Can You Tell A Story In…

We’re almost in June! Where is the first half of the year going? I hope your week is going well so far. Here’s your new story challenge.

Can you tell a story in 15 words using the following words in it somewhere:

  • EXERCISE
  • NEIGHBOUR
  • TROLL

Last week’s challenge was to write a story in 50 words using the following words in it somewhere:

  • VENDETTA
  • COOL
  • DOUGH
  • WHEEZE
  • SPIDER
  • REFLEXOLOGY

Here are your sensational stories:

Aidin Lee:

She kneaded the dough, fingers pressing like a study in reflexology. Bruises bloomed beneath flour-dusted skin.

A spider watched from the cool windowpane. A man’s wheeze broke the hush.

She wiped sweat from her lip, careful not to taste the poison, then smiled at the spider, “All vendettas end in silence.”

S Wright:

Charles had a vendetta against Laura although he kept his cool around her.

He walked into the kitchen where she was kneading dough.

A wheeze was on her chest from chasing a spider in the damp basement.

She took a reflexology course to help others who had the same symptoms.

Trent’s World:

“Keep cool, Shirl.”

He smiled as she entered.

He hadn’t recognized her! 

Skilled in reflexology, Shirley knew she could induce a stroke; with his death her vendetta would end.

She kneaded the foot like dough.

A wheeze; great!

“You don’t have a spider’s chance in Hell, Shirley.  Say goodnight.”

Bang!

Graeme Sandford:

Cool the dough thoroughly by pummelling with both clenched fists(as if you were practicing ninja reflexology) and you have started to wheeze. 

Observe the spider that inadvertently fell into the mixture, and serve intravenously to your annoyingly noisy neighbours.

This should ensure the vendetta continues for years to come.

Nicola Daly:

No matter how much dough he kneaded, his stomach was rather rotund, his arms were like twigs, and he still had a wheeze. At this rate he’d never get the part of Spiderman in the new, cool movie ‘Vendetta of a Villainous Viper’. Perhaps he should try reflexology after all?

‘Oh Grandma!’

Ann Edall-Robson:

It wasn’t cool to wheeze while punching down bread dough. Her employees hated the sound and launched a vendetta against the aging Italian Bakery owner to make a reflexology appointment or sell to them. That was when her friend Spider started making unscheduled monthly visits to talk with the staff. 

Frank Hubney:

“Have you tried reflexology?” Steve asked Sharon trying to be cool.

“No.”

“Have you seen ‘The Vendetta Spider From Mars’?”

“No.”

“Can you spell ‘wheeze’?”

“No.”

“How about ‘dough’?”

“No.”

At this point Steve realized they had nothing in common. He turned to Sylvia.

Before he asked, she said, “No.”

Christopher Farley:

I thought I was cool and I took Spider’s dough without thinking about the consequences. I was out back having a smoke. I took a wheeze on my cigarette before his vendetta came upon me. I didn’t know having my legs tucked around my ears was a form of reflexology.

Teleportingweena:

Dan the Man, owner of Spiders ‘R Us, reflexology parlor, swore out a vendetta on the murderers of his cousin, Sly. Wheezing as he kneaded the legs of his customers like dough, he kept his cool as he imagined how to rub out his enemy. No joke, this means war.

Spider spider on the wall

Vowing vendetta on them all

Not doing reflexology

Giving him no apology

Bake a loaf of bread dead

Laying down your weary head

Dough rises like a ghost

Wheezing when we burn toast

No pretending –  we’ll not be cool

Just rubbing out that lying fool

Kate in Cornwall:

With her pudgy face (dough balls), spider veins (booze), and chronic wheeze (fags), Belinda Bliss (stupid name, not cool) is giving reflexology a bad name. It’s not a vendetta; it’s just the rest of us reflexologists want her struck off. 

Kim Smyth:

The night was cool as Sandy drove to her reflexology appointment. Checking her purse for the dough, she began to wheeze when she saw it was missing. Oh! The last straw!

Driving back, she worked out her vendetta on that little turd.

They found a spider at her crash site.

Christine Mallaband-Brown:

Vendetta he thought as he lay on the Reflexology table, his feet delicately manipulated. It cost loads of dough but helped him relax. Maybe it would be cool to put a poisonous spider on her face at night? He’d fake a wheeze, go into the bathroom. Later finding her collapsed?

Murray Clarke:

Marty rested his billiard ball on the spider and prepared to pocket the ball. The reflexology he’d received had not cured his chronic neck pain.

“It’ll be pretty cool and a jolly good wheeze to beat my opponent,” he said. “Win all the dough – and end our decade-long family vendetta.”

My Mind Mappings:

Marla ran the reflexology salon with cool precision, her vendetta simmering beneath lavender oil and soft music. Each foot she touched, she judged. One client, a mobster with a doughy body, didn’t recognize her. When he began to wheeze, she smiled, knowing the poisonous spider bite had done its job.

