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Continue reading →: The Dark One Comes“No, too soon,” cried the centipod. Melphin had decided he would spend the day deep in Willow’s Hollow. He hoped to lose himself in thoughts of the happier times. “How I wish the cool summer breezes would return,” sighed Melphin. As Melphin rested, he slipped into a trance. Instead of…
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Continue reading →: Firefox“You’re insane. What you’re asking will kill her,” cried the Wolf. “There is no choice in the matter. The ritual must be completed as the moon rises on Midsummer’s Eve,” replied the Badger. Charlotte lived alone in her family’s den. Not wishing to bother outsiders about her troubled life. “I…
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Continue reading →: A Pitying of Turtle DovesThe sound of crooning turtle doves alerted the man to his approach to the graveyard. “Not much farther, my love,” the man said. Thomas Fingerbrush was the town’s grave digger. Today, he was doing something he had dreaded for days now. “I’ve picked a beautiful spot under the elder tree.…
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Continue reading →: A Day’s Walk“Come along, Matthias, quit your straggling,” said the woman. Anya had chosen this day to fulfill a promise made long ago, when she was a young girl. “That’s a good puss, Ezrel. You always mind your manners,” called Anya. When she was twelve, Mörken the Dark One came with his…
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Continue reading →: Homeward Bound“Melvin, aren’t you cutting it a little close?” asked the shopkeeper. “If you’re referring to the Wicked Woods, I have nothing to fear. I have Esmeralda with me, and she’ll protect me from any harm that may dwell in the wood,” answered the farmer. “Still, I wouldn’t go and tempt…
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Continue reading →: Raggety and Mr Grimalkin“Don’t you think a pudding would go nicely with our brunch, or should we have scones and clotted cream?” remarked Raggety. “Reasonable,” replied Mr. Grimalkin. On Sunday morning, Raggety and Mr. Grimalkin traveled to town for their weekly brunch. “I do hope their berries are fresh this week. Those dreadful…
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Continue reading →: Persons Amuck“You there, Tommy Barns. Why are you sulking about?” demanded the Librarian. “Excuse me, Miss Crabtree. I was hoping you could help me with my school report,” murmured the boy. “Speak up, child. A school report, you say? Perhaps if the topic interests me,” replied the woman. “Our class is…
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Continue reading →: Whispering Roots“Come now, don’t be shy, share your secrets with me,” said the croan. The Hölzerne Hexe had lived longer than even the forest. When she wanted to know what was going on, the old woman would talk to the whispering roots. “Tell me how the war goes to the east,…
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Continue reading →: I Shan’t Be Late“We’re leaving on the morning ferry, will you be there to see us off?” questioned the merchant’s daughter. “Of course I will. I would never miss saying farewell to my little adventurer,” replied her father. Thomas Templeton had married late in life. Thomas had devoted his youth to acquiring wealth…
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Continue reading →: Time Enough“Come, Mephistopheles, we must prepare for the plague ship,” the dark one said. “What’s the hurry? Time enough, they’re not going anywhere,” replied the cat. “Why must you always argue with me. Do I not care for you? Give you the best fish and catnip?” Grimm said. “What is your…
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Continue reading →: To Share This Moment“Your colors are so amazing,” cried the forest gwelf. Elowen was the last of her tribe. The elders had declared the ancient forest dangerous and ordered their clan to the north. “I wish Jasmine were here to see this. She would have the perfect words to describe your beauty,” Elowen…
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Continue reading →: Powerful Mojo“Don’t let it touch your skin,” said Tekla “Why, what will happen if it does?” asked Welgen. “You don’t want to find out,” came the reply. The Grand Matron was dying of consumption. The healers had given up, “We’ve exhausted all the known cures. Her fate is now in the…
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Continue reading →: Facing the Future“I do not know what future you face, my son, but I pray that it be a peaceful one,” remarked the Gwelf. Trillium held her child, fearing the wind might come and pluck it from her arms. “Your father is away at war. When he returns, you will be big…
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Continue reading →: Avoidable“I tell you there is nothing left. The Wisperingwood is destroyed,” said Mavin. “But the estimates put the blast at only seven torkas. That should have only covered an area no larger than the village green,” replied Master Kraven. Mavin had volunteered to scout the blast zone after the experiment.…
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Continue reading →: A Quiet Sit Down“Erasmus, I need to rest. This basket is hurting my arm,” said the forest gnome. Revna placed the wicker basket on the bench, then sat beside it. “Come, boy, and lie down beside me. The ground here is cool, and you can rest your paws a bit as I catch…
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Continue reading →: The Forest Floor“Wilford, do you think it’s coming to eat us?” asked Toby. “I’m not sure. The last time something big came this way, we lost Artie,” replied the Woden. Imagine being small and on the ground out of sight of anything over a foot high. That’s the life of a forest…
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Continue reading →: Yǔshuǐ 雨水Rain Water: It becomes warmer. Snow and ice start melting and snow becomes rain. The Chinese Solar Calendar Book Ying-Chen awoke to the sound of rain tapping against her window. “How wonderful to hear such music which will soon wake the sleeping earth,” the girl said. Today was the beginning…
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Continue reading →: Summoning the Reaper“Soon,” muttered the dying man. Albert Fingerstick was 199 years old and tired of life. Baroque was Albert’s dog, and he never left his side while he was awake. “Good boy,” the man said as he rested his hand on the dog’s head. Albert had no idea that at that…
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Continue reading →: One for Sorrow“I must go for a walk,” Anya blurted out. “Alright, would you like me to go with you?” her husband asked. “No, no, thank you. I need to think, and I don’t want any distractions,” the matron insisted. Outside the house, the air felt cool, offering her a moment of…
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Continue reading →: A Cake Conundrum“This will not do!” cried Ayla. Ayla awoke early to create the perfect cake for her mother’s one hundredth birthday. “Why? Why did the oven have to break today, of all days?” said Ayla. “Is there a problem, dear?” asked her mother from the next room. “No, Mama, nothing I…
Twisted Tales to Delight and Amaze
Christopher Johnson
Christopher is a retired professor of science and medical education and a children’s author living in Taiwan. He has over 30 years of experience working in higher education internationally. Originally from Huron, Ohio, in the United States, he spent his childhood playing in Lake Erie and Sawmill Creek.
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