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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write from the POV of a fairy tale character sharing their side of the story.

Posted in Short Story on Nov 15, 2024

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 110 stories

“The Lost Children” by Grace Ann Brown

Submitted to Contest #277

The woods got lonely in the winter. The tree branches, usually dripping with greenery, were stark and black against the night sky. The life that the forest was usually teeming with was tucked away for the winter. The squirrels that liked to tap dance on my roof were in an acorn-induced food coma. Even the mice that I usually swatted away with my broom had sought shelter for the long, cold nights. It was just me, alone, in my cabin. I was making myself soup when Laura called. "Hello, dear!" I squealed into the phone. My daughter rarely call...

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“The Big Bad Wolf” by Dita Dow

Submitted to Contest #277

It’s always the same. Folks hear “wolf,” and their minds conjure fangs and fury. Big, bad, savage. No one ever asks why I do what I do. No one cares about the facts.  That’s fine. Facts don’t matter to most people. But they matter to me.  This is my side. ***I found the first pig in a meadow, not far from the edge of the woods. A pathetic excuse for a house sat in the clearing—a pile of straw barely held together by a breeze. I crouched in the brush, stomach growling loud enough to shame me. It had been days since my last mea...

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“The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace” by Perseus Patroclus

Submitted to Contest #277

When the prayers came to me, I wasn't fazed. I knew what had to be done. I watched as Sarah, rumored the most beautiful woman in the world, was whisked into the arms of the spiteful and cruel pharaoh. Abraham fumed silently under the ruse of her brother, wise enough to avoid confronting the king. I could see his thoughts, the deep regret of putting her in a box (a fairly stupid and misogynistic idea) and trying to get through customs with said case. No amount of money he offered could stop the security guards from opening the lid to see a st...

4 comments 4
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“Hard-Boiled” by Anthony Andrés

Submitted to Contest #277

Samuel Bogart wondered how many pints of ale he would need in order to forget. He knew it was more than eight. "Another one," Sam grunted to the elderly barkeep, who refused to comply unless his old eyes saw the money in advance. As Samuel reached into his pocket for the coins, his hand brushed upon a smooth, white fragment he stole from the crime scene. He knew his actions were against protocol, but he didn't care. The fragment was another reminder that life was no fairy tale.He came to Farrago Kingdom with a belief in second chances and th...

9 comments 9
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“The Price” by Janet Lorimer

Submitted to Contest #277

THE PRICEBy Janet Lorimer    I had no name.     Sometimes I would stand in front of the mirror and stare at my image, my long straight hair the color of ripe wheat and my pale green eyes. I would softly ask the girl in the mirror, “Who are you?”      Up until I was six or seven, there were only two things I wanted: To be a princess and to have a name.     Sometimes I made up pretend names for myself, like Princess Rose or Princess Butterfly.&n...

1 comment 1
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“BLUEBEARD'S LAST WIFE” by Coral Jordan

Submitted to Contest #277

BLUEBEARD’S LAST WIFE          It is true. The beard, the prodigious wealth, bartering for a bride, the key…even the cupboard I was not to open.         Na Cealla Beaga means little cells. The townspeople say it is for the monks in their beehive cells outside the walls.  Others swear it is for the caves dotting the cliffs hanging above the frenetic ocean waves.  Wise women ofNa Cealla Beaga know the cells are the endless rooms in the manor of ...

3 comments 3
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“What Time is it, Mr Wolf?” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #277

No one likes a winner. It has always been, and always will be about the underdog. That and the happy ending. They all lived happily ever after! Cut! That’s a wrap! Well done everyone!  Ever wonder what happens after that? No, of course you haven’t. Nobody ever does. Why? Because we just don’t care. We settle for less. We stop when the music stops. Sad statues of lost meaning with no prospect of the music ever starting again. In the end, which is not even our end, we settle for nothing and we walk away with the illusion of happ...

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“Cinder Bestseller ” by Ellen Neuborne

Submitted to Contest #277

"At night when she was tired, there was no bed for her to sleep in, but she had to lie down next to the hearth in the ashes."–Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Kinder- und Hausmärchen, 1st ed. (Berlin, 1812), v. 1, no. 21. Translated by D. L. Ashliman. FRENCH: Thanks for joining us at the Read More Books Podcast. I'm Walter French and I’m thrilled to have Eleanor Ashford, author of the best-selling novel Ugly Inside Out, as my guest. Eleanor’s novel is a paranormal comedy based loosely on the author’s own experiences growing up in a dysfunctional fa...

