Friday 10 September 2010

Lily's Friday Prediction

Lycanthropy, voodoo, aliens, lunatics, fairgrounds, coffee and muh-muh-muh-murrrrder all starred in last week's prediction. Well done everyone who entered - great stories and comments, as always.

Are this week's a bit tough to combine? I dunno. Looks like I swallowed a dictionary - oh, I did. I'm very intrigued to see what you can do with these:

  • Parable
  • Nestle
  • Hypothesis
Usual rules - 100 words max flash fiction or poetry. Please add them in the Comments box below. The challenge is set...
____________________________


26 comments:

  1. Lily this is too early in the morning to pose a challenge to me. It's bad enough trying to decide to drop Science completely from my timetable or not.

    Nevertheless, if I can, I'll put a story or something for this today...when I've woken up...

    Pixie x

    ReplyDelete
  2. You've got a whole week, Pix. No pressure! It would be good to see what you come up with.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm going to stick a big fat post-it note in my diary to do this one!

    p.s. I’m running a competition this week. If you get time, pop along and have a look.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My hypothesis involved the parable between the Praying Mantis and the Hummingbird.

    Now most people are unaware that a Mantis will nestle along side a tubular shaped flower waiting for his prey, usually other bugs. Hummers, however are so tiny and mantis so viscous that, well let's just say it can get down right ugly for the bird when it's said and done.

    The parable? When the tiny Hummer is caught in the death grip of the Mantis, they are often known to say: "You'll be sorry stick-bug as we'll get caught in your throat and then where will you be?"

    Where indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ooh, this seems harder this week...will see if I can come up with anything!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well done Michael for rising to the challenge with an academic piece of which I hope the Hummmer's words are true.

    Ellie, Joleen - I'm sure you can do it! (Runs off to find notebook and google parables).

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sorry all. It IS a toughie this week, isn't it.

    Here's my effort, inspired by this painting - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boschverloren.png

    A LOAD OF OLD BOSCH

    Hieronymus grimaced at his painting of The Prodigal Son. Luke’s parable of the remorseful young man receiving his father’s merciful forgiveness just didn’t wash. The lad was a spoilt brat who’d stormed off in a tantrum to live a life of debauchery; no wonder his elder brother was pissed off when his sibling returned.

    The artist painted a slash at his subject’s mouth, a conniving light in his eye.

    Bosch’s own hypothesis was that the boy – quite the actor - came back to make sure he got his share of the inheritance. To nestle down with the fatted-calf was ingenious.

    ReplyDelete
  8. (re posting, 'cos I found some spelling mistakes in my original!)

    Michael - is that really what humming birds say?
    (I thought they just went "hmmmmmmmmm"!)
    ;-p

    Very good, though - and now I'm trying to conjour up the image of the bird stuck in the mantis' throat....


    Lily - loved this new 'take'on a very old tale! I just had to go and view the picture (is that man at the side of the house doing what I think he's doing...? :-o )

    Excruciating words this week, Lil' - but I must have had a sudden burst of inspiration as this virtually wrote itself. (you can tell I work in a library....;-p)

    EX LIBRIS

    Nestled right up next to a heavy tome entitled ‘Purist Hypothesis and Postulation’ I found what I was looking for: ‘Evington’s Encyclopaedia of Parable, Metaphor and Fable’.

    It had a nice feeling of weight to it as I struggled it down from the shelf.

    Manoeuvring it onto the edge of the balustrade I waited for Professor Burgess to make his daily progress across the main concourse several floors below.

    A judicious nudge and with any luck he’d expire from the sudden shock of the mighty volume crashing down from above, if not from a direct hit.

    Mark me down, indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  9. No worries Sue. I'll take your 'removed' one off in a sec. I forgot you work in a library - so much food for thought!

    I love a bit of Bosch, very misunderstood I feel. And yes, I think that man is doing what it looks like!!

    Love the story. I can totally visualise the librarian pulling the tome from the shelf, her fingers grasping at the spine as she wobbles and stretches. I'd love to know if Prof Burgess is anyone you know! :) Great literary tale.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The entries so far seem so much more intelligent than mine! Managed to come up with one though, 100 words exactly.


