The Whisper:

Your tale is unfolding nicely. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Rose:

How about giving someone new a chance?

Tickwater came out from behind his tree and went back to the babbling brook and continued to walk along it's bank.

Reaching the safety of the trees, he waved to his friends to come on.

Tickwater watched, wondering if he was somehow in the Twilight Zone. Maybe he was asleep? He wished he hadn't eaten that cheese sandwich just before going to bed the night before. 'ouch' he whispered, as he pinched himself.

and good luck with this board.

James Joyce

born 2nd February 1882


James Dickey

born 2nd February 1923

skipinnz:

5. Guinness sponsored the books, try again.


10. Not what I was looking for, no.

skipinnz:

There was a lot of whispering going on in the ranks as they assembled outside another farmhouse.

Zane(Pearl)Grey dentist and author.

born 31st January 1875

1. Who is the author of the Adrian Mole books?

2. Which Shakespearian character demanded his pound of flesh?
Sherlock, in Merchant of Venice.

3. Who did Anne Hathaway marry?
William Shakespeare.

4. How many people make up Enid Blyton's Famous Five?
4, the fifth was a dog.

5. Who's idea was the Guinness Book of Records?
The McWhirter Brothers, Guinness were sponsors.

6. Which detective do we associate with Captain Hastings?
Hercules Poirot

7. Which novel includes Fagin in it's characters?
Oliver Twist

8. What was the name of Sherlock Holmes' assistant?

Dr Watson

9. What profession is the subject of James Herriot's Books?
Vets

10. What is the connection between James Bond and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

Both were written by Ian Fleming

Tuesday:

Francis

Susan Sontag

born 28th January 1933

Round 2
†Capricorn/plaintiger 197 - 258 [In Progress]
†Mousetrap/whatdidyousay 185 - 363 [In Progress]
HoneyLo/Mary_Jo 202 - 398 [Completed]
Stardust/SandyH 14 - 0 [Forfeit]

A.A.(Alan Alexander) Milne

born 18th January 1882

Sebastian Junger

born 17th January 1962

Anton Pavlovitch Chekhov

born 17th January 1860

skipinnz:
great stuff ~ keep going!

Jack London (John Chaney)

born 12th January 1876

Eriisa:
yw ~ oh and please feel free to add to it if you wish to!

Eriisa:

Slight continuity problem, there. Hopefully fixed to your satisfaction now?

Attracted by the homing device, two nights later, several small shapes hovered in the sky above the farmhouse.

As each came into land in the surrounding gronds, groups of the ant-like aliens began to emerge and they all assembled in the yard outside the backdoor.

Blinking a bit at the brightness of the security light that shone upon them, they listened as the Commander began to talk.

'So far so good, Men,' he said. 'Now we must go forth and begin to take control of the entire area. Let us be on our way.' with that, he lead the way down the main pathway and out of the farm.

Carl August Sandburg

born 6 th January 1878

A week later, the harvesters began their task of picking all the bean. Thousands upon thousands of haricot beens. All were picked and the farmer began selling them in his farm shop as well as distributing them to other outlets.

A few days later, a pile of beens stored in a vegetable rack began to move a little. Cautiously one hndred tiny antlike creatures emerged from their hiding places and climbed down onto the kitchen floor. Stretching their legs and arms after being still for so long, the assembled in a line by a door way.

'OK Men,' said one ' listen up. Surround any life forms and attack.'

Walking down the hall towards a large lounge, they could hear voices and music coming from it. Unnoticed, they entered the room and climbed up the backs of the comfortable chairs. Jumping on the necks of the humans sitting on the chairs, they injected each victim with the poisonous venom as they bit into flesh. Then they sat stared in wonder at the noisy box in the corner of the room. Newver having seen TV before, they were baffled by it. Unsure whether or not to attack the humans they saw inside it, the aliens looked at their leader for instructions.

'Good job, Men' he said.

Just then, the humans in the box were replaced by lines of letters and music.

'These humans do not appear to be a threat to us,'he said. 'Rest now'

Assisted by his two most trusted men, the Commander climbed out of the window and up the wall towards a conveniently plced TV ariel. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a small device which he fixed to the ariel. 'To guide our commrades,' he said to the others, before returning to the lounge once more.

