3. The Story Begins (2/2)

and now that she's gone

i won't see her again;

our last goodbye was

at the toll of big ben.

at the tavern i'm in,

the patrons all toast.

no one cares that i've lost

what i have loved most.

nothing else matters,

for my life ended when

i lost all her love

at the toll of big ben.

having finished his song, ratigan was surprised to see a few coins in his hat. it would pay for enough groceries for his evening meal. noticing a crowd had gathered around him, he began a song with a faster tempo, adding a few dance steps. his performance was met with applause and nearly five pounds.

"that's it!" he thought. "i shall be a street performer!"

with his musical talent, he never failed to earn enough money to eat. he even managed to slip a few pounds into the bank, hoping that one day he would have enough money saved to afford a small flat. although he was still poor, he enjoyed his job and would have been perfectly happy to spend the rest of his life singing and dancing for small crowds if one performance hadn't taken an unexpected turn.

when ratigan finished singing one day, a mouse approached him. this was the same mouse that had been in nearly every crowd for the past three days.

"yes?"

"why are you working for meager shillings and a few pence?" the mouse asked. "have you considered musical theater?"

"what idiot would hire a rat to be an actor?"

"i would." the mouse handed him a slip of paper. "here's the address of the theater. auditions are at 7:00. do not disappoint me."

having no other plans, ratigan arrived at the theater at the designated time.

"you made it!" the director grinned. "excellent!" he cleared his throat. "i don't conduct auditions by having the potential cast read from a script. anyone can read enthusiastically from paper. i want to hear what's in your heart!"

when it was ratigan's turn to sing onstage, the only thought in his mind was what basil would say. would he be surprised that his friend was a performer? thinking of the final song from basil's violin before the future detective had left to study at the university, ratigan began his song:

goodbye so soon,

and isn't this a shame?

we know by now that time knows how to fly,

so here's goodbye so soon;

we'll go our separate ways.

with time so short, i'll say so long

and go so soon

goodbye.

you stood by me; i stood by you.

we were each other's companions for a while.

now as you see, our time is through,

so although it hurts, i'll try to smile

as i say goodbye so soon.

"marvelous!" the director exclaimed. "your heart is in your music! the audience will hear it when you portray your character! my dear fellow, you were created for this sort of thing!"

that was the night ratigan's career began. a natural performer, he had no trouble adjusting to life as an actor. he was on his way to living happily ever after, but life wasn't finished with him yet.