Can You Tell A Story In…

It’s that time of the week again, and I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the weekend. Before then, here is another story challenge for you:

Can you tell a story in 24 words using the following words in it somewhere:

  • THESPIAN
  • GOAT
  • WONKY

Last week’s challenge was to write a story in 60 words using the following words in it somewhere:

  • CULT
  • ORANGE
  • HOTEL
  • FRANTIC
  • CHICKEN
  • BINGO
  • EARS

Here are your hilarious stories:

Nicola Daly:

It was bingo night down at the Hotel Tacky Gold and the leader of the Orange Cult was losing. Badly. This was not good. Imagine: a man-baby throwing a tantrum; his minions running around like headless chickens, frantic to appease.

‘Look,’ said the chief minion, clapping his hands over his ears. ‘Just call out his numbers before it gets worse.’

Kate in Cornwall:

“Why did the chicken cross the road?”

“Go on, I’m all ears.”

“To get to the bingo, of course.”

“Right… We were frantic when you joined that cult, shaved your head…

“…feathers…”

“…feathers, and donned an orange robe.”

 “You needn’t have worried.”

“No? What happened in that run-down, isolated hotel?”

“The chickens taught us to play bingo, of course.”

“Hmmm…”

Ruth Blogs Here:

The members of the cult of the orange king worshipped before the tasteless gold-plated hotel, hands metaphorically over their ears, impervious to all but the lies of their leader. They remained unmoved by the frantic clamouring of the rest of the world who were waiting in hope that the orange menace would chicken out again… And he did… Bingo!

Trent’s World:

When I returned it seemed some cult had taken over the hotel lobby of old ladies with died orange or blue hair sitting at tables looking at large cards and eating fried chicken.

A nun said, “Before.”

I was stumped.  Before what? Christ – BC?

The crowd frantically scanned their cards.

A great-great grandma with large ears yelled, “Bingo!”

Oh, “B-4”!

Murray Clarke:

Bingo, the outrageous orange chicken – best known for her long, floppy ears – enjoyed a cult following, due to an unwavering belief that eggs should be allowed to hatch naturally, and the chicks live a life of luxury in a five-star hotel – if that’s what they wanted to do – and thus avoid the frantic pace of life in the 21st century.

Frank Hubeny:

A van carrying members of the Orange Cult rushed to the hotel to play bingo.

With windows wide open to push the sound out to any ears available, willing to hear or not, they sang their theme song, “Bird Is the Word”, over and over again as a frantic chicken in the middle of the road yelled: “I’m crossing here!”

Graeme Sandford:

“Seven evenings – all booked!”

“Great – what have we got?”

“Monday, it’s Bingo.”

“Traditional, but boring.”

“Tuesday, the Hotellier’s Annual Hootenanny.”

“Hmm.”

“Wednesday, a lecture on the occult.”

“Nice.”

“Thursday, Bears Protection Society AGM.”

“Good cause.”

“Friday, Chicken Little – film club.”

“Seen it.”

“Saturday, an ‘Oranges for Freedom’ party.”

“Really?”

“Yup! Sunday, Wolfran Tickle’s book-signing.”

“His book about weasels?”

“ ‘fraid so.”

Christopher Farley:

Ah yes, the Orange Cult. Do you remember, back in the day? Absolute lunatic at the head of it all, big in the hotel business, from what I recall. Orange face and ears. Weird chap. It was like he played bingo with every country’s economy he came across. Sometimes he would give interviews and come across like some frantic chicken.**

** This story bears no resemblance to people either living or dead. You ain’t suing my ass…

Pete:

In the shabby hotel meeting room the marathon Chicken Bingo Game ground on into the next morning. A classic orange cult, head in the sand pastime. The prize being a bucket of Kentucky Fried. Leggs Eleven, the frantic mob boss, grabbed the Bingo number caller by the ears shouting, “Said needed Two Fat Ladies!” he spat “Not Two Little Ducks!”

My Mind Mappings:

The hotel room reeked of orange peels and cigarette smoke. A frantic knock shook the door. Earl, trembling, whispered, “The cult found us.”

“Don’t panic,” Eileen replied. “It’s the chicken wings we ordered.”

Hearing voices coming from the adjoining room, they pressed their ears to the wall. Eileen heard someone call out, “Bingo!” Whoever it was had the winning card.

The Bag Lady:

They were exiting the hotel after a raucous bingo game and saw an orange chicken cross their path. “Oh my” remarked Jinger, “that chicken looks frantic and my ears can’t stand that squawking!”

“Well this is where cults practice voodoo…maybe it’s running for its life!” The couple took a long look in both directions and decided to head back inside.

Dawgy Daddy Responds:

In East Los Angeles you can get a cheap room at the Frantic Hotel where it is said that a dark cult left a spell on room 1232. I requested this room when I went there for a weekend to play bingo, eat orange chicken with rice, and for dessert afterwards I feasted on the delicious deep fried elephant ears.

