Flash Fairy Tales
Edited by Brandie Minchew
This column combines two literary traditions, the fairy tale and flash fiction. Flash fiction is an unusually short story form, usually at least under 1,000 words, and often under 500. Flash fiction can be a demanding format to work in, but its size makes it wonderfully useful for publishing. These flash stories will all be fairy tale or children story retellings, and would probably be best appreciated if readers are familiar with the original tales behind the retelling. Of course, with so many cultural traditions among the members of Elfwood, this is not always possible, and so is not a requirement.
We'd love to see your stories -- be sure to take a look at the submissions guidelines below before sending anything in.
(After) The Elves and the Shoemaker
by Danielle Coombs
"It’s closing time mate," said the barman sympathetically. "Need a hand to the door?"
"I resent the ipli-impli-pli - I resent it!"
The barman sighed. He could do without this. And usually it was the goblins that caused this kind of trouble, not elves. A cheerful bunch, them, as a rule. And the barman himself, being only a knife high fairy, wasn’t going to be able to force the knee high elf to leave.
"It’s not diff’cult, is it?" said the elf wildly, looking in the direction of the barman, but not really seeing him. He sat up straighter in drunken indignation, and nearly cracked his curly brown head on the ceiling. The pub wasn’t exactly designed for creatures of his height. "I mean, really. Don’t look, s’all. S’not as if we’re partic’ly in’trestin’ anyway. Makin’ shoes, s’all. But no." He drew a deep, indignant breath.
"You got fired," the barman surmised.
"Too right. Can’t keep a job these days. Ain’t what it used to be. Ev’ryone needin’ ‘proof’, gotta see the little folk at work. You tell ‘em to keep away, an’ they organize a bloomin’ faywatchin’ trip, binoculars and all."
"I know how you feel," commiserated the barman. He decided to humour the elf until he could find some way of ejecting him without getting an inebriated foot on the head. "Getting fired was how I ended up here. I used to be part of the luring squad. We were leading away a six year old when wham! down comes a bloody great net and I’m shoved in a jam jar. Took ages for the bureaucracy to get me out of it, and my nerves were shot to pieces. I got compensation, you know, extra allowance of fairy dust, but a disability pension only goes so far."
The elf gave a vigorous nod of agreement.
"’Zacly. S’happenin’ everywhere." He put his head in his hands. "Was jus’ makin’ shoes," he mumbled. "’S a traditional occu-occu - job. S’all gone to pot."
"Mmm," said the barman, giving in and pressing the small panic button under the counter. "And I hate to tell you mate, but your day is about to worsen."
The elf looked up blearily, and his bloodshot eyes widened as in barged a pair of dwarves.
"Hey!" he yelled indignantly as they began to haul him off. "You can’t do this! I’m a reshpeckable shoemaker! My human sh’maker sold shoes t’the queen!"
"Save it for the missus," growled one of the dwarves.
The barman turned back to the counter.
"Poor blighter," he observed to no one in particular. "But it’s not like it used to be." Retrieving a mop from the corner, he began to clean the floor.
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Brandie Minchew is a starry-eyed believer in fairy tales, world peace, and justice for all.
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Submission Information
Flash Fairy Tales are retellings of classic fairy tales or beloved children's stories.
There are a few guidelines to remember for submissions:
* 1000 words or less
* Fairy Tale Retellings or Reimaginings
*In the email that you submit, please include the name of the original fairy tale on which your story is based.
* Stories should be proofread and edited before they are submited. Stories with lots of errors simply will be rejected.
* Woodworks retains first publication rights. This means your story should not appear on your shelf, on your website, or anywhere else until we've either accepted and published it or rejected it, or four months have gone by from your original submission without a reply.
* If your story is accepted and published, we'd like to ask that you wait until next month's publication before having the story appear somewhere else.
* Stories can be sent in at any time. However, only stories received before the first of the month will be considered for publication in that month's issue.
Send submissions to
. Questions can be directed to our contact form. |
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This web page is part of a hosted copy of the WoodWorks eZine at Elfwood. (#163)
