♥ Happy Valentine’s Day ♥
Today is a special day, a special opportunity to spread a little love AND share my entry to Susanna Hill’s Second Annual Pretty-Much World-Famous VALENTINY Contest. Valen-tiny because the stories are not very long and are written for little people 🙂
The Rules? Straight from Susanna…
The Contest: since writing for children is all about “big emotion for little people” (I forget who said that, but someone did so I put it in quotes!) and Valentines Day is all about emotion, write a Valentines story appropriate for children (children here defined as ages 12 and under) maximum 214 words in which someone is confused!
The Other Entries: Read more entries at Susanna’s site to get into the holiday spirit.
Without further ado, my 213-word entry…
Phyllis’ Valentine’s Day Mystery
Phyllis leapt from her cozy cot, her sleepy shadow trailing behind. Rose-colored hearts laced with pin pricks littered the dirt below. A gooey stream of strawberry cream oozed from a broken chocolate heart above. Crimson balloon bits festooned snow-covered pines outside the den door.
“What creature made this mess? These dreadful deeds must be addressed. But who will solve this mystery? And how?”
“Whoo! Whoo!”
“Who indeed? I know! He’s hidden somewhere in this snow.”
Phyllis searched high and low for Oscar Owl. He’s so wise, she thought. He’s Forest President so he’ll surely solve this problem.
Oscar surveyed the scene and said,
“My dear, you have an enemy, but I believe I have the remedy. Roll out the Armadillos! Buzz the bees! Summon Sword Fish! Then there’s one more thing I wish: A wall, a HUGE WALL. A wall will bring Safety for ALL.”
Soon a tall timber wall was erected. Snug inside, Phyllis now was secure. But those outside? They felt rejected. Dejected, they watched, waiting for their chance to slip inside. At the back of this pack crouched Harry Hedgehog – sniffling, snuffling, quills quivering. In his tiny paws, he clutched a pin-pricked, strawberry cream-stained sign:
Wander, Ponder, Write 
Now this is very timely and cute. Love the allusions to Feb. holidays and other things…great internal rhyme, too, Patricia. Good luck, lady.
Thank you. You, as well. I need to catch up on the stories, now that my story is finished & posted. Happy Valentines Day!
Timely and heartfelt story, Patricia! And I love the imagery and wordplay. Good luck with this original story! 🙂
Thank you Gabi! I look forward to reading your entry, now that my story is finished & posted. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Awww, I hope love brings that wall tumbling down! Good luck in the competition!
Agreed! Thanks for stopping by & commenting! Happy Valentine’s Day.
I hope Harry got in. Good luck!
Thanks!
This is quite interesting, and I, too, hope Harry got in. I wish you well with this story.
Thank you Lynn!
Great story, and timely. I’m sure everyone is rooting for Harry. Love can definitely tear down walls. Good luck!
Agreed! Thanks for reading my entry!
Poor Harry. What a sad ending. Good Luck
Thanks Maria. I’m hoping Phyllis lets him in (or tears down the wall!)
This is a very clever entry! And you are keeping true to your word in what you will be reviewing and writing! Good for you. Hope you win.
Thank you! I just couldn’t help myself with this one.
Pat…this is so good! I LOVE the internal rhymes…you had the whole forest in an uproar…I hope there will be a happy ending for the prickly one. 😉
Thanks Vivian. This was a fun one to write. Already working on the 50-word challenge!
My favorite line: Roll out the Armadillos! I think I’m going to use that today, as school vacation begins! Very cute!
Thanks! I chuckled writing that line.
Ah. The pinpricks. Now I get it. Kudos for tackling a mystery in this teeny tiny word count.
Thanks! Glad you solved the mystery!
Oh my goodness, Patricia! Poor Harry! 😦 Trying so hard to declare his love for Phyllis. Not his fault that his sharp quills poked pinpricks in the valentines and popped the crimson balloons! And he knew how much Phyllis loved chocolate and strawberries – that’s true love! 🙂 Clever little Valentiny mystery! Thanks so much for joining in the fun!