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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#41: Fuzzy Friends (or Foes?)

Hey, writers! I'm Tracy Gold, an editor, writer, and mom to a toddler, horse, and dog. And this week, I'm taking over Reedsy Prompts!

As an editor, I've enjoyed working on young adult fiction (like Amanda Searcy's Watch You Burn), non-fiction (like Gary Vikan's The Holy Shroud), and sci-fi/fantasy (like Nikki Richard's Demon in the Whitelands). Visit my Reedsy profile to learn more about me and my work!

My theme for this week is "fuzzy friends." From Hedwig in the Harry Potter series to Enzo in the The Art of Racing in the Rain, nothing captures hearts like a beloved animal. Animals can be powerful antagonists, too: just look at Jurassic Park! Perhaps what I love most about books featuring fuzzy friends (or foes) is that they mine the depths of the human heart by exploring how we interact with animals. I hope these prompts help you sniff out a good story!

This week's prompts

Write about an animal who changes a person's life (for better or worse).

Kids – 232 stories

Write about an animal species that doesn't exist in real life — an alien, new discovery, imaginary creature — it's up to your interpretation!

Middle School – 145 stories

Write about an animal who goes on a journey.

Kids – 69 stories

Write a story featuring an animal who subverts expectations (like a snuggly tiger, or something more magical, like a literal fish out of water).

Kids – 69 stories

Write about an animal who causes a huge problem.

Middle School – 99 stories

Stories

“Ants from Space” by Bruno Lowagie

Submitted to Contest #41

“How much is this spaceship?” Arnold asked the man behind the counter.“Doesn’t it have a price tag?” The man asked.“If it has, I can’t find it,” Arnold said.“Let me take a look at it.”The man behind the counter took the toy from the boy and examined it closely. He didn’t remember ever seeing the object in the toy store, nor in any catalog from which he ordered his merchandise.He pretended checking his computer, and then lied: “Ah, now I see! It’s an item from our old stock. We don’t sell those anymore. You can have it for the bargain price o...

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“Super Rat” by Joseph Ahart

Submitted to Contest #41

Nobel Peace Prize winners Dr. Holloway and Dr. Miller were surprised to see an empty tank when they walked into the experimentation lab. What had once been a maze inside of it was now a haphazard pile of little walls and smeared cheese. "Dr. Miller?""Yes, Dr. Holloway?"Holloway cleared her throat. "You, um, didn't let the super-rat go, did you?""No, I did not." He took a deep breath, as prescribed by his therapist. "Did you?""Nope." Holloway watched her colleague's breaths shortening. The clipboard she was holding was slowly slipping th...

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“In the Eyes of a Dog ” by Maddie S

Submitted to Contest #41

I yawned and gave a big stretch. I wished I could sleep in the living room again, but I knew my human needed me. My human moved to much in her sleep for me to sleep soundly, but I knew I needed to sleep beside her in case she woke up from another nightmare. The nightmares started right after that man stopped coming around. The man had been coming around for almost two years when suddenly he stopped coming. I didn’t miss the man, he took my human’s attention away from me, but my human seemed to miss him. “Good morning Buster.” My human said t...

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“Goose” by Mike Ox

Submitted to Contest #41

Gooses are fucking stupid cunts who deserve to die. They are arrogant as fuck, because they can swim, fly, and walk and they chase after me when I'm minding my own god damned business. Like, seriously? I don't have a car and I'm having to walk to campus when it's snowing like fucking Canada (btw fuck Canada, pussy ass polite cunts!); do I deserve this too? I've often fantasized about snapping their cunty little necks but I've managed to hold my temper. Fuck this competition, I just needed to vent. Seriously, a minimum word limit? What do I l...

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“Transitions” by M Solarova

Submitted to Contest #41

I open the door to my apartment and walk in, dragging two huge bags of cat litter over the doorstep. My mom is right behind me, she sets the crate down in the living room of my one-bedroom walk-up. The cat inside meows in disapproval and pushes its head into the grill of the door. “Let’s go get the rest,” I say hastily, afraid to have a quiet moment alone with Mom, event though I deeply desire one and need it. Three trips later, we’re both out of breath and sweating but we finally got everything up. And they tell you cats are easy. “Wa...

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“She Dreams of Toads” by Tracy Felder

Submitted to Contest #41

It started as a prank. Lena stood on the conjoined back patio of her duplex and stifled a giggle as she dumped bag after bag of crickets on her neighbor's back doorstep. The crickets leapt and scurried in every direction, clinging to any surface they touched. "This should get his attention!" She muttered to herself with intense satisfaction. Lena, by all accounts, had the social skills of a wet sock. Nick moved into the unit next to hers at the start of the Fall semester, and she fell in love in...