Ann Edall-Robson:

The Orange Hotel is the home of the Frantic Ears cult. Daily, members make their way down the hall from their rooms to the out of order escalator that takes them to the entrance of the Grande Restaurant. The menu choice is an unrecognizable chicken entree they will all ingest before indulging in the all night marathon of blacklight bingo.

Therapy Bits:

At the Orange Hotel, a frantic man burst in, clutching a squawking chicken. “The cult is after me!” he shouted. Guests paused their bingo game, eyes wide. A bellhop with large ears whispered, “Room 6.” Inside, candles flickered. The chicken clucked once—ominously. Moments later, silence. Only the faint hum of chanting remained behind the door.

My Mind Mappings:

The Cult of the Fuzzy Orange Chicken was due to meet at the Estonia Hotel. It was all going so well. Everyone was wearing Blue ears as directed by their leader Hyram C. Bingo. But then a passing Stag do called in for beer and pies. The Orange Chickens were frantic as their ears were stolen. What a clucking disaster!

Sanny M:

His ears pricked up – did someone say chicken? He’d been going mad for days since being shut in the hotel with only oranges to eat. The only sound from the bingo caller in the next room. Was this a dream or some weird cult?

Teleportingweena:

The hotel management cult-ivated an orange grove on the property. One day a chicken got into the trees and began pecking the oranges. She would cackle ‘BINGO!’ every time she finished one. The managers were frantic, as their ears kept hearing, BINGO over and over. Later that night, the chef presented a fried chicken dinner for the evening meal. BINGO!

Tony:

One-night cult, dying orange,
in the frenzied hotel with leprous walls.
A roasted chicken laughs under the neon lights.
Bingo rings—the hell is applauded.
Ears hang out, drunk on prayers.
Everything speaks. Nothing listens.
The angels flee the corridors.
The real, made up, sells its soul
for a warm caress
in the dark moist
of a room without sky.

John W. Howell:

The Orange Footed Chicken Cult bingo game organizer went into a frantic fit when discovering the ears of corn, which were to be the prizes, came up missing. His life passed before him, and the vision in his brain of a Popeye’s menu could not be shaken away.

Lisa A Paul:

We were in a bingo group, more like a cult, really. The group met weekly in an orange conference room in a local hotel.

Everyone frantically grabbed bingo cards and sat with dabbers close by. The caller yelled out numbers, our ears tuned in, no one talking. A woman with a chicken leg in her mouth called “Bingo!” Darn!

Kim Smyth:

This week on the cult fan favorite Survivor, contestants were taken to a hotel where they had to play a strange version of bingo. They were told to keep their ears open as they sipped on orange soda. Game play got frantic when they heard their prize would be to go have fried chicken and French fries on the island.

Pensitivity101:

Chicken was on the menu at the hotel for Pensioners Night.
The Bingo caller turned up dressed as Big Ears with an orange beard and one old lady became frantic that Donald Trump would be after her money if she got a full house.

This started a discussion about cults and followers instead of two fat persons or Kelly’s Eye.

Rall:

bingo
alice looks rather frantic
her eyes ringed in hookah blue
hates these hotel tea parties 
her cult following is hard to deal with lately
what with the rabbit all ears  and neurotic running about 
with a pocket watch declaring he is late again 
spends too much time hanging out in the orange grove 
with creepy chicken and meanie mushroom 

Annette Rochelle Aben:

So I have heard tell there was this cult of chickens with orange ears that would kidnap yellow bellied sapsucker chicks and attempt to convert them. The sapsucker adults were so frantic that they would gather their young and hide out in the No-Tell Hotel where a rowdy group of seagulls would caw the nightly bingo games. Feathers would fly!

Treehugger:

We were all ears, intent on the dilemma of how to spend the weekend. I was frantic to watch the cult film, A Clockwork Orange .

My sister had other ideas .She wanted to go to Bingo followed by a chicken and chips supper .

My brother had booked dinner for three in a posh Michelin starred restaurant at the local hotel.

Margaret G. Hanna:

Frantic Chicken Little cries, “The world is burning.”

Do we have ears to hear?

Orange sun peers dimly through clouds of smoke and smog

Reminding us this is our only hotel, folks.

Do we need a cult to tell us

our bingo card has only four squares – Warm. Warmer. Warmest. Meltdown!  

And the caller’s about to call the next number.

The Elephant’s Trunk:

Rumors of Godzilla cult members carousing in Gracery Hotel had frantic Shinjuku residents scurrying like headless chickens. Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi stormed into the lobby, grabbed hotel manager Wada’s ears, and shook him until his orange toupee flew off!

What the hell’s going on here?” Yoshizumi demanded.

Mr. Wada, grimacing in pain, replied “Nothing, you damn fool! It’s the bingo championships!”

***

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

  1. Esmerelda, performing a wonky skit with a goat, had her sanity questioned

    “I am a thespian!”

    A misunderstanding got her the Pride Day gig.

    **

    It seems like there were more entries last week than usual, which is great 🙂 Oh, if you have read Victor Hugo, you may get the name vs. the goat reference… 😉

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Fantastic! Thanks, Trent.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks, Esther!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Must have had a similar thought x I mentioned the hunchgoat….

