapted by Amy Friedman and illustrated by Jillian Gilliland

PYRAMUS AND THISBE (a Greek myth)

Once upon a time, in Babylonia, two families lived side by side. In one home lived the handsome young man known as Pyramus, and in the other lived the maiden every young man loved. Her name was Thisbe. They met when they were children, and what began as a wonderful friendship blossomed into love as they grew older.

That would have been a fine thing for most families, but the parents of Pyramus and Thisbe forbade them to marry. The families had begun to quarrel when their children were young, and their quarrel grew into a terrible feud. They built a tall wall between their two houses and told their children never to speak to or see each other.

But love will find a way to overcome walls, and as the years passed, Pyramus and Thisbe managed to convey their feelings for each other with glances. And then one day they discovered, to their delight and astonishment, a crack in the wall. No one else knew of its existence. Pyramus and Thisbe knew their love was blessed, and the crack allowed them to whisper messages back and forth to each other.

"This wall is the cruelest thing in the world," Pyramus whispered. "How can anything keep us apart?"

But Thisbe, who was a gentle soul, said softly, "We have much to be grateful for, my love. We owe this crack in the wall our gratitude. It permits us to send each other our loving words."

"You are right, Thisbe," Pyramus whispered, and that night, like every other night, they whispered farewell and pressed their lips to either side of the wall, their kiss goodnight.

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One morning, as the stars dimmed and the sun began to burn the night's frost from the ground, they met again at the wall. "Thisbe," Pyramus whispered, "I have a plan." He told his lover of his idea, born of his longing to be with her.

They agreed that that night, while everyone was fast asleep, they would slip away. They would leave their homes, their families, all they had known all their lives, and at a place known as the Tomb of Ninus, where a mulberry tree grew and a cool spring flowed, they would meet and forever be together. They kissed farewell. "Until tonight," Pyramus whispered. "Whoever arrives first must wait."

"I'll be there," Thisbe promised.

That night, when her parents were asleep, Thisbe tiptoed out of the house and quickly made her way to the Tomb. She reached the place before her beloved, and so she sat beneath the tree, alone in the quiet night, her heart beating so hard with excitement, she thought she might faint. Then, suddenly, she heard a sound. She turned and saw a stately lioness stalking toward the spring, seeking to quench her thirst. Blood dripped from her mouth, the evidence of a recent kill.

When Thisbe saw the creature, she ran and hid inside a hollow rock. Shivering with fear, she held her breath and waited quietly.

The lionness took her drink and turned to leave, but then she spotted something on the ground. Thisbe had dropped her mantle in her haste. The lionness, curious, picked it up between her teeth and then, seeing it was not worth eating, dropped it and moved into the forest.

Pyramus came running. His parents had stayed awake late, and he knew his beloved would be waiting. As he approached, he saw the lionness's footprints in the sand. "Thisbe!" he called, alarmed by this sight. "Thisbe, are you there?"

Thisbe was still hiding, and the sound of the wind and the rock muted her lover's voice. She did not hear a word, and did not answer.

Pyramus, meantime, ran toward the spring. It was then that he spotted the veil lying upon the ground, bloodied by the lion's mouth.

"Thisbe!" he cried again. He wept in despair. "Beloved, I am the cause of your death," for he was certain that the lionness had killed her. "You are more worthy of living than I, and you have died. I will follow you to death."

With those words he lifted the mantle and covered it with kisses and tears. He drew his sword and pierced his heart. His blood stained the white mulberries crimson.

Now Thisbe, having waited patiently, crept slowly from her hiding place, cautiously looking around. She tiptoed toward the spring, and when she reached the tree, she thought at first she must have come to the wrong spot. "The berries were white," she said, half to herself, and decided to retrace her footsteps. As she turned, she saw her beloved lying on the ground.

Thisbe screamed and ran to him. She wept tears into his wound and showered kisses upon his face. "Pyramus," she wailed, "who has killed you? Hear me, please, my darling. Lift your head."

When he heard her voice, Pyramus opened his eyes and smiled. That was his last gesture before he closed his eyes and died.

When Thisbe saw her mantle and Pyramus' sword upon the ground, she understood. "You have taken your life for mine," she wept. "I will follow you to death. And may our parents, who denied us happiness, allow us to be joined in death. May they bury us together in one tomb."

Then she looked at the mulberry tree and said one last prayer. "Carry the marks of our love. Keep your berries crimson in our memory." And with those words she plunged Pyramus' sword into her own body.

The families mourned deeply, and they granted the lovers' last wish, for they understood that nothing would keep them apart. The gods granted their wish as well. Forever afterward, the berries of the mulberry tree remained crimson.

The second book collection of wonderful tales from "Tell Me a Story" is available for $14.95, plus $3.50 for postage and handling. Send your orders to "The Spectacular Gift," in care of Andrews McMeel Publishing, P.O. Box 419242, Kansas City, Mo. 64141; or call (800) 642-6480. Be sure to indicate your newspaper's name on your order. Allow three to four weeks for delivery.