avatarJonathon Sawyer

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2090

Abstract

/p><p id="130f">“My name’s Cindy,” I introduced myself to the small man. “Who are you?”</p><p id="1ef0">He was struggling with pulling some flotsam out of a rock cranny, but it became wedged in and wasn’t going anywhere. “Name’s Barry. This is Cecil.” he threw his arms out in exasperation. “Would you mind, little Miss?”</p><p id="ffbe">I twisted the wood and it came easily out. “What are you doing? Maybe I can help?”</p><p id="497e">Barry clapped his hands together excitedly. “You betcha! Cecil and I are about to embark on our first nautical journey together! If you could be so kind as to send us off…”</p><p id="65cb">I nodded. “Certainly!” I placed the wood at the edge of the lapping waves and waited for Barry and Cecil to climb aboard. Once they were aboard, I pushed the flotsam out to sea.</p><p id="32f8">The waves were calm at first, but as they floated farther out, they were battered with waves, and the flotsam overturned and sank.</p><p id="f498">“Oh my!” I raced into the water, soaking my summer dress in doing so, and scooped up Cecil and Barry before they drowned.</p><p id="7776">“Eh, isn’t the captain supposed to go down with his ship?” Cecil asked, wringing out his tail.</p><p id="2ea8">“Shut up, you useless bilge rat,” Barry shot back. “If only you could bail water as fast as you bailed off my boat, we wouldn’t have had to be rescued by Miss Cindy here!”</p><p id="4015">“That’s it!” Cecil exclaimed. “Go find another mouse companion, because I quit!” He hopped out of my hands and scurried back into the rocks.</p><p id="b6fd">“Oh well, I better go home and apologize before he gets himself eaten by the cat just to spite me!” With that, Barry hopped down onto the sand to follow his friend.</p><p id="bb4a">I walked back to the rocks and sat down, hoping that Barry and Cecil could make up and be friends again. I hoped that the octopus was alright too.</p><p id="1b5d">I was wringing out the bottom of my dress when I was viciously attacked by a swarm of angry bees. “Aha! Fisticuffs, then, is it? En garde!” one of them yelled.</p><p id="10a6">I swatted

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at them. “Leave me alone! Don’t sting me, please!”</p><p id="052d">The bees swarmed around. “Oh, so sorry, dear. Sometimes we get all caught up in the competition for who’s the real top honey bee that sometimes we forget about our gentler side. Ta-ra!”</p><p id="f958">I sighed. What a day at the beach! I’m <i>never</i> listening to my mother again!</p><div id="5cdc"><pre><span class="hljs-attribute">My</span> Score: <span class="hljs-attribute">Points</span>:<span class="hljs-number">8</span>/<span class="hljs-number">8</span> <span class="hljs-attribute">Prompt</span> #<span class="hljs-number">2</span>: <span class="hljs-number">2</span> Points <span class="hljs-attribute">Octopus</span>: +<span class="hljs-number">1</span> Point <span class="hljs-attribute">Octopus</span> calls Cindy a <span class="hljs-string">"good boy"</span>: +<span class="hljs-number">1</span> Point <span class="hljs-attribute">Removed</span> fishing hook: +<span class="hljs-number">1</span> Point <span class="hljs-attribute">Barry</span> and the mouse: +<span class="hljs-number">1</span> Point <span class="hljs-attribute">Barry</span>'s <span class="hljs-string">"boat"</span> sinks! +<span class="hljs-number">1</span> Point <span class="hljs-attribute">Negotiating</span> with the angry bees: +<span class="hljs-number">1</span> Point</pre></div><p id="6e60">I feel I need to challenge my good friends <a href="undefined">Jim McDonald</a> and <a href="undefined">Antoine Wood</a> to see what they can come up with. And, ah heck — <a href="undefined">Jacinta Palmer</a>, come on down!</p><p id="1a6e"><i>Please consider following my Medium account and <a href="https://medium.com/subscribe/@Sawyer.Jon"><b>subscribing</b></a> to my email list to stay up-to-date. I also encourage <b>comments</b> as I want to hear what you think! <b>Thanks!</b></i></p><p id="fa0e"><i>I also have a Ko-fi account set up <a href="https://ko-fi.com/wrethdf"><b>here</b></a>. Buy my affections for a Twonie! What’s that? You only have American money? Okay, I’ll accept your $1.70 or so. Geez.</i></p></article></body>

Fantasy |Monday Mash-Up

Little Miss Dolittle

The Conch is the Rosetta Stone!