The Brothers Grimm

Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm, born 4th January 1785

William Gaddis

born 29th December 1922

Gradually the flames subsided and the exhausted creatures settled in amongts the walls of beans for the remainder of the night. Only the insects and a few animals knew they were there as they drifted off into a nervous sleep.

Came the dawn, and with it warm sunshine. A helicopter hovered overhead, it's pilot appearing to be searching for something. The aliens hiding amongst the beans kept absolutely still, not wanting to give themselves away. As the helicopter circled the area, two army trucks and a range rover car drove up the wide path way that divided the beans. They stopped and men got out and wandered amongst the beans. As they did so, they picked up little bits of debris from the spaceship, numbering each one as they went along. After an hour or two, they had collected up all the pieces and gathered by the vehicles to discuss what the had so far.

The tiny creatures cowered between the to them huge plants. Smoke and flames were all around them for some distance as their spaceship burned. What were they to do now?

'Quickly men, 'said one. 'pass this along to the others. Each of you climb up a stem and hang on.'
As the order was passed along, each creature did as he or she was told. Struggling to just below the beans, they each managed to settle amongst the leaves and waited. It was dark apart from the light from the flames and the moon and stars in the night sky.



(the only picture I could find Haricot beans)

amandalove:

Thank you. Please add to it if you want to.

A flash in the midnight sky was all that was seen on earth as the spaceship hurtled towards a field of haricot beans growing in peacefullly and crashed into the middle of them. Smoke poured from the shattered vessel as one hundred tiny creatures climbed out and ran away from it as fast as their legs could carry them. With one mighty explosion, followed by several smaller ones, the spacecraft blew into a million pieces, the force of the blast scattering white hot pieces in various directions.

Happy Holidays


to everyone. Stay safe and have fun!

Once outside the Palace, the young Princess smiled at the guards, who, on seeing such a beautiful girl immediately opened the huge gates so that they might talk with her.

Each one asked to be given one of the lovely unfading roses and when they went back to the Palace showed off their prized gifts. The Princess found lodgings nearby and waited.

Upon hearing of the wonderful roses, the plain Princess's mother immediately insisted that they all be given to her, and gave two to her daughter, telling her to offer them to her husband. He took them but refused to believe they came from such swarthy cheeks.

The King, his father, was mortally wounded in a battle, and so the Prince took his place as the rightful heir.


Meanwhile, the beautiful Princess became friendly with the woman who ran the rooms where she lodged, and who also happened to be married to one of the palace guards. The couple's children were saddened because their much-loved pet mule was sick and looked likely to die.

Taking pity on the poor children, the Princess lead the mule around the lodgings grounds and let him feed on the healthy plants and flowers that grew whereever she trod. Soon the mule grew sleek and strong, and was once again the healthy animal the children adored.

The guard (her husband) boasted cheerfully about the maginficent creature his family now owned and soon his bragging reached the ears of the newly crowned King, who demanded to be taken to the place where such a miracle had happened.

'My Lady,' he said to the guard's wife, 'how did you manage to restore this lame beast to such good health?'
The woman told him about the beautiful girl lodging with her family.
'It is my intended and no other!' cried the King.
'lead me to her'

On seeing his lost love walking in the grounds, he hastened to her and took her hand. 'My Princess ~ I had given up all hope of ever seeing you again.' His heart bursting with happiness, he lead the girl away to his Palace, where he gave her the talisman that he had confiscated from his imposter wife.

With the guards standing watch, he sent for the two evil women.

'Let it be known throughout every land that these women are banished from here forever and that should either attempt to return, will incur the death penalty' he proclaimed. ' Let is also be known that this lovely lady is to be my lawful wife and so my Queen.'

Celebrations were hastily arranged, and for forty days and forty nights, the wedding parties were enjoyed by all the people and the King and his Queen lived happily ever after.

The End.

My thanks to Emmett, who showed me this fascinating site :

TodayinLiterature.com

Saki (Hector Hugo Munro)

born 18th December 1870

Jane Austen

born 16th December 1775

Willa Cather

born 7th December 1873

Joseph Conrad

born 3rd December 1857

John Bunyan

born November 1628

hotmommy22:

a real treat, thank you.

