Can You Tell A Story In…

It’s Thursday, so it’s story time.

Can you tell a story in 41 words using the following words in it somewhere:

  • MIRAGE
  • DUNK
  • QUIBBLE
  • VAULT
  • WORM

Last week’s challenge was to write a story in 30 words using the following words in it somewhere:

  • DEVIOUS
  • BRICK
  • CHICKEN
  • TUNNEL

Here are your laugh out loud stories:

Niki Daly:

That devious chicken – he’s only bricked up the tunnel to the wine cellar so I can’t get any red wine. And I was so looking forward to coq-au-vin for dinner.

Dawgy Daddy Responds:

A fried chicken sat like a brick in the pit of my stomach. Entering the tunnel of intestinal intrigue, it left me seeking devious ways of seeking relief for myself.

Frank Hubney:

With a brain like a brick and tunnel vision eyes, Brian, the know-it-all, asked with a devious smirk, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”

No one cared.

Christopher Farley:

‘Twas a devious trick

to throw a brick

while I tried to catch

a chick-en

for lunch

So I had to catch a gunnel

and eat it in the tunnel.

Teleportingweena:

Sent to prison to spend my days

All bricked up for my devious ways

Stole a chicken one moonlight night

Crossed the road through a tunnel tight.

Wasn’t worth it.

Tony:

In a tunnel, a sneaky thief was running away with a full bag. A brick fell, he tripped. Suddenly the bag opened… a chicken escaped, rumbling towards his cherished freedom.

Lisa A Paul:

The cave had a brick entrance and a narrow tunnel you had to crawl through. I didn’t want to go, but they called me chicken, my devious so-called friends.

L wie:

The chicken pecked at a brick of the wall in the tunnel. “Bertha! Concentrate!” His devious plan to find the hidden entry was suddenly endangered by a stupid buzzing mosquito.  

John W. Howell has done it in 24 words:

The devious chicken made her escape by digging a tunnel and knocking poor farmer brown out with a brick when he tried to stop her.

The Bag Lady:

Mr. Pluckmenot, devious chicken plucker, entered the tunnel secretly. ‘Twas a trap for innocent, naive fowl looking for safety. After they assembled, brick fences lowered and record breaking plucking done.

Christine Mallaband-Brown:

The devious fox placed a brick by the chicken tunnel under the street, it waited and as the fowl crossed the road it knocked them out before feasting on them!

Graeme Sandford:

Having recently graduated from a red-brick university coop, the chicken was well able to see that the light at the end of the tunnel was just another devious illusion. 

Pensivity101:

Meet Scraggy, our last chicken to pass through the rainbow tunnel to the next life. Her plumage was brick red, and she was pretty devious when it came to food!

Murray Clarke:

Sly Sam and his mate Slippery Sid hatched a devious plan to steal a chicken from its coop. The idea involved the construction of a brick tunnel under the farmyard.

My Mind Mappings:

Paul’s devious plan was to throw a brick through the butcher shop’s window to steal a chicken or two and then to escape through a tunnel at a nearby park.

Kim Smyth:

That hick was devious for crawling through the tunnel to my chickens. I hit him with a brick before he could steal their eggs. I know they’re expensive, but really??

Squirreljan:

The devious chicken entered the tunnel which went under the yellow brick road. This way, she managed to cross it peacefully, without being constantly pestered about why she wanted to.

The Elephant’s Trunk:

Godfather, forgive me. Devious acts delayed me at the tunnel when a brick was thrown through my windshield. Thank God, your favorite chicken parmigiana, homemade by me, was not defiled.

Ann Edall-Robson:

He could see over the brick pile at the tunnel entrance to Chicken Road. Memories flooded back—drag racing, parties, loud music and devious planning that made it all happen. 

Therapy Bits:

A devious chicken, armed with a brick, dug a tunnel beneath the barn. It emerged, triumphant, into the farmer’s pantry, snatching crumbs while the farmer slept, unaware of the heist.

A couple of great stories over the limit:

Experience Film:

The brick oven was a tunnel. Any second now the whistle will sound and the precious cargo will be delivered to my stomach, thought Terry. “Woooooot!” At last! The crisp, golden, chicken pizza! Nevermind how devious the ingredients are!

Utahan15 was slightly over the limit:

it is of course a devious day

cos devil in details brick way

harms way!

a maze a rats trap

and that is fact flat world

bereft the tunnel

that was home

chickin am i

***

58 responses to “Can You Tell A Story In…”

  1. […] Esther Chilton’s Challenges here […]

    Liked by 1 person

      1. You’ve written a great story. Thank you for joining in.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Lisa. A great story.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. – “The Vault of the Pharaohs is near that oasis.”
    – “Are you heat-addled?  That’s a mirage!”
    – “Don’t quibble, the tomb is near.”
    – A roar announced the approaching sand worm.

