Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the wonderful Rochelle, the undisputed master of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
She sets the weekly challenge, and the standard.
For this week’s prompt she presents us with a somewhat angst-ridden photo by good ol’ Douglas M. MacIlroy
But I am calmness personified.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on this picture, below.
© Douglas M. MacIlroy
Click here to hear the author read the short tale:
Hungry
Jings, I am starving.
There is nothing growing here, it is an arid wasteland.
I don’t know what happened, it has been dry, but even without rain you can usually find something.
I can eat anything, grubs, worms, insects, even berries or nuts, anything with a bit of protein.
But there is not a living thing in sight, nothing to sustain a body.
Unless I eat the sand which is here.
Well, you have to laugh, don’t you.
Oh well, needs must, I do need food.
Sorry, Tweety, looks like you are lunch.
Sound Bite Fiction 
Well done. Great twist at the end.
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Hi there, poor Tweety. I liked the red herring of the speaker prepared to eat seeds, nuts etc. Well-played.
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Hi Rachel, I do enjoy my little misdirection, that’s what makes it fun. Glad you enjoyed.
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Funny stuff!
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You gotta laugh, Dawn
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Excellent as always!
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Thanks, Clare, as always!
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I thought it was the bird narrating the story and the twist at the end was unexpected. Entertaining story!
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Good, that was my planned misdirection!
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ha – pass the hot sauce.
and love your speaking voice too
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Very kind of you, sir or madam
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it is madam.. and wishing you a nice day sir
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Nom, nom. Now pick those feathers out of your teeth.
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I was teaching my mouth to fly
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If Sandra was there, she’d fight you over the wishbone.
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And she’d win!
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Poor Tweety!
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Could never stand the smug little git!
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Ha! I never thought of Tweety as smug. I always kind of thought his cuteness won out. 🙂
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‘Ello, I wish to register a complaint. In Medville you might manage to avoid “I’m a celebrity …”, but over ‘ere we don’t. Reading this reminded me of the ridiculous amount of publicity that resulted from a gang of z-listers on that programme killing and eating a rat.
Still, I’ll get over it. It was a really good story – easy to digest but filling enough to keep me going till tea time.
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I managed to avoid it even when I was in Scotland. Bon appetit.
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Those last lines are always something!
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Thank you, that is what I aim for.
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And then you got in that twist. Good one, CE.
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I do try, Varad!
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This built up nicely to that lovely twist at the end. Should have seen it coming but didn’t.
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Thank you, LLoDL
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I actually would eat the bird before the grubs… but I might be selfish that way… loved the twist.
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You’re a real sweetheart, Bjorn!
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A little mini-squab on the side there! Great one, C.E.!
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Needs French Fries, I think
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Desperate times, eating that stringy thing! Nicely told, C, with a great sense of desperation
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And a bad joke, Lynn!
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🙂
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Loved this story. Didn’t know what was going to happen until the end. Great take on the prompt. Read your bio. I’m half Scots, but half Swede. I know so many Scots AND Swedes who are excellent writers!
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Glad you enjoyed, Rosemary
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Hahaha Oh, no. I thought I was in the bird’s head, only to find out the poor bird was on the menu. And I must admit, I always enjoy listening to you read these stories.
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That was my intent, Mandie. And thank you, very kind.
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Oh dear! Sounds like the end of the world as well as the end of Tweety Pie…
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It’s just a bit dry, Penny!
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That’s the rule of life. Eat or get eaten. 🙂
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Or starve
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Dear C.E.
Love the chuckle in the voice of the reader. Jings! This made me laugh. Is the Puddy Tat telling the story?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I love bad puns like that, m’lady, had to snigger a bit
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Aw! Poor widdle Tweety biwd:
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Nah, never liked him/her/it anyway
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I thought you might have been narrating as the bird to start with, but no, as others say, a certain sad yet entertaining inevitability at the ending 🙂
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That was my intent, Iain, I like to mislead
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I thought for sure at the beginning this was the voice of the bird. But nooooo…. 🙂
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That was my intent
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Dang! Tweety is one of my favourite characters.
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No, Tweety was…
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Probably more bother than it’s worth to get all the feathers off!
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Perhaps, but needs must
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There is a terrible inevitability about it. You’re thinking “no. surely he’s not going to” and then he does
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Thanks, Neil
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Bad news for Tweety.
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Yup
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When needs must, become a canibird! Most amusing sir!
Click to read my FriFic!
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Thanks, Keith
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