a children's fable, with words from Lawrence Lessig

nce upon a time, in a place far, far away, dreams could come true. If you lived your life— not just as if what you'd dreamed could be believed— but as though there had never been a doubt about the new reality, that reality was yours.

And so Mouse got out of bed. In his sleep, he had become a musician. Mouse found a match box. He took a string and he took a stick, and he began to play.

In each of the notes he played, mouse heard a perfectly performed statement full of extraordinary emotion. Mouse's life changed. Moments took on new meaning as each was felt deeply and experienced fully. Mouse was a creator.

Mouse took his new instrument and went out for a walk. In the gardens he found other mice playing guitar. They let Mouse join their group.

"Studied long?" they asked.

"It's my life," said Mouse, and he began to play.

An artist may struggle to be understood. Understanding itself can be an art; not everyone will succeed or even try. Mouse stopped playing and opened his eyes. Everyone was gone.

"There is no joy in that bunch," thought Mouse. He closed his eyes and played.

He played, and eventually someone else was drawn to his music.

"Yo, I have a match box just like yours!" she said.

"Enjoy'" whispered Mouse.

This fable is remixed from the text of Lawrence Lessig's CC licensed Remix:Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy. My thanks to Larry for sharing his creative, expressive vocabulary. To find the words in their original, and often dually appropriate, prose arrangement please refer to the title attribute pop-up for each.