    “How idiotic!”
    “Ha!  This story is a slam dunk!”

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Very witty, Trent. Lots of fun.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks, Esther 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

    2. slam dunk indeed

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Thanks, Y.

        Liked by 3 people

  3. The worm and caterpillar continued to quibble. They both blamed the heat; all the worm saw was a mirage. He turned and with a vault landed in the water and drank, except the water was beer. It was a drunk dunk.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Love the idea of a ‘drunk dunk’! Thanks, Chris.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank YOU, Ess. I always look forward to Thursday.😊

        Liked by 2 people

  4. Bonjour Esther,
    J’espère que tu vas bien ?
    En Anglais,

    Under the infinite vault,
    he saw a mirage dancing.
    Dip his lips in oblivion,
    Or quibble again?
    A creeping worm drew shadows,
    while the desert wind,
    erased the last vestiges of the past.

    En Français maintenant,

    Sous la voûte infinie,
    il voyait un mirage danser.
    Tremper ses lèvres dans l’oubli,
    ou ergoter encore ?
    Un ver rampant dessinait des ombres,
    tandis que le vent du désert,
    effaçait les derniers vestiges du passé.

    Bonne journée Esther.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Magnifique. J’adore les deux versions.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Je me suis inspiré d’une vision littéraire Esther.
        Ma bible, “Le petit Prince “…

        Merci pour ta gentillesse.
        Tony

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Vous êtes les bienvenus

        Liked by 2 people

  5. The worm turned. It had dunked a chocolate biscuit into its coffee, as it sat in the dark vault. A mirage had suddenly appeared. It saw its mother! Don’t quibble she said quietly, your fate is to be pecked to death!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I love a dark story!

      Liked by 2 people

  6. […] you tell a story in 41 words using the following words in it […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I love all three and the build up to getting it right 😊

      Like

  7. Brian was a worm.

    “Why quibble with reality?” he would say.

    “Why dunk yourself in a mirage when you can eat under a vault of garbage?”

    One day while philosophizing he found himself on the sharp end of a hook.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. This is great. Such a compelling story in so few words.

      Liked by 2 people

  8. […] for Esther Chilton’s “Can You Tell a Story In..?” prompt, 41 words, mirage, dunk, quibble, vault, and worm. Image credit: […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Many thanks for joining in again. Hope you enjoyed it.

      Like

  9. […] out Esther Chilton’s blog to join […]

    Liked by 1 person

  10. A mirage it was not! There was fresh water to drink and take a dunk in to wash away the grit. Unfortunately, no food was found in the underground vault. Only a worm to quibble over. This was definitely eating light.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Very good, Ann. Thank you.

      Liked by 2 people

  11. Trying to worm my way into the bank vault with a ten horse drill, I mistook a mosquito dunk for a whole wheat donut. As the dunk induced mirage of the open door appeared, so did police Officer Quibble with his shiny bracelets.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. I so remember that meme!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  13. […] Can You Tell A Story In… […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Great story. Thank you.

      Like

  14. […] Can You Tell A Story In… […]

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Thanks for the challenge! Here is my entry: https://wp.me/p3RE1e-lcB

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Fun story. Thank you.

      Liked by 2 people

  16. ***

    Here is my take:

    I shut the vault to my heart because your love was a mirage.

    No need to quibble, I accept that you are a worm.

    Not worth a dunk in my love.

    Locking the vault brings solace, strength, and none of you.

    ***

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Wow! That’s amazing. Such a good poem from those prompts.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. thanks!! hope you are having a nice end of the week

        Liked by 2 people

      2. You too 😊

        Liked by 2 people

  17. nikidaly70 Avatar
    nikidaly70

    ‘Water!’ Gasped the worm, wriggling towards the oasis. ‘I’m all shrivelled like a prune… must… dunk… my head in it.’
    ‘I’m not usually one to quibble,’ hissed the Sphinx. ‘But escaping the vault was a mistake. That oasis is a mirage…’

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I like the Egyptian theme!

      Liked by 1 person

  18. […] asks, “Can you tell a story in 41 words?” every Thursday in her Can You Tell a Story challenge. Only she doesn’t always ask for 41, it could be whatever amount she […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I really enjoyed this. Thank you for joining in.

      Like

  19. Not all who wander are lost Avatar
    Not all who wander are lost
  20. squirreljan Avatar
    squirreljan

    After escaping the vault, I stumbled across the desert towards a lake. I was starving and thirsty, so I dunked a stray worm into the water. Dry! I couldn’t quibble. The water and worm had been a mirage. So, what now?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Very funny story with those words, Janice 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  21. […] for Esther’s “Can You Tell A Story In…..?#280” – exactly 41 words using the followingfive required prompts: ‘mirage’, ‘dunk’, […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for you funny story, Nancy ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

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