Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Wood Sprite


Every afternoon almost without fail, Samantha would run into the forest to meet Clarence the wood sprite and the two would play for hours until Samantha had to go home for dinner.

Samantha would try to talk to her parents about Clarence but they didn't believe in wood sprites, and so Samantha gradually stopped talking to them about him.

One afternoon Samantha ran into the forest and found Clarence crying.

"Why do you cry, Clarence," said Samantha

"I must go away, my precious Samantha," cried the wood sprite.

"But why?" asked Samantha.

"Because you have grown older," replied Clarence, "and soon you will no longer believe in me."

With that Samantha fed Clarence into the wood chipper.

"You moron!" she snarled. "I'm  37 years old!  I'm so gullible I could have played with you forever!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's nothing like a charming fairy tale to bring a special feeling to your heart, but it's likely this fairy tale will bring a special feeling to your stomach much more readily than your heart. 

This is my weekly Friday Fictioneers offering based on the prompt that Rochelle Wisoff Fields is now offering so early in the week that anymore we're likely to get the prompt before the Friday before the Friday for which the prompt is for!  Anyway just say "I believe in the Friday Fictioneers," click on them here, and you will have each and every one of their weekly stories, no matter what the grown-ups believe.

BTW, just to close the loop, Samantha is doing hard time now for wood chipping Clarence. In my fairy tales, there is always justice!

52 comments:

Ruth said...

Well that was abrupt! Silly Sprite! Love the story.

Russell said...

I believe, Perry, I believe! I must be related to Samantha since I'm so gullible and immature.

Perry Block said...

Yeah, Clarence is an idiot all right. Glad they caught up with Samantha though. Thanks!

Perry Block said...

Yes, but at least you're cute ...

Anonymous said...

Oh, Samantha, someone should have taught you, never shred your imaginary lover!!!

Lewis Cave said...

Harsh man… I can honestly say I was not expecting that. Thanks for the laugh.

Perry Block said...

Boy, calling him her lover adds another dimension to this I never thought of. Thank you, Jan!

Perry Block said...

Thank you, glad you laughed. I've gone through a lot of changes with this one, I was just about to make the wood sprite a Hell's Angel ...

scribblywriterly said...

the hell's angel version would have been funny, too, i expect. i love this on. real funny

Perry Block said...

Thank you. Originally Samantha was a little girl who puts Clarence through the wood chipper because she's naive and gullible and he's ruined it all for her. And also a Hell's Angel.

Anonymous said...

Hahahahaha! A thousand garden gnomes must have just now read this and shuddered! Hilarious!

Anonymous said...

There's some great dark humor to brighten my day. :) Clarence had a great thing going until he ruined it. Either that, or he was just trying to make an excuse to get away from her, finally.

Sandra Crook said...

Puff the Magic Dragon with a savage twist... I don't know how you do this week after week. :)

Anonymous said...

he broke up with a 37-year old woman who still plays with a wood sprite. what did he expect? :) that was brutal, Perry lol nice dark humor

Anonymous said...

Ummmmm... another POV.. may be their time units were different.. what Clarence felt as 10 yrs was actually 40 yrs for Samantha! :)

janet said...

I'm still laugh at the ending, Perry, and worrying what that might say about me.

janet

Perry Block said...

I don't know either, but I wish someone would stop me!

Perry Block said...

I think Clarence was just as naive as Samantha except a hell of a lot nicer. Hope he liked splintering off in new directions ...

Perry Block said...

Originally I has Samantha as a little girl who was so naive she would believe in Clarence until she was 37, but I thought it lacked a little punch. She still put him through the wood chipper though. That's a constant.

Perry Block said...

They are all now crossing themselves, even the ones who are Jewish.

Dawn Q. said...

Oh no she didn't! grr.

Perry Block said...

No, not that. Clarence was as naive as Samantha, and Samantha was a wood chipper murderous. Deeper than that, I don't get!

Perry Block said...