    “Compare and contrast the parable and the fable with reference to specific texts”, the question read. Irena composed the hypothesis that would underpin her answer before she lifted her lucky pen to begin writing it. As she wrote, she thought of her plans to celebrate the end of her exams, how she would nestle in her boyfriend’s embrace. Distracted, she completed a paragraph before she realised the pen was writing with blood, not ink. She couldn’t drop the pen, it stuck to her fingers and sucked her blood out of them. She hated that her last moment was an exam.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lily - there are a few people I wouldn't mind lobbing a book or six at except it would damage them! (the books, that is! ;-p) However, the Prof in this story is a complete figment of my imagination - and I'd actually meant it to be a student getting revenge for poor grades.....

    What really sparked me off was a comedy sketch from way back:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJznbnUaRAw&feature=related

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow, Jolene!
    A mean tale with a truly wonderful ending!

    Am very impressed! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jolene, that was delicious. My fingers stung as I read the end of the piece - as though they were shredded, the stickiness of the blood clinging to the pen. Great write Jolene.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh Joleen, I'm really sorry I spelled your name wrong. It happens to me all the time. I should know better.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hehe, no worries! It happens to me so often I'm used to it...only time I complain is when it's spelled wrong on a cheque!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Michael - that was elegant, and read like the "true" fables of old

    Lily - loved the simplicity of this, and the choices you made to put a very plausible train of thought onto the masterpiece

    Sue - Ironic revenge is the best revenge, and the title is perfect.

    Joleen - very nice - I totally want to read the next 500 words on this. Let us know if you make this into the nasty little tale it wants to be

    ReplyDelete
  17. And now my own take. I'm giving a huge acknowledgement to Mr. David Barber here, as I fear I've strayed awfully close to the tone of his fantastic "Two Blokes" flash series series.

    The Prodigial Son

    "What do you think happened?" asked Milton. "Your hypothesis, if you will."

    Blackwood replied, "It's like that that bible story..."

    "Parable," corrected Milton, "When it's in the Bible, you call it a parable."

    Blackwood sneered, "Well ain't you just Charlie Church? Do you want to hear this?"

    "I'm not stopping you," said Milton.

    "Right. Well ... in the bible thingy," continued Blackwood. "The faithful brother got just a little." He pointed to the small hole nestled just above the first vic's eyebrow, then indicated the other body, and its abundance of wounds.

    "...and the other was met with open arms."

    ReplyDelete
  18. Love the casual tone of your pair, Chris and the great irreverence of 'Charlie Church' and 'bible thingy'. A nice, tight write.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Lily. I thought I'd join in the fun too.

    Bugged

    “The Parable of the Bedbug.”

    “This biblical?”

    “Nope. It’s a fable based on a personal hypothesis. Wanna hear it?”

    “Sure”

    “Okay. One night on his bunk, a convict, spending life in prison, feels a bedbug nestle his ear. It speaks and he listens. They bond. Foolishly, he tells the guards. They send for an immediate pysch evaluation. The result is antipsychotic drugs and seclusion in darkness.”

    “So no moral justification, just hypothesis?”

    “Yep. Although, you helped prove it.”

    “Prove what?”

    “That only lunatics hear bugs speak.”

    “Oh, God. Is this about me, doctor?”

    “Doctor? No, silly, I'm a bedbug.”

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Angel. Welcome in.

    Brilliant flash. That bug reminds me of a Burroughs tale I can't remember the name of.

    Great twist - but should we have expected anything different? Loved it. Thanks for contributing.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I have to go with Angel "for the win" on this one. That was a slick, smooth write. It seemed like you had this one polished and ready to go, and the word choices were secondary ... which is to say it seemed effortless.

    Great story. (And I wonder if Lily is thinking of Naked Lunch?)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Chris - I don't think DB has taken out a patent on his two guys yet - and at least yours have names! (perhaps we may see further of their conversations?)

    Angel - excellent story! Packs more than your average punch with that final twist - am in awe!
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Nice stories guys. I've been a bit busy so couldn't make it this time.

    Chris, as Sue kindly pointed out, I don't have a patent out on my "Two Blokes" so fire away. And as she also adds, at least yours have names.

    I'd better come up with some names to please people...........like they don't have names already!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Names or not - they're funny as sh!t, and I can't wait to read more of 'em!

    I'll be looking for a David Barber original come next Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Loving Angel's! Hilarious!

    I expanded mine into a slightly longer story, it's up now on my blog
    http://joleenkuyper.blogspot.com/2010/09/lucky-pen-short-story.html

    ReplyDelete

Lily Childs is a writer of horror, esoteric, mystery and chilling fiction.

If you see her dancing outside in a thunder storm - don't try to bring her in. She's safe.