The Goose and Springtime

Spring is late. Winter rages and all the forest animals are freezing and starving to death, so one goose takes it upon itself to travel to the land of Winter and plead with it to end, only to learn that Spring, a young rascal, is late in coming because it's out having fun. The only way to end the long cold winter means sacrifice, as the goose sets off to find Spring.

 
 As the middle of April in Toronto has seen some nasty wintery weather, this reminded me of this story written so long ago and so decided to post it in a few places online.


This fable/fairy tale is now available to read at I'll Tell you a Story. This story first appeared in the Rose and Thorn and was later picked up in 2005 by the Taj Mahal Review. Despite the temptation to edit it, the story has been left in all its glory and with its editorial flaws intact.

Stu and the Stupid Stew

 Stuart, an inquisitive nine-year-old boy, lives in a village full of people so stupid that after falling in love with a delicious stew, the local philosophers come up with the Thought of thoughts: build a gigantic pot, fill it with stew, jump in and live happily ever after.


Only there's a problem: As the villagers stuff their faces, the stew becomes less. If they don’t escape, everyone will be trapped and burned at the bottom of the pot. Before long, the only way to the rim will be to build a human ladder. Stu sets out to warn everyone.


However there’s another problem: the villagers have forgotten they’re in a pot and demand proof - that Stu bring this so-called pot or mythical bottom to them. The philosophers force Stu to go to the bottom in a box where he meets a bizarre character called Archibald, Lord of Soup Sharks with 36 brains, who the philosophers have slanderously called the devil. However, a few begin to believe Stu's legend of the Bottom, calling him a prophet. Then a ridiculous war breaks out between the philosophers, and Stu wonders if they will ever escape in time.


This is an allegorical/satire middle grade silliness. Sample chapters available at  Authonomy.