It so happened that a poor penniless shepherd wandered the desert, and he came across the now beautiful clearing.

Gasping with wonder at such a wonderous site, he also stared at the beautiful blind girl, who was pitifully crying.
'What are you? and how did you come here?'

'I am an unhappy deserted maiden, left to die by those I should have been able to trust.'

Moved by her, the shepherd got her to sit amongst the flowers and gave her some of the food he carried. He then put up his tent and stood guard while she slept.

The next morning, the Princess said' I wish to thank you, Sir.
Take a sack and gather up all the pearls you want, then bring me a bucket of water. From this day forward you shall no longer be poor.'

When he returned, dipped her head in the bucket of water, turning the liquid into gold. Smiling, she gave the man the roses that appeared, saying:

'Please take these to the city ahead, and seek outthe palace. Offer them to the guard on the gate, instructing him to show them to my aunt. Accept no money for them, only the snuff box containing the two eyes which she keeps.'

The man did as she bade him.

When she saw the amazing red roses, the deceptive aunt immediately gave in to the shepherd's request, for she was anxious to have the blooms to show to her daughter's husband.

On his return to his tent, the shepherd gave the eyes to the Princess, one at a time, who placed them back into their sockets. Her sight restored, she asked her young friend to lead her to the city and leave her outside the palace.

Laurence Stern

born 24th November 1713

George Eliot

born 22 November

Selma Lagerof


born 20th November 1858

It was the custom for the bride-to-be to go to the future husband's land to be married, and also for the bride's Mother not to travel with her, so her eldest aunt agreed to go, takling with her her her own daughter. Forty camels were loaded with gifts for the Prince and his court, and the party set out.

As soon as they were a safe distance away, the aunt replaced the attendants with her own and forbade any servants to go near her niece. After three days with nothing but water served to her, the young Princess was very hungry and so begged for something to eat. When her aunt said she could only have it in return for the talisman arond her neck, the poor girl agreed. But all she got was a dried crust of bread. Two days later, she again begged for more, only to be told she would get nothing unless she gav up her eyes. The poor girl again consented and was given food. But the next night as the caravan halted for the night, she lead the poor blind girl to a clearing and left her there to her fate. The caravan itself proceeded the next morning.

Before arriving at their destination, the aunt counselled her daughter:
'Be sure not to walk in the grounds, smile, cry or smile or we are doomed. '

When the Prince went to meet his fiancee, he was dismayed to find such an illfavoured girl.
He cried angrily 'This is not the girl but another they have sent in her stead!'

But his father was afraid of a war with the other country, which he knew he could not win, so he made the young Prince agree to marry the girl.
Preparations were duly made and the Prince married the imposter Princess.

G. A. Henty


for Jacob4000.

Albert Camus

born 7th November 1913

The double wedding of the two elder Pricesses was a grand affair, celebrated with pomp and ceremony, and the festivities lasted forty days and nights. The following day, the youngest Princess packed a few belongings in a small bag and crept out of the Palace, heading for the local spa, where the lad lived and worked.

She knocked on the door and was admitted.
Face-to-face with the lad, she asked;
'Will you marry me?'
'With all my heart, Princess, for I have long loved you'

The two lovers set off for a neighbouring country where they were not known and wed. The Princess gave her new husband enough money to buy the Spa and the young couple lived happily together in the attached house.

His wife being pregnant, the husband sought a maid to care for her, but the King was still angry with his headstrong daughter, and had forbidden anyone to attend the girl. Since mortal help was refused them, the husband decided to ask the Peris' for help. He spent a few nights at a small alter in the west wing of the Spa, pleading for their assistance.

Soon the Princess's time drew near. The night before her baby was born, three Peris appeared, each beautiful nymph-like women. 'We have come to assist you, my dear, 'said one.
The next night, the baby was born, a beautiful girl. In the morning the Peris' said to the parents: 'this child is also ours and we wish to bestow upon her our most precious gifts.'

The first hung a powerful talisman around the infant's neck, which had the power to preserve her from all ailments. The second gave her the gift of a beautiful smile 'each time she smiles an unfading rose will appear on her cheek'
and the third blessed her tears ' every tear shall become the finest pearl' they then added that the grass on which she walked would become beds of fragrant flowers and the water she bathed in would become liquid gold. They also gave the family a magnificent palace in which to live.