1 comment 1
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“The confession of a dark magician” by Atan Solp

Submitted to Contest #277

“I walked through the gusty wind and the bitter cold, and now I have climbed to the very top of your highest Dark Tower, so that…” A well-groomed handsome man in shining armor selflessly described his path, gesticulated, and sprayed saliva in all directions. He sometimes shook his head to remove his golden bangs from his eyes with an elegant wave. The youth squinted his huge blue eyes, pursed his swollen pink lips into a bow, and walked back and forth on the stone floor, describing all his exploits in his short life. It was funny to look at ...

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“Snowman” by Ed Wooten

Submitted to Contest #277

SNOWMANED WOOTEN     Hello, my name’s Burt, but my friends call me Burr. You’ve seen my image on numerous Christmas cards. You know, the one’s with glistening snow in front of a cabin with smoke coming from its chimney, a celestial sphere in the night sky, and of course, me…a snowman. That’s me to the right in this nostalgic Christmas card that you can find in most Hallmark Stores.      Please pause now and “oohhh and aahhh” about the card’s picturesque image before I bust your nostalgic...

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“Chasing the Hook” by M.K. Taylor

Submitted to Contest #277

I am the crocodile of Neverland. Not many remember me, and perhaps it’s better that way. I exist in the shadows, unnoticed, until the ticking begins. The never-ending infuriating fucking ticking.  It wasn’t always like this. I was a man, a sailor, a wanderer who traveled far and wide across the seas, seeking adventure, and riches. Like all things in Neverland, it seems my fate was written long before I had any say in the matter.  As the storm falls behind and my ship settles in the Neverseas, the silence is deafening. The waves, on...

1 comment 1
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“Knowledge of the Magic Mirror” by Vadim Albukh

Submitted to Contest #277

         The mirror on the wall hangs in storage the one that always gave advice to the evil queen. He finds his life extremely boring but it really isn't that much of A change. All the evil queen ever really asked him was who was the most beautiful in all the land. Every now and then he gave her a different answer so she got rid of them until she was the most beautiful. But that snow-white girl managed to get rid of her for once. The mirror was hoping that Snow White would have a bit of A use for...

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“Ursula, the Sea Witch” by Roxana Enculescu

Submitted to Contest #277

This is my story, the story of how I became what I am today, the story of how my birthright was stolen by my brother, the story of Ursula, the sea witch.A long, long time ago I lived in Atlantica with my brother, Triton. Yes, yes, the very same... King Triton. (she makes an exasperated and dramatic face) Back then I was a mermaid as well, young, beautiful with a shimmering purple tail and a sharp wit, that's why our father, Poseidon, loved me so much, and always promised me half the kingdom when he'd no longer be willing to rule.My troubles ...

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“Wickedly Sweet” by Amanda Stogsdill

Submitted to Contest #277

Warning- this story contains mild violence.Wickedly SweetThree children sat on the couch with their babysitter. They'd been given chores, but weren’t listening. The babysitter had an idea.It’s about a wolf and a little girl.” She started.“We know that one!” Rita said, rolling her eyes.“I want to watch TV.” Brian shouted.“I want to go to a friend’s.” Casey yelled over his brother. Only Rita was sitting, glued to her phone.Removing the phone, the babysitter said loudly, “If you don’t like my story, we’ll decide on something else.” The baby-sit...

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“The Hare's Lament” by Laura Ethington

Submitted to Contest #277

The table stretched long and uneven beneath the twisted canopy of the Mad Hatter's garden, covered in teapots and stacked like lopsided towers, mismatched cups, and crumbs from cakes no one bothered to finish or clean up. Laughter rang through the air; each clinking of glass made his eye twitch. The March Hare was singing at the top of their lungs, off-key, he noted. Somewhere down at the end of the table, the Dormouse was drunkenly recounting a story no one understood while the Hatter himself twirled a spoon while looking dreamy-eyed at all...

2 comments 2
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Contest #277

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This week's theme: Something Wicked This Way Comes

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Ended on 23:59 - Nov 22, 2024 EST

Won by Troy Phillips 🏆

Title: The Three Little Pigs Incident: A Building Inspector’s Report

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