I’m not a hero, Lilly.
I do not need a hero’s parade.
And I will not accept one.
The reason I slip off the guilt
is because I’ve absorbed the blame.
And in truth, we all have, Lilly.
Just for, not what you think, there’s
more to this than what it seems…

Although Heraklean to you it seems
to’ve put the fire out, as a fireman,
to me this was just motions.
Sweet Lilly, please forgive yourself,
for the guilt that you feel
is more hollow than my pain.
Bruises will heal, as will this rash,
and my lungs, they are clearer already.

But I’ll tell you who the real hero is.
It is mighty mouse–Now hear me out.
Hear me out.

I know mighty mouse is not so popular-
right now he isn’t,
until we need him again, he isn’t-
in the wake of his massive inferno.
He is not exactly the toast of the town.
But just hear me out on this…

To his woodland creatures, Lilly,
the world had teetered on his shoulders.
This was a necessary happening.
The soil is now richer, and because it burned,
the future of the forest will be brighter.

Mighty mouse has defeated his foe.
His foe which humans cannot sense.
And he had done this knowing that
we would maybe get upset about it,
and not consider it from his point of view.

That’s right, Lily, he knew the consequences.
This was not his first rodeo.

If Mighty mouse defeats his villain,
this is because he is mighty mouse-
not some field mouse without a name;
of all the animals that live in the forest,
including even the mightiest beasts,
none possesses either the knowhow or
the opposable thumbs to light a match.
As we are insensible to the villainous trees,
the responsibility is put squarely on mighty mouse.
Year after year, he is the protector of his forest
and I know it sounds crazy, I know, but it’s true.

We tend to think of mighty mouse
as if he is a humble servant all to ourselves,
but this is only incidental that it’s true.
With his capacity for human languages,
his immense strength and his intelligence,
coupled with his pureness of heart,
it is inevitable that he lends us his hands;

This is the precarious position on which
mighty mouse finds himself so tempted
to tightrope. But that feat is impossible, Lilly.
On his one hand, Mighty Mouse is loved by us,
but on his other, he first belongs to the wild,
and so this hero of opposing worlds
makes both of them better and does unsung.

I just feel so bad for the guy, Lilly,
Please find it in your heart to forgive him.
I know the forest is an ugly sight right now
but just wait til it rises. The rise is so beautiful.
Bless him with the forgiveness he so seeks,
for he holds nothing against you, Lilly.

Before I left the forest that day,
I talked with mighty mouse
about the events that transpired.

He was caught up in a whirlwind
of emotions that had seemed almost
regretful, but I talked him out of it,
Lilly, I did, I said: “Mighty mouse,
you sir, were just doing your job,
and you have done it fantastically,
you old son of a gun, I love you.”

That is what I said to him, Lilly.
And I think, I do, I really do, I think
it has resonated with him in some way.
That is all I can hope for, Lilly. Forgive him.

It will happen again. And again. This fire.
It will, Lilly. It must. It is only the way of things.
But Sweet Lilly, please forgive him each time,
for Mighty Mouse, he, holds nothing against you.