Janet, I can't think of anything bad to say about you ... except your politics, of course.

Perry Block said...

She's 37 years old and believes in wood sprites. She's capable of anything!

P.S. Joshi said...

Another hilarious story. I wonder if her parents knew but were just in denial. It would be pretty hard to accept that your 37-year-old daughter still plays with a wood sprite. I wonder what the neighbors thought. They must be relieved she's now locked up. She was a terrible example for the neighborhood children.

Anonymous said...

I laughed out loud at the ending, great twist Perry

Perry Block said...

Thank you from one who is 40 for the first time! That is I skipped over it the first time on my way to 60, I'm gonna go back and pick it up now.

Perry Block said...

I'd rather my 37 year old daughter play with a wood sprite than most of the guys out there. Not that I have a daughter. And not that I don't desperately wish I were one of the guys out there. Thanks for writing!

Anonymous said...

You made me laugh! Fabulous :)

Perry Block said...

Then my job is done. Gonna ride off into the sunset ...

Anonymous said...

Hi Perry,
A really chipper story! Never refer to a woman's age, or weight, or warts. This one was a delightful story until it took that nasty turn. Ron

Perry Block said...

I guess I just don't do delightful so well. Thanks, Ron!

Anonymous said...

Oh dear - hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! Great tale!

Anonymous said...

No!! She must have looked really good. You surprised me again, Perry. As always, you make me laugh. I love sprites of all kinds.

Atreyee said...

Clarence was ready for clearance,eh?But then if he had been true to his sprite spirit,Samantha would have paid long back and he could be chipped forever ;-) Glad to note that your fairy tales are very fair Perry and that Samantha got wood chucked too :D Enjoyed this-am still laughing,lol!

liz young said...

Ouch! But then if someone addressed me in such saccharine tones I'd probably chip him too!

Rochelle Wisoff-Fields said...

Dear Perry,

"Painted wings and giant strings make way for other toys...one gray night it happened..." Sorry couldn't help myself. I went right there with Sandra. Samantha and I must have the same motto: Growing older is inevitable. Growing up is optional.
Fun story...a little meshuggeneh..but fun.

Shalom,

Rochelle

Anonymous said...

I'm clapping my hands right now in the dull hope that I can bring Clarence back to life.

Perry Block said...

Especially one who has a wood chipper nearby! Thanks.

Perry Block said...

I hope you like deceased sprites too, Amy. And I hope Samantha looked as good after she got out of the slammer too.

Perry Block said...

Clarence for clearance? I like that! Glad you're still laughing, but that's enough now.

Perry Block said...

Remember, he dashed all her beliefs in one careless statement. Although you'd think he'd have noticed long ago she was over 30.

Perry Block said...

Yes, but it's the growing older part that sucks! Get me around that one! Thanks, Rochelle.

Perry Block said...

Hope you got lots of Crazy Glue.

Anonymous said...

Oh my Perry, is this what they call dark humor?

Perry Block said...

No, this is dark chocolate. Take a bite!

Anonymous said...

Perry, Perry, she is certifiable and certainly insane. So what does that make the writer of this piece? Ha ha, just kidding - it is really, really good and I mean it! Very believable! Nan :)

Perry Block said...

Believe me, Nan, you haven't questioned the writer of this piece anywhere near as much as he does himself. Anyway thanks for liking the piece and finding it believable ....wait, believable?!

JudahFirst said...

hehehe, nice. You definitely captured the dark side of fairy tales with this little ditty!

Perry Block said...

Maybe a little dark. I heard it tickles to be wood chipped, otherwise not so bad!

Joanna (Lazuli Portals) said...

I believe! And I thought this was great, Perry. I'm glad Samantha got her just desserts. ;)

Anonymous said...

I must have the pre-edited version in my email, the last line was worded a little differently. It has taken me a few minutes to recover enough to leave a comment. I now know how to get a beverage to spew from my nose. This is why I keep you around! LOL