AnElephantCant think of a rhyme this week
He has exhausted his inventory
Without further ado
He suggests to you
That you go down and just read his wee story
The idea of Friday Fictioneers is to write a very short story (100 words) based on a picture prompt (below).
That’s it.
Copyright Claire Fuller
Mr McBrayne, how does it feel to be the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Hugo Award for Science Fiction literature?
It’s a dream come true. I have been a Sci Fi addict since I was about six years old!
And who were your earliest influences?
Well, initially I read HG Wells and Jules Verne.
Ah, the traditional fathers of the genre! And then?
Carl Sagan, obviously, Orwell, then Huxley and Heinlein.
But you are a huge Asimov fan?
Not till much later. The books were arranged alphabetically by author, so I could only read those that I could reach!
Sound Bite Fiction 
Very clever story! Funny too!
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Hilarious and very real. Kids who have an insatiable desire to read will read whatever they can get their hands on. Sometimes I’m even that way. Loved this one, Elephant.
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Nice twist! Thanks for the comment on my post about Angosey btw – got a huge kick out of your poem.
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Starting at the bottom and working back up. Get that boy some platform soles. Well done.
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I love it, I feel for him, great story line.
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Thank you so much!
We have all been that little dude at some time.
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Enjoyed this sweet story…nice twist at the end. Made me smile. Nice job.
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AnElephant is very happy he made you smile.
Thank you for your comment.
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I love it! Great story!
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Well, AnElephant is happy you enjoyed it, thanks you sincerely, and hopes you also enjoy Powell’s when you get to Portland.
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Fantastic and funny!
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Aw, shucks, thanks!
Glad you enjoyed.
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This was a great story, with an excellent reveal that made you go back and look for the clues! Well done. Your story reminded my that I once went to a talk by Lee Child, who said he chose his pen-name partly because it was the right place in the bookstore. People start browsing at A and by the time they get to C they are bored of looking and pick one they like the look of. He said authors with the initial C sell more books!
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Very happy that you enjoyed and got it enough to go back and check the names! Thank you for that, and for your interesting comment. People like Connelly, Connolly, Crais and Crichton leap to mind. Fascinating thought!
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I’m also a long-time sci-fi fan, though I probably didn’t read them in that order as there were none on the shelves at home until I bought them!
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What? He didn’t scale up the side of the bookcase? That’s what my kid would have done. LOL. Love it!
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C’mon, he reads Sci Fi, he ain’t athletic!
But very glad you enjoyed it, thanks for visiting.
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😀 It’s every kids unique quality that makes them shine. Wonderful story.
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Wonderful way to pick which books to read! Makes so much sense.
Scott
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Not really optional when you are so wee!
Thanks for dropping in and commenting, Scott.
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We had a wide bookcase rather than a tall one when I was young. Thank goodness for that!
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That was probably less restrictive!
Thank you for your visit and comment, AnElephant is always delighted to see a Zebra.
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Hahahahaha! Hahaha! Haha!
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Hi, t, (boom boom!)
AnElephant guesses you found his little tale amusing.
So he is very happy.
Thanks for visiting.
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I found it slightly so…
=)
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Funny tale, nicely done!
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Thanks, Perry, good of you to take the time to visit and comment.
Happy you enjoyed.
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Hehe that was cute and clever..reading only what one can reach 🙂
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Glad you liked.
And don’t we all do that to some extent, one way or another?
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Hahahahahaha! Wonderful! And why NOT? It’s perfect! Great motivation. Thanks!
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When someone laughs, AnElephant is happy.
Thank you.
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Thank you for the smile.
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You are very welcome, just glad you liked it.
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LOL. Lovely dialogue and a great idea.
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Thank you so much, very kind of you.
Happy heffelump.
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Definitely chuckle-worthy–and I’m glad I’m able to reach the A shelf as Asimov is still a favorite of mine.
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Chuckles are good, which is probably why you read Asimov, for his Lecherous Limericks!
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We could always get him some of those library steps that go right to the top. A lovely story.
Claire
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AnElephant on high steps?
Hmmm.
Glad you liked it.
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HIlarious! Brilliantly set up – glad I wasn’t drinking anything or I’d have snorted it everywhere in true elephant style 😀
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Well, thank you so much.
But AnElephant doesn’t snort.
(Although he does sometimes tell fibs!)
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very true — I often note that I get lazy and only read the books on the eye-level shelf!
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We are pretty much all creatures of habit, Bill, but of course this youngster had no alternative.