Seeing the gleaming new palace, the King sent for his daughter and her husband, wishing to make amends. He made the young husband a Vizier.

The oldest of the other princesses had long been jealous of her sibling's beauty and so when her time to give birth drew near, she went to the same alter and prayed to the Peris to help her too.

The night her daughter was born, they appeared to her, and assisted, but the girl was so plain that the Peris were not pleased with the baby. They bestowed lesser gifts :
the land on which she trod would become barren, her tears turn to poison, and each time she smiled her ears become those of a mule.

The years passed and the King died, and having been chosen by him, the former Spa~boy became the new King. His daughter became a lovely maiden, loved by all. When she was 17, a neighbouring Prince who had heard of her beauty and magical gifts came to woo the girl to be his bride. His father said he would agree to such a pairng but only if the prince brought him one of the unfading roses from the cheeks of the Princess in question.
Disguised as a dancing dervish, the young prince went to visit the country where the maiden lived. Loitering about the gates, he waited til he saw a beautiful girl walking in the grounds. Instantly, he began juggling and dancing for all he was worth. Seeing the handsome person, she watched with delight. At the end of his performance, she gave him one of the roses and he went back home to his father with his prize.
Immediately upon seeing the rose, the King sent his finest ambassadors to arrange terms with the neightbouring King so that the two young people might be wed.

Eden Phillpotts

born 4th November 1862

The three Princesses took their water melons and headed towards the veranda.

The first presented her melon to her father, but as he began to cut it open he exclaimed:
'this melon is shrivelled and yelow and fit for nothing'
and he threw the melon onto the ground below the veranda.
'Bring me a melon I can eat.'
As she left, she said' Shrivelled and fit for nothing am I becoming, and I not yet wed.'

She sent in her younger sister. This too was over ripe, being green and juice less and insipid when he cut it open.
'This too is over ripe' and flung that too onto the ground below.
'Bring me a melon I can eat!' he shouted angrily.
'I too am over ripe, and me not yet wed, Father' said the Princess as she left.

The youngest of thje three Princesses came and cut open her water melon. This time it was pink and juicy, and her father was at last able to enjoy his melon.
'This melon is in prime condition,' he said happily.
'As I am, Father, and I ought to be married.'

Later that day the King sat down at the dinner table and said:
'You are a parcel of hussies. Very well, you shall be married and what is more, you shall choose your own husbands.'

The heralds were summoned and the King bade them announce throughout the land that the Princesses would be given in marriage to whomever they chose.

A few days later, a crowd of suitors filled the court yard. The Princesses came out onto the varanda and looked down upon them. Each had a golden ball in her hand. The first threw her ball at the son of the gand Vizier. The second at the son of the Lord Chamerlain, whom she had long loved in secret. The third caught sight of a handsome but poorly dressed youth sitting to one side and threw her ball at him.
'No ~ he won't do! throw again!'
But agin she threw her ball at the youth.
'Such a son-in-law I will never accept' roared the King. 'Choose again'
This time although the Princess threw hers in a different direction, the youth had wanderdd towards the other side of the crowd, and again the ball struck him.
'I will not agree to such a marriage'
'You gave me leave to choose for myself, and that I have done. I will wed without your blessing' said the obstinate Princess, and went to her chamber.



(this is a story tag, please be sure to click 'reply' to ensure continuity.)

Stephen Crane

Born 1st November 1871

Once upon a time, and in a far away country, there lived a King who had three daughters. All were grown up, but their father was so fond of them that he could not bear to be parted from any of them, and so, when visiting princes came from other lands to ask the princesses in marriage, the sent them away, one after another.

The royal maidens were by no means content to remain thus unwed year after year, and so when one particularly handsome prince had also been sent away, they sent for their tutor for advice.

The tutor listened to their complaints: ' I will advise you what to do' he said to them. He went down the garden and presently returned with three enormous water melons. Giving one to each, he said' The King is now sitting alone on the Palace veranda, and has ordered a water melon to be brought to him. Each of you take one to him, and I am sure your natural resourcefulness will guide you as to how to proceed.'


(this is a story tag, please be sure to click 'reply' to ensure continuity.)