AnElephantCant contain his enthusiasm
Rochelle uses his pic and covers him in glory
So if he is to succeed
All that he now needs
Is to come up with an appropriate story
Hooray, it is Friday Fictioneer time!
The wonderful Rochelle has chosen a snap by AnElephant as this week’s prompt.
He is honoured.
The idea is to write a very short story, circa 100 words, based on this picture prompt (below).
That’s it.
The Bicycle by AnElephantCant
The Bicycle
Grandma, why do you have that picture of an old bicycle by your bed?
Ah, cheri, that was once the most famous bicycle in France!
That old wreck! Why, grandma?
That was the bicycle your grandfather rode during the war.
And that made it famous?
No, it was what he did that made it famous.
What did he do?
He ignored the shells and bullets, rode unarmed to the wounded in no-man’s land, put them on the bike, and wheeled them to safety.
He was a hero!
Yes, but he raised our men’s morale so the enemy just shot him.
Sound Bite Fiction 
The grandmother’s delivery reveals her pride, as well as her pragmatic acceptance, of her life and times. Good characterization. And great prompt photo–lots of interesting stories resulted.
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Excellent story, the truth is painful , but has to be told, well done
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Ooooh! Didn’t expect that, but a reason to revere the bicycle for the acts of the one aboard it. Hopefully the young child can draw inspiration from it that he’ll use in other life contexts. Interesting post!
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An excellent story with just the right amount of twist at the end….
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Pingback: Friday Fictioneers – Bike To BeastBike | Alastair's Blog
I am so sorry that I missed this. I am normally on time for your posts. I do apologise. Especially as it is your photo that was used.
I liked this story. All nice and heroic. And then a slap in the face by a wet kipper at the end. Nearly had me spit my drink across my laptop. hehe. Great story
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Oh my! Great dialog and emotional twist at the end. Poor guy – poor grandma.
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Nice pic.
I like the way the story shifted from the child’s innocence to the brutality of war.
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Courageous and heroic. This is quite a bike – and quite a story.
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A hero’s end. Great story.
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Sad, but perfectly believable.
Scott
Mine: http://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/5078/
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Quite a kick in the gut that last line and well done. Great photo for inspiration–that old bike has taken us on many different rides today.
Here’s mine: http://unexpectedpaths.com/friday-fictioneers/band-of-brothers/
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A wonderful memento from a hero’s life. Very nice.
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Loverly prompt (thanks!), loverly story (albeit a sad one), loverly to see that someone else went to the war with this one (Ha ha! Your brain’s like mine!!!)
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Nice one, for me the ending really made the story.
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Such a matter of fact ending, it brought your story to an end with a bit of a bump. Rather like grandfather I suspect.
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An abrupt and unexpected ending – poor man! Great story of the bike.
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That ending is a punch in the guts, darling.
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Thanks for the prompt. Enjoyed the thinking.
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A story that is happy and sad at the same time….
P.S. Thank you for the photo prompt this week!
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Nicely done, both the story and the photograph, well written, with a surprise ending. 🙂
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Dear Elephant,
Quite a story that hit me between the eyes at the end. Nice job. And thank you for the prompt this week.
shalom,
Rochelle
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Imaginative with a nuance of world history meeting family lore. This is a great post!
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That ending is, unfortunately, what all too often happens to heros. You did justice to your photo.
janet
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Thanks for a great photo this week. I’m looking forward to all the interesting stories it will prompt. Your story has a nice sense of history with a bittersweet quality. ron
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creative, tender, beautiful and abrupt, just like life! thanks for the prompt today.
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Agree with others – the ending came as a jolt. Thanks for the photo!
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When enemies get desperate the civility goes out the window. A very good use of the picture AEC.
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Oh, Elly…No good deed goes unpunished…comes to mind. But at least he did help build morale.
I’ve a stand alone you might enjoy – Thanks for the photo!
http://julesinflashyfiction.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/freewheeling-friday-fictioneers-just-jules/
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Beautiful story but I didn’t like the ending.
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Thanks and tough!
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Lol
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a sad hero’s tale but it’s lovely and inspiring as well… thank you for the photo 🙂
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You are welcome, and thank you for the appreciation.
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Oh how sad the loss of grandpa’.
He did so much good while he lived.
A nice story!
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Thanks, RoSy, sometimes it is the good who die young.
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Excellent war story here. Succinct and vividly endearing.
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You are very kind.
Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment.
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Pingback: Life’s Cycle | 40again's Blog
I must say, I enjoy the pieces of rhyme at the beginning of every story.
That said, it’s a shame grandpa was shot in the end.
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Then AnElephant is happy!
And these things happen in wars.
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The call-and-answer format is very creative!
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Thank you, glad it worked for you!
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Sounds like they have a grandfather to be very proud of.
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Sadly, wars are full of these little tales of heroism.
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The story took a sad turn, but realistically so. Nicely done.
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Thanks, Sandra, glad you enjoyed.
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I love the photo
I got that feel from the picture as well and was originally going to angle it during the war.
Well told and realistic
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The pic was just a gift!
Even AnElephant could not mess up that image.
Thank you.
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The story is a beautiful one though the ending was a jolt. But that sort of stuff happened in war.
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Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed.
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