John W. Howell:

I heard a faint wheeze and felt a rush of cold air. It appears the air conditioner has begun to work again. The dough I paid for service is worth every penny. No vendetta or spider down the nose will be needed with this technician. My neck ache is gone and I think the reflexology sessions and competent service people are paying off.

Pensititivy101:

The spider had sent word there was a vendetta against me.
It was not ‘cool‘ to see multiples of eight legs in various stages of reflexology ready to do battle. My chest started to wheeze and the usual dough ball collected in my throat.

Fear was not an option ……………. RUN!!!

Squirreljan:

It was a cool wheeze and not a vendetta, like the other girls said. In payment for administering the antidote to the poisonous spider bite she planned to inflict, he would give her freedom, enough dough to set up her own reflexology business, and leave his massage emporium for good.

A Scroll Threw Life:

Caught in a web of vendetta;
The fly knew more struggle.
More enwrapped.
This sort of spider wanted one recourse.
His narcissistic reflexology squeezed this way.
More dough for him and his.
Less for you and yours.
“Stay cool.”
Said the spider with a wheeze.
“It’s for your own good.”

Rall:

The weather was cool
A lot of flu about
Clients coughing and wheezing
She had so many this week
didn’t know how she would manage
At times like this being a reflexologist
was no fun but she needed the dough
and running a car like a spider was not cheap

The Elephant’s Trunk:

In the kitchen of the cool, dimly-lit café, Stefano, a reflexology therapist and baker, discovered a note in the dough of his Spider Bread. The note revealed threats against him. Worry set in and Stefano began to wheeze knowing there was someone with a vendetta who could destroy his life.

Treehugger:

We argued to the point it made me wheeze. A vendetta was looming.

The dead spider on the kitchen floor popped into the dough of my homemade doughnuts. I made him a special one. He wouldn’t be able to resist.

Cool, I thought as I cycled to my reflexology class.

L Wie:

Reflexology is NOT science!“ she wheezed and almost strangled the ball of dough. Her kneading bony fingers reminded him of the legs of a spider.

If his grandmother was not cool with his choice of a major, she would not finance it! She still had a vendetta against alternative approaches.

Therapy Bits:

In a dim alley, a cool stranger offered reflexology for cash. I paid in dough, curious. As his fingers pressed secrets from my soles, he whispered of a vendetta. A spider skittered nearby. He smiled. I began to wheeze—poison. Too late, I realized: revenge walks softly, strikes silently.

***

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

  1. nikidaly70 Avatar
    nikidaly70

    ‘So, a troll stole your exercise bike while you were watching “Neighbours”, madame?’
    ‘Yes, officer.’

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Oh, that’s brilliant! 🤣🤣

      Liked by 2 people

      1. nikidaly70 Avatar
        nikidaly70

        Happens all the time 🤣🤣🤣

        Liked by 2 people

      2. 🤣🤣🤣

        Liked by 2 people

  2. My fat neighbour’s life was a wreck. He had trouble controlling even his exercise bike.

    Liked by 7 people

    1. Very good, Mr Richmond.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You remind me, Esther, of teachers I had in school, who’s reports were always along the lines of, ‘could do better’ or ‘needs to pay more attention in class’ or, most memorably, one who described me as ‘a student who sets himself a very low standard which he consistently fails to achieve.’ Somehow I’m always expecting you to chastise me for using rude words. It’s not a criticism. I loved all my teachers. They put up with a lot.

        Liked by 3 people

      2. No chastisement needed so far!

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Bonjour Esther,
    My neighbor was doing his daily exercise, until a troll came out of the composter, screaming.
    En Français :
    Mon voisin faisait son exercice quotidien, jusqu’à ce qu’un troll surgisse du composteur, hurlant.
    A bientôt.

    Liked by 7 people

    1. I’m fascinated by the idea that the troll came screaming out of the compost bin. It’s such a vivid image! But how did you come up with it? I mean why the composter? There’s a guy pedalling away on an exercise bike and, inexplicably, there’s a compost bin right beside him and a troll leaps out screaming. It’s so bizarre! It’s perfect, but I wouldn’t have come up with that in a million years.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Because the composter is synonymous with earth, the troll and this brown land cultivated by these mythological beings. Disturbed by this annoying neighbor who makes a noise without name, the troll sees himself in the obligation to intervene… Because in France, the police always take a long time to intervene…
        It is only a small imaginary microcosm…
        Good day to you.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Well, it’s a great image Tony

        Liked by 2 people

      3. Thank you, that’s very kind of you.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. These a great!!!! Such an original assortment of creative answers. Well done all.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. My comment below was made about last week’s responses..I perhaps made the comment in the wrong place. The prompts were: VENDETTA COOL DOUGH WHEEZE SPIDER REFLEXOLOGY and every response was amazing!!!!! You labeled them sensational, and I concur!!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you for clarifying, but I did think you meant the responses to last week’s. They really are fantastic. Thanks, Judy 🥰

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for your story 😊

      Like

  6. Hi Esther I hope this is the right way to respond to your story in 15 words? Here goes:

    My neighbour Tom is an exercise fanatic. He also owns a turquoise Troll, called Norman. 