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Funny, but it is such a great piece of literature that has a bit of a thespian goat… I’ll have stop back by and take a look.

        Liked by 2 people

  2. nikidaly70 Avatar
    nikidaly70

    ‘Friends! Romans! Countrymen!’ he bleated.
    ‘Look at him thinking he’s some great thespian,’ she snorted. ‘He’s just a silly goat with a wonky doo-dah.’

    Liked by 10 people

    1. Great last line 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      1. nikidaly70 Avatar
        nikidaly70

        It made me laugh anyway! 🤣

        Liked by 1 person

  3. You may be a performer, of sorts, Billy Goat, with that wonky walk. You may even consider yourself an entertainer but a thespian? No.

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Good to see you putting him in his place 😂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oooh, these uppity goats, they really, well, get my goat… OK, I’ll get my coat… 😂😂

        Liked by 1 person

  4. “haiku pebbles fall
    like rain causing ripples
    on upside down void”

    Wonky the orator goat
    Stomped cloven hoof
    Took a thespian bow
    Went “Poof” ☁️

    Liked by 8 people

    1. An excellent story!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Goat keeps showing up in prompts and things I’m reading. I’m getting suspicious 🤔

        Liked by 1 person

  5. “I’m telling you Frank. If you had seen the drunk thespian from New York City playing the part of a wonky goat, you would have wet your pants.”

    Liked by 10 people

    1. That’s very amusing, John.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I was worried about the wet pants part, but it wasn’t as funny to say “you would choke on your crumpet.”

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I agree 😊

        Liked by 1 person

  6. […] Chilton is our host and you can join in HERE 24 words using the following words in it […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Definitely are!

      Like

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

    Liked by 1 person

  8. […] her “Can You Tell a Story In…” prompt today, Esther Chilton has challenged us to tell a 24-word story using the words thespian, […]

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Slumped on his wonky chair, Nigel knew his thespian career was over. Rejected again. Not even good enough to play Billy Goat in panto.

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Poor Nigel! Very amusing, Sarah.

      Like

  10. Academy Award?
    Won’t you give me your vote
    This veteran thespian
    Is acting the goat
    Eyesight’s shot
    Got wonky knee
    Isn’t life
    a comedy?

    Liked by 5 people

    1. You have a great way with words, Mr Richmond.

      Like

  11. The old wonky goat got up on the stage. It had always had thespian tendencies. Today he was playing the hunchgoat of Notre Dame.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. You brought a big smile to my face, Christine 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Sanny M Avatar
    Sanny M

    “Lovies we need a donkey not a goat” the thespian exclaimed.
    “This production is getting more like the wonky donkey story than Shakespeare!”

    Liked by 2 people

    1. That’s a fun one.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. […] Esther’s challenge this week is to tell a story in only 24 words around these ones: […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for your story. I enjoyed it.

      Like

  14. Here you go, Esther.

    Julie, the thesbian, had no use for her wonky hip and knee. She rapped on the Magician’s door, screaming, “Heal me, you old goat!”

    Liked by 2 people

    1. That’s hilarious, Marsha. Thank you for joining in xx

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Glad you enjoyed it. I liked the length and only three words. I don’t know how you come up with all that every week. BTW, I have a great idea I want to talk to you about. I’ll email you.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That’s exciting. I look forward to hearing from you, Marsha 🥰

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Later today. We are on our way to church. 🙂 xxx

        Liked by 1 person

  15. My first one, Esther!

    The thespian in goat coat balanced on a wonky tightrope. He tipped to the left and the right, and flew off to his dreamboat.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. It’s great to have you here and joining in, Miriam. Your story is hilarious 😂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you, Esther! I enjoy writing flash fiction and try to find twisted endings. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. You can’t beat a good twist.

        Liked by 1 person

  16. In Midsummer Night’s Dream, my character was a bit dubious. Puck’s goat- like head was decidedly wonky but as a thespian I carried on regardless .

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Like a true pro! Very funny, Sheila.

      Like

      1. Thanks Esther

        Liked by 1 person

  17. One Bad Actor.

    The thespian’s wonky lines were carved deep — a pentagram. He spoke the words. The goat was sacrificed. The devil rose. “My soul for fame.”

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Nice and dark! Very enjoyable.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks. 😁

        Liked by 1 person

  18. He thought of himself as a renowned thespian of the theatre. Reviews for the Wonky Old Goat suggested his career paralleled the play’s title. 

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Very good, Ann.

      Like

  19. “I am the G.O.A.T!” the thespian proudly proclaimed to all and sundry. Her audience demurred. “She would be if her diction wasn’t so wonky.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That’s really funny, Margaret 😊

      Like

  20. […] post here, and Midwest Mark’s post here. A few upcoming interviews include, Barb, Dawn, and Esther. The full list of completed Priorhouse Interviews can be found HERE. Please leave me a message if […]

    Liked by 1 person

  21. […] here. Next week will feature Dawn M. Miller, and then a few upcoming interviews include and Esther. Janet, and Pete. The full list of completed Priorhouse Interviews can be found […]

    Liked by 1 person

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