Today I am over at Out of Print with a short fable, “The Merchant and the Grasshopper.” This story began as a simple nugget in a larger scene, but upon discovering it again later, I decided to expand on it and turn it into a short story.
If you have the time, I’d love for you to check it out! The story even includes an illustration. 🙂
There once was a grasshopper who lived in the reeds of a merchant’s garden. The garden was beautiful, so beautiful in fact, that it was held in greater esteem than the emperor’s own.
The grasshopper had many friends in this garden. The butterfly and the firefly, in particular, greatly enjoyed his company. Life was pleasant and good for them, even though the merchant who owned the land was foul-tempered and unkind. The townspeople avoided the merchant, and he ignored them, seeking nothing more than silence, for music was a blight to his ears.
Every night, the grasshopper would climb upon a simple blade of grass and begin his soliloquy. Nothing brought him greater joy. But no sooner would he start his concert each night, that the merchant, in a rage, would come outside and threaten him with an old broom. Our poor grasshopper was merely a grasshopper, however, and saw…
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Ariel Hudnall 
Excellent story. Sounds very much like the traditional tales I loved as a kid, and I hope you post more of them.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it! I like fables and fairy tales, and tend to have a blast when writing them. I’m hoping more inspiration hits eventually! ^_^
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Have you ever thought about trying your hand at some “Just So” stories? If you like writing fables, they might also be suitably similar.
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I’ll have to think about it! They’re fun to write on the fly…. maybe I’ll use them for morning exercises. 🙂
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I always liked those kinds of stories, because they tell us something about why the world seems the way it does. It might be fiction, but it still speaks to the part of us that trys to make sense of things.
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Wonderful story, Alex, for both adults and children. I can think if some girls who would love it!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it, Noelle! I had fun illustrating it, though there were a couple rejected illos along the way. 🙂
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Alex. this was a pure delight! I adore storytelling through fables and filled my children up to their earholes with bucketfuls of them. I truly think stories such as these teach lessons in a magical way that leave an imprint on the tender soul. Wish this one had been around ten years ago.
Doesn’t matter. I’m going to send it to both of them now anyway.
I loved it. Well done.
😀
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Oh, wow, thank you Shelley! You had me blushing pretty hard with your comment on Out of Print. That made me feel pretty chuffed, if I can borrow one of your fun words. 🙂 I actually wrote this story almost five years ago on the fly… was doing a stream of consciousness writing exercise with NJ, and this story just sort of spilled out the mouth of one of my characters. 🙂 Had to expand it when I saw it again.
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