Minuet ©

I'd like to introduce to you the actors in this play
You'll hear, in turn, about them, they all will have a say
There's only four, it won't take long, each explain their part
Form your own opinion, but be honest, from the heart

First we have the huntsmen: they're the leaders of the Pack
Dressed in all their finery and seated on their hacks
They're not the buck-toothed caricature from some redundant age
A more determined steely gun now struts upon this stage

Collectively they write the script, both playwrights and directors
A classic tale, they theatre us, their part is as tormentors
They run the show from scene to scene through each successive backdrop
Never fazed by bad reviews, with them the moral buck stops

Then the hounds, the lynch mob, an enthusiastic part
Professional they know their cues, skilled within their art
Prima donnas one and all they pad upon the rostrum
They scurry over track and field no pause for change of costume

Yelping out in chorus as they chase their cousin down
Serious and deadly these thespians are no clowns
They're always in that setting just before the final curtain
They really give their heart and soul of that you can be certain

Next is fox, the loner, the woodland Jimmy Dean
Two foot tall and three foot long, he's fit and very lean
The only one within this play who doesn't know his lines
Dependant on the other's lead, he reacts to all the signs

He plays the evil villain with his cape and whiskered chin
He twiddles waxed moustache awhile and wears an evil grin
Accused of chicken homicide, and every unsolved crime
He's guilty in absentia: he won't be doing time

Lastly there's our saboteurs the critics of the drama
Their siding up with foxy, trying to aid the creatures' karma
Heckling from the sidelines with their harsh dissenting voices
Reading from a different script, spoiling hunters' choices

They think their play is better so they read from different pages
Their's differs at the death scene, that's the cause of all their rages
Using any prop they can, to disrupt the whole proceedings
Save poor foxy from this fate, the gist of all their pleadings

So now you've met our quartet cast, your vote is really vital
Which has played their part the best, which gave the best recital?
Which one grabbed the limelight as you watched down from the stalls?
Which deserves your pantomime hiss and which the encore calls?