Among the villains was a Joker,
skilled in acrobatics, once a favored courtier of the king,
until a dwarf came to court,
and the two jesters fought, after which the aged king banished him.
He knew quite a few things about the castle, including matters concerning the Moon,
but nothing good about her ever came from his mouth, because the Moon did not love him, nor did he love the Moon.
In the Joker's words, she was a self-righteous woman,
but in truth, she could hardly bear her loneliness and met the Devil every night.
The monks gave God credit for creation, then invented a Satan as God's enemy,
and people blamed this lord of sin for leading them astray, condemning them to eternal torment in hell.
I was glad they thought so,
for experience had taught me that boldness was better than caution,
and when they restrained themselves hypocritically out of fear of going to hell, my opportunity came.
The king was old and had only one beautiful daughter,
so it was no wonder the old king said she would marry only a king.
Perhaps this wise man intended to trade the marriage for another country's crown.
I asked the Joker whether he knew what the Devil looked like.
The Joker told me it was an unruly black horse,
every night at the Moon's bedside, like wind over a clear stream, blowing poison into her dreams, seeking to defile her soul,
filling her with every kind of dissatisfied thought, empty hope, illusory purpose, and improper desire.
I asked the Joker, "Why do you not try to drive this Devil away?"
The Joker said that two handsome angels had once raised shining swords to save her,
but when they saw the Demon King's hideous face, they were so frightened that