Can You Tell A Story In…

Here’s your Thursday story challenge. Can you tell a story in 57 words using the following words in it somewhere:

  • CAT
  • PIES
  • TRAVESTY
  • DIAMONDS
  • CHAIR
  • STATIONERY

The previous challenge was to write a story in 28 words using the following three words in it somewhere:

  • SCRABBLE
  • POLICE
  • UNDERWATER

Here are your entertaining stories:

Crystal:

As I play Scrabble with a homeless guy who is a stranger then I see it all the police around us pulling us out from being underwater.

Sillyfrog’s Blog:

Too Late

The Scrabble Tournament suddenly turned violently ugly!

Because staffing was underwater, police arrived too late to shut down the bloodbath.

Headlines described the incident as a Red-Letter Day.

Lenster:

The police diver scrabbled through weeds on the lake bottom, searching for the unfortunate soul who had disappeared underwater. Lost in the murk, much like his life above.

Fandango:

The scrabble tiles drifted underwater from the wreck, spelling warnings the police couldn’t ignore as divers realized the victim had predicted his own murder long before anyone noticed.

Lou by the Sea:

Rules of the pool

The Scrabble Police are out in full force at the 2026 underwater championship. No tile surfing, skimming or skating allowed in the pool. No heavy petting or floaters.

Graeme Sandford:

The Underwater Scrabble Police (U.S.P. – definitely not to be confused with the parcel service U.P.S.) refereed the annual Scrabble game between the Mediterranean-Mermaids and the Marmara-Mermen. 

Squirreljan:

Ever played underwater scrabble? I don’t recommend it. The police just arrested me for being offensive to fish. They didn’t like the word Lauwiliwilinukunukuoioi. Thank you, AI!

Rohini:

Bubble Trouble

During underwater Scrabble, the police arrived, puzzled, because our words floated away, spelling “help” accidentally, while we argued if bubbles counted as vowels or suspicious evidence very seriously.

Susan Batten:

As a police officer on the Dive team, I’m sick of scrabbling in the mud for evidence. I’m applying for a transfer, get away from the underwater scene!

John W. Howell:

The game of underwater scrabble was broken up by the police when it was discovered the players were betting using their clothes as chips.

Pictures Imperfect Blog:

Smoke on the Water

The final scrabble match had begun. The Police and Deep Purple were present for the punishment of the loser – being thrown into lake Geneva and kept underwater until.

Pensitivity101:

It was a bit of an underwater scrabble when the police dog jumped into the pool after the bad guy.

It was no surprise that the dog won!

Murray Clarke:

The search for the missing teenage girl intensified as the local police scrabbled through the long grass alongside the overgrown riverbank. Sadly, a bloated body was found underwater.

iMartist:

Word Games

Scrabble sucks ! I grab the highest scoring tiles Q, Z, J and X watching them sink underwater in the toilet. My sister begs Mom to get the police.

The Afterlove Voice:

Underwater, we played scrabble with drifting letters, until police sirens echoed above.

Words blurred, meanings sank, and we surfaced laughing, spelling freedom in breaths stolen from a world too loud.

Dawgy Daddy Responds:

My second try in one day to scrabble something silly while my mind felt like it was underwater. I stammered when the WordPress police showed up questioning me.

Christine Mallaband-brown:

‘Scrabble cake for tea,’ said the police man. ‘I’m just adding the tiles… underwater – that’s a score of fourteen points. The next word will be clue,’ he chuckled…

Lily’s Corner:

Cave

Snorkeling partially underwater to the opening of McCrusty, The Dreamer’s cave was quite tedious, but the scrabble clue he needed was there and inside a crate labelled, police.  

poetisinta:

Neville’s Games

Neville ate trifle underwater with cheer,

While police chased vowels vanishing mid-year,

Played Scrabble with pigeons wearing hats of blue,

Then lost to a sausage who rhymed better too!

Ann Edall-Robson:

Part One

The scrabble tiles found in the boathouse spelled one word, underwater. It was all the police had to go on except the jewelry heist itself and no witnesses. 

Part Two

Thinking about the cold case and the picture of the word written with scrabble tiles, the police detective walked toward the fountain. “It’s not underwater, it’s under water.”

Part Three

People playing scrabble on the patio of the coffee shop watched the police remove the underwater display, piece by piece, from the fish tank on the brick base.

Part Four

The police detective leaned on the ledge of the brick base watching the scrabble players through the window. A brick shifted. underwater or under water? Cold case solved!

Rall:

The police found the dead dog underwater with a scrabble board nearby. They have never located the owner to this day. It remains a mystery. Another unsolved crime.

The Elephant’s Trunk:

Deep Sieze

Waving handcuffs, the police raided our underwater Scrabble game.

“Freeze! Illegal tiles!” they gurgled.

I tried hiding the 10-point Z tile but the seaweed didn’t provide enough cover.

***

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

  1. Loubythesea61 Avatar
    Loubythesea61

    Bloody cat

    We hid the stolen diamonds in the chicken pies baked for tea, supposedly. No-one would suspect. Just pies on a counter top. The cat ate the pies. The police found the evidence later covered in poo. Invitations to view the electric chair event were sent on headed stationery. Such a travesty. I’ve always hated litter trays.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. You had me laughing out loud. Brilliant!

