Shorty's Story

Ducks at Beacon Hill Children's Farm 2014

Writer’s group on Friday afternoon had a ten minute writing assignment. A small group of seven, our host offered each of us a lovely green pottery bowl filled with bits of paper. We pulled two words. In ten minutes, write a story to join the disparate words. My words, Farm and Puppy, were pretty easy, but ‘garbage and tulips’? Fun, a tear or two and memoir were penned while the timer ticked. Here is my ten minute story. Make sure I’ve used both words! 

Shorty's Story

“He had floppy ears. His left eye was blue with a big black patch around it.  Otherwise he was as white as snow. Shorty was his name because his legs were just too short. But because he was a puppy with big feet, he hoped to grow up to be tall and handsome. Shorty had three sisters and two brothers. They were born in the barn in the big hay mow. Once they were big enough and strong enough, his mom took the whole family around the farm to see all the interesting things that would become his playground. Old tires, chickens to chase, and a pond for the ducks and for the puppies to swim in. As he grew up, Shorty did get taller. So much so that his name didn’t seem to fit anymore. Each one of his brothers and sisters were taken away. Mom said they had been adopted. For a long time, Shorty missed them. He had no one to play with. It was much more fun to chase chickens and ducks with someone else.  He also felt neglected and left out, sure that he had not been picked because of his one blue eye. Then Farmer John began taking him hunting and showing him a bigger world than just the farm. He had been given a special place on the farm. He was also the protector for all the farm. Anyone that came in the yard would be checked out by Shorty first - sometimes before they could even get out of the car! But Farmer John would tell him who was ok and who wasn’t. Shorty would lie down on the front porch and snooze until he heard sounds that didn’t belong on the farm. Shorty had started out a cute, short funny looking puppy and ended up guarding their little farm world.”

“I suppose there will never be a lack of things to say, 

of stories to be told and shared.”

~ Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

Author's note: Looks like I didn't use the two words: 'garbage and tulips'!!