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“The Littlest Carpleifee” by Raven Car

Submitted to Contest #41

We all know that fairytales don’t really happen, and that magic is for children and fools. But there are places in the hidden spots of this world where magic lives. One of these places is the Great Forest of Trambonio. And it was in this forest that there lived a little Carpleifee called Mimsy. (For those of you that haven’t ever seen a Carpleifee is a beautiful creature with soft fur that can be any color, a round face, huge eyes, a tiny pink nose, long with whiskers, a bushy tail sort of like that of a fox, rounded ears, tiny hands th...

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“Squirrels In The Attic” by Patricia Zimmerman

Submitted to Contest #41

Squirrels In The Attic A family of squirrels live in an attic, in a new apartment. This new apartment is rented by a lady named Dotty. Dotty is not aware at first of the Squirrel family living in the crawl space of the attic. Later in time, she will hear them and know all that they have done! There is a crawl space,in the attic of this apartment building and in it, lives a family of squirrels. The Daddy Squirrel’s name is Earl, the Mother Squirrel’s name is Elain...

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“Bert” by Alexander DiStefano

Submitted to Contest #41

For the woman, it was an instant match. The man was less sure. “He’s a little weird-looking…” “I know! It’s adorable!” “What kind of dog did you say he was again?” “Not a dog,” the woman who ran the shelter said, “an Andrewsarchus. Like a cross between a warthog and a wolf, with a little bit of whale thrown in for good measure. I should warn you they grow up pretty fast. Are you sure you have the space for him?” “Yes, I think we do. Big backyard, lots of space to run around.” “Honey, you’re sure this is the one you want?” “Absolutely.” “...

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“His Black Umbrella” by Imogen Bird

Submitted to Contest #41

As was his normal Tuesday morning inner monologue, Gareth started wondering if he really could stretch his wage to allow himself a tiny crash pad in the city. Splashing his way down the narrow path between the railway tracks and the blocky warehouses he fantasied about how much he wouldn't miss this depressing fifteen minute walk to the station, or the condensation dripping down the windows on the packed commuter train he was heading towards. A man in a much more expensive suit than Gareth's barged past and stabbed him in the head with the p...

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“Tails from Ibbetson St.” by E. Christian

Submitted to Contest #41

When I was 22 years old and a new college graduate, broke and working a mindless job while I tried to figure out what it was that I was going to do with the rest of my life, I lived with three roommates in a falling-down triple-decker apartment building at the top of a hill and had adventures. We moved in the week after college graduation and found that the previous tenants, all graduating law students, had left most of their furniture behind. We were pleasantly surprised; after four years of campus living, none of us had any furn...

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“My Roomate from Space” by Raven B. Evolet

Submitted to Contest #41

I remember it was a Tuesday morning. I was getting ready for school, my window open to let the breeze cool my apartment down from the humidity. I heard a couple clanking and from the kitchen, but assumed it was my cat, Star.Even though it was summer I felt cold air on my back. I shivered. Was there a breeze? I looked at the trees. They were still. I looked behind me and froze. Figuratively.A girl was sitting on my table. But she looked so weird and almost...angelic. Her hair was blue. Like an icy bright blue. Her eyes were a fleshy pink, the...

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“The White Whale” by Stephanie M.

Submitted to Contest #41

Weightless white crystals floated through the frosty autumn air turning the bright orange and yellow scenery white with snow. Bucket fumbled for his now lifeless candle as he gazed up at the falling snow. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and he found himself alone. The snow still fell in flowing sheets of white ice but there was now no light. “Sonso?” Bucket cried for his older brother into biting cold air; there was no answer. Bucket got to his feet and realized he had no idea where he was. He noticed his freezing hands, pink nose...

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“Kelpie” by Blane Britt

Submitted to Contest #41

I really enjoy looking forward each week of the prompts that are suggested to write about. It has helped me immensely in my short story writing development. One week I was so baffled that I couldn’t relate to any of the subject matter so I didn’t write anything. If anyone outside of whomever chose the prompt to write something about subvert expectations this week and knows what it means. I’ll wear my Yankee ball cap backwards on my head for a week. Wearing your San Diego Padre baseball cap backward will not help you get a girlfriend. Wearing...

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“The Mouse and the Wolf” by David Jernigan

Submitted to Contest #41

“Where did you get that scar?” The Little Mouse squeaked her words out in a high pitched voice and grating tone that insulted the ears of the Old Wolf. The two of them padded along on the soft grass and heard the gurgling of the brook just to their left. An autumn breeze blew the chill afternoon air that portended a crisp night and possible snow. In the coming weeks, shelter would become difficult to find and food, scarce. He had felt his undercoat grow dense these past few weeks, and the Old Wolf was of the age when he was no longer su...

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$50

Prize money

614

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 15, 2020 EST

Won by Jack Basson 🏆

Title: A Cat of Ganymede

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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