      Liked by 1 person

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

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, she thought, as she sat on the chair looking at her left hand. It would be a travesty if he didn’t present her with more than just a bunch of flowers this evening, especially after the last time when they found his cat in the stationery cupboard eating her freshly-baked pies.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Very good use of the prompt words, Chris 😊

      Like

  4. https://judydykstrabrown.com/2026/04/30/spoilage-of-rain/

    I broke one rule and wrote a 57 word poem instead of a story. Mea culpa.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I don’t mind at all 😊

      Like

  5. the cat was always ever there

    sitting in the bird watching chair

    and the diamonds of her eyes

    noticed and reflected on the hyprocrits that make

    travesties of the urgent urban tangent sanguine situations

    with and in which they lay and live too

    so the pie was the gem and jewel of her aye

    and stationery messed moving

    and going nowheres too!

    Liked by 4 people

  6. Here is my double challenge entry: for the limerick (floor) and for the story (57 words)

    https://wp.me/p3RE1e-oeM

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Cheryl was sitting in her favorite chair writing a letter on the cat stationary we gave her. She was writing about thetravesty of having her diamonds stolen out of her jewelry box. On top of that, her Thanksgiving pies were ruined because she left out the sugar! Once she was done with the letter, she’d try again.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. That’s a super story, Kim!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks!!

        Liked by 1 person

  8. I am telling this tale on my finest stationary suitable for framing. Yesterday, the cat used a chair to boost up to the counter, and walk through all my cooling pies. The travesty of the situation was only surpassed by her scattering my diamonds drying on the sink into the drain. I’m glad she didn’t eat anything.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. That could have been messy if she had! Funny story, John.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you, Esther. 😊

        Liked by 1 person

  9. How can I not tell a story about (my) cat?

    Henry the eighth cat of Frederick York lounged in his diamond studded chair (which the staff considered a travesty but nobody asked them). He dictated a carefully worded letter about the declining quality of the local bakery’s mouse pies. Every meow was taken down on Henry’s private stationery before it was burned to ashes by his secretary.

    Or, with Henry’s picture: https://picturesimperfectblog.com/2026/04/30/betrayal/

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Great piece I couldn’t post on your blog so it’s says annonymous ! 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Really?? What the heck’s going on, WordPress?! Thank you, Ange. 😌

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Cressida de Nova Avatar
    Cressida de Nova

    the cat sat

    on the chair

    taking a break

    from ripping the stationery

    to shreds on the desk

    there she was

    all dressed to the nines

    wearing diamonds

    baking pies in the kitchen

    trying to present a picture

    of normalcy for the interview

    What a traversty!

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Very good. Made me smile 😊

      Like

  11. […] for Esther’s Challenge to write a piece in 57 words using the following:- CAT, PIES, TRAVESTY, DIAMONDS, CHAIR & […]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Super poem ❤️

      Like

    1. I agree! 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  12. I bought a CAT at the weekend along with two meat PIES for our tea. Unfortunately it turned into a chaotic TRAVESTY of a meal. The cat escaped. It was hungry and scoffed one of the pies. Then it grabbed my DIAMOND necklace to play with, lay down on a CHAIR

    STATIONERY

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Hit send by mistake..
    Lay down on a chair to sleep… Claws out. Which would rip through stationery they were so sharp!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. And – Too many words!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. You’ve gotta watch those pesky cats 😂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Just annoyed I hit post early x

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Leaning forward in the chair, the detective scrutinized two faded pictures—pies sitting on an open window’s sill and a cat stretched out beside its empty dish. No mention of diamonds in the report was a travesty. 

    No wonder it became a cold case. 

    The detective reached for a blank piece of stationary and wrote SHABBY INVESTIGATING!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Very funny. I like that last line.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks Esther. This is a great bunch of prompt words.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Glad you enjoyed working with them.

        Like

  15. The privileged cat seemed bored. Her diamond studded collar sparkled as she lay sprawled out on a cushioned chair, waiting for something to excite her .

    Suddenly, her owner ,swearing, dropped a tray of hot pies onto the table ,spilling gravy all over the stationery, prepared earlier for her husband’s speech.

    That will liven things up, purred Monty .

    Liked by 2 people

    1. We had a cat named Monty. Fun story.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thankyou Esther

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Having a go at some flash fiction! thank you💞Suzanne

    Tell a story – “Unencumbered…”

    Liked by 1 person

  17. The Story of Stationary Cat (Shrodinger’s ?) Existing in only Fifty-Seven Words

    My cat has diamonds in her ears
    And sits upon her chair
    She purrs so loud the neighbour hears
    She preens her ginger hair
    She dines on mice and salmon pies
    But what a travesty
    Imagination has no eyes
    So my cat you cannot see

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Very nicely done, Mr Richmond.

      Like

  18. The Cat Who Kept the Peace

    The cat guarded a box of diamonds atop a rickety chair, a silent protest against the travesty unfolding downstairs. Pies burned, tempers rose, and apologies were scribbled on borrowed stationery no one would send. By dawn, the house cooled, the jewels untouched, and the cat, satisfied, finally slept while memories of chaos lingered in every quiet corner.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. What an excellent story. Thank you for joining in.

      Like

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