    Liz

    Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Yes, this is how to respond. Thank you for your story – I love the idea of a turquoise troll called Norman 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  7. “Who cares about being neighbourly?” bellowed Troll. “I’m not having goats exercising on my bridge”

    Liked by 7 people

    1. That’s brilliant, Sarah. So apt.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks Esther!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Sanny M Avatar
      Sanny M

      Love it!

      Liked by 2 people

  8. My neighbor never exercised in his life became a health influencer. Me a troll? Never…

    **

    The local bridge has a troll.  Not too scary – my neighbor exercises with him.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Two very good responses. I like your thinking there, Trent.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks, Esther, glad you liked them. The good thing about 15 words is it is easy to do two totally different stories…

        Liked by 1 person

  9. I exercise my troll neighbour daily. He chases me across the bridge to a train.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. That’s a really good one, Pete. Thank you.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Crossing bridges is always perilous when in troll country 😱

        Liked by 2 people

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

    Liked by 1 person

  11. My neighbor, a troll, loves to exercise. I only wish he’d put some clothes on.

    Liked by 7 people

    1. That made me burst out laughing. Very funny, Frank.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Here’s my entry for 15 words – https://wp.me/p3RE1e-lAZ

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you so much for yours. Very enjoyable.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. […] See here for Esther’s Site and Challenges […]

    Liked by 1 person

  14. That troll neighbor got his while exercising. He dropped the weights on his big toe!

    Liked by 7 people

    1. I could almost feel that! 😆

      Liked by 1 person

  15. My neighbor the bridge troll has a new exercise. He stands on his head and collects tolls with his feet.

    Liked by 8 people

    1. That’s so cleverly done, John.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you, Esther.

        Liked by 1 person

  16. dazemindfully998de38729 Avatar
    dazemindfully998de38729

    Hopefully this works:-
    The goats decided to exercise caution when asking their troll neighbour for their ball back

    Liked by 7 people

    1. Yes, it worked fine! Great story too 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  17. I once saw a troll exercise. A terrifying neighbour vision I don’t want to repeat.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Thank you for the smile, Ann.

      Like

    1. Great story, Di.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Not good that’s it’s a true story though!

      Like

      1. Oh we had some fun………….. like hanging used tea bags on the line and when she asked, we said we recycled them. When she came round for a cup of tea (at our invitation as she was so curious to see our new kitchen), she sheepishly asked if she’d get a new tea bag. With a straight face, we said of course.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That’s hilarious! 🤣 🤣

        Liked by 1 person

  18. […] her “Can You Tell a Story In…” prompt today, Esther Chilton has challenged us to tell a 15-word story using the words exercise, […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for your story.

      Like

    1. Thanks for your story, Heidi.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. I look like a troll, but hate to exercise while my neighbor watches with disdain.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. That’s a good one, Lisa 😄

      Liked by 1 person

  20. Every day my neighbour trolls for fish. “Good exercise,” he claims. “For whom?” I retort.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. You’ve made that into a great little story.

      Like

  21. My neighbour, who’s a bit of a troll

    for exercise, likes to take a stroll

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Good one. I like the rhyme.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Very nice rhyme!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks Ess! 🤗

        Liked by 1 person

  22. squirreljan Avatar
    squirreljan

    My neighbour liked to exercise his pet trolls off a lead. Luckily, they didn’t bite

    Liked by 4 people

    1. You’ve done well with the few words, Janice.

      Liked by 1 person

  23. This was such fun to read. Such creativity using the words.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m always amazed at the creativity that comes out. Thank you for reading.

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Exercise wisely. If you walk very quickly you can avoid bumping into your neighbourhood troll!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Very funny, Christine 😆

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Wow lots of responses this week! It cheers me up to do these x

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I’m so pleased they do 😊 x

        Liked by 1 person

  25. The troll beneath the bridge, terrified my neighbour, as she took her daily leisurely walk.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks, Sheila 😊

      Liked by 2 people

  26. […] for Esther’s “Can You Tell A Story In…..?#289” – exactly 15 words using the three requiredprompts: ‘exercise’, ‘neighbor’, and […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much, Nancy.

      Like

  27. […] Can You Tell A Story In… – Esther Chilton […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for your amusing limerick.

      Like

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