My assignment for Round 2 was Fairy Tale, the setting was a Roadside stand, and the story must include a bat.
========================================================
Synopsis: Stopping by a roadside stand seemed a perfectly ordinary activity, but Mrs. Ingram never imagined what might happen when she decided to indulge her desire to buy some apples.
========================================================
One day, Mrs. Ingram decided to stop at a roadside stand to buy fruit. Gold and red apples gleaming in bushel baskets had caught her eye. A note said the seller would return in five minutes, so she sat on a wooden crate to wait.
“Once upon a time…” a tiny voice said.
“Who’s speaking?” Mrs. Ingram asked, looking around.
“There was a farmer with three daughters,” said the voice.
Mrs. Ingram looked up and saw a brown bat hanging from the rafters.
“When the harvest was complete, the farmer called his oldest daughter out of the fields,” the brown bat said.
Mrs. Ingram’s mouth gaped open.
The bat continued speaking. “Prima, her father said, drive the cart to the city. I’ve loaded it with vegetables worth five silver coins. Don’t worry Papa, she told him, I won’t take less.”
Mrs. Ingram was a mature woman and had seen many things in her life but never a talking bat.
“There was a witch named Vaincilla living in a house on the road to the city. Vaincilla was always boasting of her great magical powers, although no one had ever seen her do any magic.”
Mrs. Ingram suspected this whole experience was a hallucination, but she was finding the story interesting and continued to listen.
“When Vaincilla saw Prima driving past she called out to her. Prima explained that she was on her way to the city to sell vegetables. Vaincilla asked how much she expected to get. Five silver coins, Prima replied. The witch offered ten copper coins for the produce. Ten is better than five, Prima thought, so she sold the produce to Vaincilla and went home.”
Mrs. Ingram shook her head.
“The farmer was angry. A silver is worth ten coppers, you foolish girl, he yelled. Now we are short four silvers for our taxes. He sent her to scrub the kitchen floor.” The bat spread his wings and waved them gently.
“So he called his second daughter out of the fields. Secunda, her father said, drive the cart to the city. I’ve loaded it with vegetables worth four silver coins. Don’t worry Papa, she said, I won’t take less.”
Mrs. Ingram shifted on the uncomfortable crate, but remained seated. She was fascinated by this strange storyteller.
“Vaincilla saw Secunda driving past, and she called out to her. Secunda explained that she was on her way to the city to sell vegetables for four silver coins. I’ll give you ten copper coins said Vaincilla. Ten is better than four, Secunda thought, so she sold the produce to the witch and went home.”
“No smarter than her sister,” Mrs. Ingram said.
“Please do not interrupt,” said the bat. “The farmer was furious. A silver is worth ten coppers, you foolish girl, he yelled, and we are still short three silvers for our taxes. He sent her to change the beds. Then he called his last daughter out of the fields. Ultima, her father said, drive the cart to the city. I’ve loaded it with vegetables worth three silver coins. Don’t worry Papa, she said, I won’t take less.”
The bat sneezed.
“Bless you,” said Mrs. Ingram.
“Thank you,” said the bat and continued. “Vaincilla saw Ultima driving past, and she called out to her. Ultima explained that she was on her way to the city to sell vegetables for three silver coins. I’ll give you ten copper coins said Vaincilla. Ten is NOT always better than three, Ultima thought. She pretended to be sad and said she had to obey her father’s orders to take his vegetables to the city.”
Mrs. Ingram nodded. “Smart girl.”
The bat ignored her. “Vaincilla looked irritated, so Ultima told her how much she admired someone who had magical powers. She begged to see one magic trick, but Vaincilla said she didn’t have time as she also had to go to the city to sell her produce. Ultima had noticed the piles of vegetables that the witch had tricked her sisters into selling, so she offered to take them to the city for the witch. Vaincilla agreed. Bring me nine silvers she said, and I will give you one copper for your trouble.”
“Clever,” Mrs. Ingram said.
The bat fell silent.
“Are you going to finish the story?” Mrs. Ingram asked after a moment.
“Will you not interrupt me?” asked the bat.
“Cross my heart.”
The bat cleared his throat. “Ultima sold all the produce. She hid the silver coins and drove back to the witch’s house. The witch asked for her money. Ultima held up a small purse and told her she had sold the vegetables for fifty magic coins. Fifty is more than nine Ultima said, but you won’t be able to see the coins if you don’t have powerful magic.”
Mrs. Ingram laughed.
The bat stared at her.
“Please… go on,” Mrs. Ingram urged.
“Vaincilla grabbed the purse and opened it, and it appeared to be empty. She grew very red in the face, but she couldn’t say anything for fear of losing her reputation for powerful magic. Ultima drove home and gave her father the silver coins, and they were able to pay their taxes, and they all lived happily ever after. The End,” the bat said, folding its wings tightly around its body.
“Can I help you?” The deep voice startled Mrs. Ingram.
She looked up to see an older man in coveralls, smiling a toothy grin. “I wanted some apples,” she said, getting stiffly to her feet.
“I can offer you a bargain on a bushel of apples. You get more apples for a great price.” His pointy nose twitched as he spoke.
“Worms at the bottom.” whispered a tiny voice.
“What was that?” the man said, his beady eyes glaring.
“Hummm. I’ll settle for these,” Mrs. Ingram said, picking up a small container, where each apple stood out in red and gold splendor. “Sometimes, less is best.”
COPYRIGHT WAVADEVIN.COM 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
========================================================
The results of the judging was released on Wednesday, November 6th, 2019 at midnight.
Wava Devin Writing 