Painting by Kat Myrman
Winter Tree
Don’t be deceived by her fragility.
kat – 4 December 2015
“They’re yelling again. They always yell. We’ll just stay here. Is that okay Lucy?”
“I don’t know why Daddy gets so mad and then Mommy cries. It makes my tummy hurt, like when I’ve eaten too much ice cream.”
“Sigh….”
“So Lucy, what would you like to wear today? I like this pink dress. Do you like it? Okay. There, that looks nice. Let me fix your hair. I have some pink bows. You look so pretty…”
At that moment mommy yelled like Sophie had never heard her yell before, “Get out! …Just…GO!” And then the front door slammed so hard it made the whole house shake. Sophie squeezed Lucy close, burying her head in the ruffled layers of her pink dress, when she heard mommy’s footsteps coming toward the closet.
Mommy opened the door. “Oh Sophie! I’m so sorry. Are you okay? It’s going to be okay…I promise.”
Sophie looked up. Mommy’s face was red. She had been crying. “I’m okay Mommy. Lucy doesn’t like yelling.”
“Oh, I know, I know…it’s not going to happen again. Come on. Get up my pretty girl. How about you and Lucy and I head into the kitchen for some ice cream…”
“That’s okay Mommy, my tummy hurts.”
kat ~ 4 December 2015
(205 Words)
This week’s Friday Fiction with Ronovanwrites is a Flash Fiction piece with the prompt: Using no more than 500 words, write about a child’s perspective of an adult situation. If you would like to read more stories or participate in the challenge, click HERE.
I couldn’t let this day pass without sharing this CLASSIC rendering of Spoonerisms. There are several versions. The original version is believed to be the brilliant brainchild of F. Chase Taylor, a radio comedian known as ‘Colonel Stoopnagle’ in the 1930s. The popular show Hee Haw did its own version in late 70’s. (I’ve included links to these sources below.) At any rate…here is “Rindercella”…ENJOY!
Rindercella
A Spoonerism retelling of Cinderella fairy taleOnce upon a time in a coreign fountry, there lived a geautiful birl, and her name was Rindercella. Now Rindercella lived with her mugly other and two sad blisters. Also, in this same coreign fountry, there lived a very pransome hince, and this pransome hince was going to have a bancy fall, and he’d invited people for riles amound, especially the pich reople. Rindercella’s mugly other and her two sad blisters went to town to buy some drancy fesses for the bancy fall, but Rindercella couldn’t go ‘cause all she had to wear were some old rirty dags. Finally the night of the bancy fall arrived, and Rindercella couldn’t go, so she just cat down and sried. She was sitting there srying when all of the sudden there appeared before her, her gairy modfather, and he touched her with his wagic mand. and there appeared before her a kig boach and hix white sorses to take her to the bancy fall, and he said “Rindercella, be sure and be home before midnight, or I’ll purn you into a tumpkin!” When Rindercella arrived at the bancy fall, this prandsome hince met her at the door because he had been watching all this time behind a hidden window. Rindercella and the prandsome hince nanced all dight. And they lell in fove. And all at once, the mid clock struck night. And Rindercella staced down the rairs, and just as she beached the rottom, she slopped her dripper! The next day, this pransome hince went all over this coreign fountry looking for the geautiful birl who had slopped her dripper. They finally came to Rindercella’s house, and he tried it on the mugly other, and it fidn’t dit. Then he tried it on the two sisty uglers, and it fidn’t dit, and then he tried it on Rindercella, and it fid dit. It was exactly the sight rize! And so they were married and lived heavenly after happily. Now the storal of the mory is: if you go to a bancy fall and you want a pransome hince to lall in fove with you don’t forget to slop your dripper!
The above transcription of the Rindercella story is very similar to the version performed by Archie Campbell on the Hee Haw television show in the 1970s. Watch it here.
Find numerous adaptations of the Rindercella story, beginning with what is believed to be the original radio airing by F. Chase Taylor, the radio comedian known as ‘Colonel Stoopnagle’ in the 1930s, at the following website. http://matthewgoldman.com/spoon/rindercella.html