Image created by Author using Nightcafe AI

Prompt: A child brings a beautiful shell home from the beach. “You know, if you put your ear to it, you can hear the ocean,” their mom says. When they put their ear to the shell, they hear much more than that.

“You know, if you put your ear to it, you can hear the ocean,” Mom had said to me.

Only I didn’t hear the ocean. I started to hear animals!

We were on the beach and I heard the seagulls threatening each other over some garbage.

“It’s mine! You can’t have it!”

“Get your own human treasure, filthy dinosaur!”

Worried that I might be going crazy, I wandered over to an empty strip of beach.

“Excuse me, tiny human,” I heard, startling me from my introspection. “Would you be ever-so-kind as to remove this fish hook from my tentacle?”

I looked around. Nobody.

“I’m down here,” came his reply. I looked again. A small purple octopus had climbed up out of the sand and waved a tentacle at me.

I crouched down low and did my best to remove the hook carefully. After a moment of struggling with the rusty instrument, I freed it from the octopus’ poor tentacle.

“That’s a good boy,” he replied, tapping me on the hand before he waded back into the water.

“But I’m a girl!” I replied.

He poked his head out of the water. “Oh apologies, you humans all look the same — big blobs of flesh and bones. ICK!”

Suddenly tired of the sea, I walked back to the rocks and started climbing around. That’s when I saw a mouse, being ridden by a tiny person, of all things!

“My name’s Cindy,” I introduced myself to the small man. “Who are you?”

He was struggling with pulling some flotsam out of a rock cranny, but it became wedged in and wasn’t going anywhere. “Name’s Barry. This is Cecil.” he threw his arms out in exasperation. “Would you mind, little Miss?”

I twisted the wood and it came easily out. “What are you doing? Maybe I can help?”

Barry clapped his hands together excitedly. “You betcha! Cecil and I are about to embark on our first nautical journey together! If you could be so kind as to send us off…”

I nodded. “Certainly!” I placed the wood at the edge of the lapping waves and waited for Barry and Cecil to climb aboard. Once they were aboard, I pushed the flotsam out to sea.

The waves were calm at first, but as they floated farther out, they were battered with waves, and the flotsam overturned and sank.

“Oh my!” I raced into the water, soaking my summer dress in doing so, and scooped up Cecil and Barry before they drowned.

“Eh, isn’t the captain supposed to go down with his ship?” Cecil asked, wringing out his tail.

“Shut up, you useless bilge rat,” Barry shot back. “If only you could bail water as fast as you bailed off my boat, we wouldn’t have had to be rescued by Miss Cindy here!”

“That’s it!” Cecil exclaimed. “Go find another mouse companion, because I quit!” He hopped out of my hands and scurried back into the rocks.

“Oh well, I better go home and apologize before he gets himself eaten by the cat just to spite me!” With that, Barry hopped down onto the sand to follow his friend.

I walked back to the rocks and sat down, hoping that Barry and Cecil could make up and be friends again. I hoped that the octopus was alright too.

I was wringing out the bottom of my dress when I was viciously attacked by a swarm of angry bees. “Aha! Fisticuffs, then, is it? En garde!” one of them yelled.

I swatted at them. “Leave me alone! Don’t sting me, please!”

The bees swarmed around. “Oh, so sorry, dear. Sometimes we get all caught up in the competition for who’s the real top honey bee that sometimes we forget about our gentler side. Ta-ra!”

I sighed. What a day at the beach! I’m never listening to my mother again!

My Score:
Points:8/8
Prompt #2: 2 Points
Octopus: +1 Point
Octopus calls Cindy a "good boy": +1 Point
Removed fishing hook: +1 Point
Barry and the mouse: +1 Point
Barry's "boat" sinks! +1 Point
Negotiating with the angry bees: +1 Point

I feel I need to challenge my good friends Jim McDonald and Antoine Wood to see what they can come up with. And, ah heck — Jacinta Palmer, come on down!

Please consider following my Medium account and subscribing to my email list to stay up-to-date. I also encourage comments as I want to hear what you think! Thanks!

I also have a Ko-fi account set up here. Buy my affections for a Twonie! What’s that? You only have American money? Okay, I’ll accept your $1.70 or so. Geez.

Fiction
Fantasy
Animals
The Kraken Lore
Mashups
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