As you know, I love prompts and am fond of those by Keith Channing. His instructions, “Using this photo as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; and either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithkreates@channing.fr before 6pm on Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here – pingbacks don’t seem to be working, and I haven’t yet figured out why.
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries, with links to your blog or web site, next Monday.”
Here is the photo.
Here boy by John W. Howell © 2016
“I can’t explain it. No one would believe me, so I took a photo.”
“What could be all that difficult to explain that you had to take a picture?”
“Okay, smart guy. let me tell you what I saw and then you be the judge.”
“Sounds like a good idea even though they say a picture is worth a thousand words.”
“No, you wanted to know what was so difficult so here you are. There was this woman dressed in a red parka. One I had never seen before by the way.”
“Okay, go on. Pretty straightforward so far.”
“She had one of those retractable leashes in her hand. It was red as well.”
“I get the picture. Keep going.”
“She had apparently lost sight of her dog as she kept yelling,’Here boy.'”
“I think I would do the same if my dog got away. So what did you do?”
“I went up to her and asked if I could help.”
“You are a gentleman. What did she say?”
“She thanked me and said unless I could fly I would probably not be much help.”
“Fly? What the heck does flying have to do with anything.?”
“I told you it would be strange.”
“So tell me. Why did she ask it you could fly?”
“Because and get this. her dog wasn’t a dog.”
“Wasn’t a dog?”
“Nope she was walking her pet crow on a leash, and it got away. I saw it sitting in a tree and took the photo.”
“Let me see the photo.”
“Tell me that’s not unusual.”
“Okay, it does sound weird. Let me see the photo.”
“Here you go.”
“Get outa here. This picture is, of course, a photo of a woman standing and waiting for her dog.”
“What about the crow in the tree?”
“Trees have birds. So it’s a random bird. It doesn’t even look like a crow.”
“Where’s the dog?”
“How do I know?”
“Told you it was strange.”
“You are strange. You know that?”
“No dog in sight.”
“Here’s your photo. Good luck with that story.”
“Already sold it to the Enquirer.”
“What?”
“Yup. A thousand bucks.”
“You’re going to jail.”
Was it a crow? Or was it, perhaps, an eagle hunting for drones?
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or a drone hunting for eagles?
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Now thereby hangs a tail!
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of two situations
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I look forward to these. Another gem.
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Thanks Craig. Big complement.
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Guess he’s going to be a jailbird now.
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And for a thousand bucks?
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*laughing* That fellow does have a good theory. I bet it was the bird she was after. Or, she was hoping to steal a dog.
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Either way the photo is a fraud.
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True. A fraud.
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For certain.
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Maybe the crow ate the dog.
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That would be a sight.
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You do pay attention to the details! Good story and good photo! And they get paid for writing for the Enquirer.
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Thank you. I guess the writer in me is also the eagle eye (so to speak)
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Love the picture and that crow up there as well. Like how you switched this up. A bird on a leash. Too much. 😀 😀 😀
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Yes. poor thing would have to walk
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A few years ago I was walking the dog and I met this old bloke with a small terrier. He had one of those retracting leashes and we were chatting about dog harnesses (the ones that allegedly stop them pulling on the leash) because I’d just bought Karla one that hooks on under the chin, which pulled her head round to the side if she tried to bolt.
The old guy said he preferred the type that attaches round the chest, then he said (with an amused grin) “And I can do this, watch.”
He then used one of those ball throwers to fling a tennis ball across the park, which the dog took off after like a rocket whilst still hooked to the harness on the retracting leash.
When the little dog had reached top speed, the bloke winked at me and said “Ready?”
He then hit the “lock” button on the leash handle and the dog instantly did a flying back somersault.
It landed back on its feet, picked up the ball and came racing back, with every indication of having enjoyed the entire thing enormously, dropped it back at its owners feet and waited for him to do it again.
It was very funny and the old guy obviously found it hilarious.
I continued our walk and an hour later when we walked past, the terrier was still merrily back-flipping away enthusiastically.
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I guess you had to be there.
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No, I was there of my own accord. ;~}
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Ha ha ha. I will rephrase: In order to appreciate the full humor of the event, I would have to be present to witness the event.
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Walking her pet bird. What a hoot! Hahahahaha!
Here’s a link to my offering: http://wp.me/p5HYzX-dm
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Jail?
What a bummer…
Great job, John!
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Jail never seems to be a good thing. 😀
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