Saturday, February 11, 2012

Yearning for Wonderland Writing Contest Entry: Leprechauns

There once was a boy who believed in leprechauns.  He didn’t think about them all the time but when he was scolded by a teacher or pushed around by Billy the mean kid, he prayed that leprechauns would somehow help him out.

One day while walking home from school, the boy  was surprised by Billy jumping out from behind a rose bush.

“You really are dumb, aren’t you?  Didn’t you see me standing there?” Billy said, shoving the boy, knocking him onto Mrs. Wilson’s lawn. 

“One of these days you’re going to be sorry, Billy” the boy said, standing up and brushing grass off his pants.

Billy laughed, “Yeah right, I’m so scared of you. You’d need an army!” Billy grinned as he walked away.

It was unfortunate that Billy himself had not considered leprechauns because just then something quite unusual happened. Small green sprites with wings, one by one, appeared out of flowers and from behind blades of grass. They flitted and floated, forming a humming line right in front of Billy, though he didn’t see them. When he reached their line, he lifted his foot up in step, looking like he was going to squish them under his size 4 shoe.  But squish them, he did not.  The weeones worked together, hundreds of them, picking Billy up, rolling him around, turning him upside down!

“What’s happening?” Billy cried. The sprites weren’t mean, they put him back down, gently, onto the sidewalk.

One of the little fellows turned to me, with a frown on his face, and said “We would have been here sooner but some of the guys were angry that you kept calling us leprechauns.  We’re fairies, damn it.”

Ol’ Billy still sends me a Christmas card each year, but he avoids St. Patrick’s Day altogether.


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30 comments:

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    1. Angie, you are always so supportive of my newbie writings - thank you!!

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  2. "We're fairies, damn it!" ROFL Loved it.

    ~bru

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    1. Found this one a bit tricky so thought I go for the laugh. 300 words is challenging when working with fantastical creatures! Thank you for reading and commenting!

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    2. Oh, I agree! The "We're fairies" was PERFECT! It made me chuckle...

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    3. thanks for stopping by my blog and reading my stories Eden. I really appreciate feedback, constructive criticism etc... I'm a newbie!

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  3. I truly did laugh out loud. This was a blast to read. Thank you, Jo-Anne.

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  4. Well, Ms. Winner -- great job! And you very much deserve to be in that winner's circle. Nice light touch, the dialogue between the two boys is very real, and I just love the ending--both of the last two paragraphs made me laugh.

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    1. thanks so much Ms. Kern for the generous comment but I've read the other entries - so beautiful (and one very funny one!). I'm just glad to have the opportunity to try something challenging...and it really was!

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  5. Very funny! I loved the last sentence. :)

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  6. Nice little twist at the end, enjoyed it!

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    1. My bow to the first person story telling. Thanks for reading it Donna and commenting!

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  7. That was so cute! Loved the ending. I laughed. :)

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    1. Thanks McKenzie. I wasn't able to get to an emotional centre so I went for the laugh. Appreciate you commenting!

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  8. Cute story! Makes me wish every bullied kid had some fairy backup!

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  9. I snorkled. Thanks for my giggle for the day, Jo-Anne, and thanks for entering! :)

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    1. For my very debut fantastical story attempt, snorkling is exactly the reaction that I had hoped would be first. :)) Thanks for this challenge Anna. Have really enjoyed reading all the entries and have learned something from each of them.

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  10. Very funny Jo-Anne. Enjoyed it, good job.

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    1. Thank you Steven :)) I always appreciate you reading & commenting. 300 words isn't very many, is it? I couldn't quite get to the emotional core of the story so I tried doing something a bit different for me and went for the laugh.

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  11. Hehe! "We're fairies dammit!" Love it!

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  12. I giggled and loved it! Well done. :)

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  13. I love the image of a tiny little fairy swearing at a little boy. Well done!

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    1. Thanks so much Ellen! Appreciate you taking the time to read my story and comment. By the way, had a quick look at your blog. Your quilts are absolutely stunning! As a knitter, I know how much work goes into our crafts. Can't wait to see more photos of your handiwork!

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