Cut Before the Chase

Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, May Stories 1 Minute
Photo by Maria Fernanda Fotografia on Pexels.com

Yeasty fresh rolls wrapped in rough textured linen, unpolished like the girl who carried the basket. Mist rose from woody ground to fill the heavy air. The young girl parked herself to rest under a tree.

Behind her, a rank smell rose. A wild laugh accompanied the odor’s owner, a creature of the forest who embodied all that tangled in trees and clung to rocks. “Tired? I have a shortcut for you.” 

“Where am I going, then?”

“Give something, get something.”

“I’ll give you what for.” She pulled out an ax from her red riding cape and cut things short.

Published by Monica McHenney

Monica lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two foster dogs. She taught parents how to raise their toddlers for twenty-five years before retiring in 2015 to write. The secret to toddlers is to make sure you get enough sleep. Monica hasn't found the secret to writing, yet, but is diligently working at it. See links to her on-line stories on the publications page.

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2 thoughts on “Cut Before the Chase”

    1. I haven’t read it. But I will. I am in the middle of Kelly Link’s “White Cat, Black Dog,” another take on fairy tales. The prompt for this story came from Grant Faulkner’s new book, “The Art of Brevity.” Thanks for the comment!

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