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I really enjoyed your piece. I make sure that my grandson has easy access to the books that grama keeps at her house for him (both up and downstairs), on a shelf, in a box and in a bag too!
While he hasn’t quite gotten to Sci Fi, he does enjoy his chubby board books and any book with cars and things that go. 🙂
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Hi Jules, AnElephant reckons your house is a treasure trove for li’l dudes!
Does he like ‘That’s not my Dinosaur’ and other touchy books?
Oh, and thanks for visiting, glad you enjoyed.
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Son of Son is a hands on kinda little dude –
Almost 3 and he’s got his own ‘tude!
Trucks, and ducks, bubbles and trouble,
All in a good sort of way 🙂
While I think I’ve heard of “That’s not my Dinosaur’
Most of my collection are from the second hand stores…That’s a title I’ll have to keep an eye out for.
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LOL. I bet his mom refused to let him stand on a chair 🙂
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Elephants are never allowed to stand on chairs, except in the circus!
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hahaha loved this. cute story. you should’ve seen me reaching for the books i wanted to read, i was practically climbing on the wooden shelves! but damn, i envy that kid.
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Happy you enjoyed, kz.
If one person laughs then it is worthwhile.
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Oh this made me think Dear Elephant! I haven’t been in a library in decades so I completely forgot that the ‘A’s always go on the top shelf. 😀 Well done!
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Made you think?
Wow, the power of words!
Just joking, honestly, and thanks for your visit and comment.
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-grin- Indeed. I think the power of short stories is that they /have/ to engage the reader to fill in the gaps. And yes, to think. 😀
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Being of short stature myself, I get this completely. On library day I chose the thinnest book I could find for my book reports. Now I know better. Size matters. 😉
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AnElephant is very aware of the importance of size, and is happy to lift you up to the higher shelves in his trunk!
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Love it. You really caught me off guard. I take it the award winner never read Zelazney?
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Sadly AnElephant had to omit 857 of his favourite authors due to word restraint.
And did want to start with Wells and Verne for obvious reasons.
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for visiting.
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Love the ending… stairs are important in libraries.
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Thanks, Bjorn, happy you enjoyed it.
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Great ending! I was expecting something sinister and found myself smiling instead. 🙂
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Yep, decided to let everyone live through this week’s story!
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Nice story – especially the bit at the end 🙂
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Thanks, RoSy, you are always so kind!
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Brilliant! Really, just so good!
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Happy, happy Elephant!
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Anyone who reads science fiction gets my vote. I liked your having the ladder as the center piece of the story, as it is in the photo. It’s unfortunate that the “Elephant Ladder” (which I know you know has rungs instead of steps and could be a challenge for anelephant to climb up on) wasn’t in the picture, of course then the child would have raced to the top to the “a’s) so your storyline wouldn’t have worked. Great story! 🙂 xx
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Hmm, thank you, AnElephant thinks!
Almost worked in Norwescon, but ran out of words.
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Oh I like it. Especially the part about reading what could be reached first. Very clever,.
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Thanks, Joe, glad you liked it.
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your above rhyme struck me because as I was clicking your Avatar I was thinking about the amazing creativity you have to write two posts and one each time with the elephant’s voice – I am impressed by that. Every good elephant deserves a day off.
The story was great – my mind then had to think from top to bottom at the library and grin
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You are too kind!
But it is a team effort, AnElephant writes the rhymes and his mahout the stories!
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Enjoyed this, very clever. The converse is true for me today… with a bad back I can’t get down to read the authors on the bottom shelf….
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Happy you enjoyed, Sandra.
Have you tried tongs????
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Kool. Very neat 🙂
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Thank you for visiting.
Glad you enjoyed.
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Cute! Very cute.
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Thank you, m’lady.
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Merveilleux! Et pas de cadavres pour surprendre tout le monde…
Genial!
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Merci! Et oui, personne n’est mort cette fois!
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Ha, very cute. 🙂 This is awesome. Verne and Wells are good ones to start with, in any case.
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Thanks, David, and glad you approve!
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A very enjoyable way to start my morning reading.
janet
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Big smiley Elephant now!
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Ha. Very funny. You did a great job with it. Randy
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Thank you, Randy, very kind of you.
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that young? an interesting read:))
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Elephants are precocious!
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Love that.
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Thanks, Alastair!
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Welcome
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Dear Elephant,
The last line clinches the deal. You had me envisioning the precocious six-year-old on tiptoe at the bookcase. Delightful tale.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Very kind of you, Rochelle, happy you enjoyed.
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LOL – good one 🙂
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Glad you enjoyed it!
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