Last week there was a lull while at work. No books or DVDs to shelve, a couple carts of books had been cleaned, almost no patrons. From across the room I saw a sign announcing a Fairy Tale writing challenge. Bored, and a challenge thrown down in front of me, I scooped up that gauntlet and ran with it.
It began with planning: what goes in a fairy tale? 1) “Once upon a time…”, 2) main character, 3) magical element, 4) conflict, 5) moral, 6) “Happily ever after…”
Six elements that should be included in a traditional fairy tale, but only four sentences. It wouldn’t be an involved or detailed tale, but doable. So I jotted down a couple drafts, and this is what I came up with.
“In a kingdom not so very far away, and not as long ago as you’d think, a young and gentle dragon named Noble was tasked, for the first time, with guarding the family hoard of treasure from the terrifying and vicious humans that lived in the valley.
He quietly paced back and forth in front of the treasure, watching for the tell-tale red glow of human eyes, or a glint of fangs, when suddenly– bump!–yip!–ack!– Noble and a human collided in the dark.
They huddled in fear on opposite sides of the cave until each realized that neither was the monster they were expecting.
Ashamed of their unwarranted fears, they each went their own way and lived happily ever after… after agreeing not to mention this anyone. “
Maybe the next time I’m bored I’ll try putting it in verse 🙂
Now it’s your turn. Respond to this post with a 4 sentence tale of your own.
Northern Skies Publishing 