Esther Chilton

Here’s a new story challenge for you: Can you tell a story in 44 words using the following words in it somewhere:

• SHOCK
• DRIBBLE
• BEAR
• AMBIDEXTROUS

The previous challenge was to write a story in 60 words using the following six words in it somewhere:

• INSOMNIA
• DARE
• TAMBOURINE
• DUST
• FOX
• FAN

Here are your clever stories:

poetisinta:

Hey Mr Tambourine Man

Foxy had insomnia every night,
His neighbour banged a dusty tambourine with delight,
Foxy counted his pulse instead of sheep,
The neighbour jingled louder, denying him sleep,
There's no fan of the instrument, who'd dare applaud the beat?
Everyone hated it in the entire street,
Then dawn yawned politely, Foxy closed his eyes,
Finally he fell asleep with grateful sighs. 

Fandango:

Insomnia kept Dave awake until the moon looked exhausted. On a dare from his wife, he grabbed a tambourine and slipped into the old barn.

Each step stirred dust from ancient floorboards. A curious fox emerged, watching without fear. The old ceiling fan creaked once, though no electricity remained.

Ultimately, Dave finally grew tired and went back to his bed.

Graeme Sandford:

Corrie’s energetic tambourine playing had kept me asleep all night – it had totally cured my insomnia.

The morning broke, and I had dreamt seven brilliant new songs for The Dust Foxes. 

Our debut album is going to be called ‘Dare’, like the ground-breaking Human League album.

Our fans would love it, however fans of the Human League would certainly not. 

Therapy Bits:

Insomnia haunted Mara, yet she accepted a dare to follow a fox carrying a tambourine through swirling dust. Every echo mocked sleep until dawn. Then the strange guide bowed, vanished, and left one feather beside a silent fan, proving impossible journeys sometimes cure fear, never fatigue because wonder lingers longer than nightmares, inviting hope back each restless night again gently.

Nicola Daly:

The incessant whirring of the fan did nothing to cure my insomnia. And when I dared turn it to full speed it sounded like a broken tambourine. Who’d stay at the Fox Inn these days? Nothing worked properly and everywhere was covered with dust. And what had they served for dinner? Scrambled Haggis a l’orange? I should’ve stayed at home.

Crystal:

When I’ve got insomnia I turn on my fan and dare to play my tambourine and after I’m done doing that I dust off my pet fox for a while in hope I can finally get some sleep.

The Afterlove Voice:

Insomnia kept the old fox watcher awake until dawn.

On a dare, she lifted a forgotten tambourine, shaking dust from its jingles.

A lonely fan hummed beside the window, keeping rhythm.

Somewhere outside, a fox answered with a sharp bark, and suddenly the sleepless night felt wonderfully alive again.

Moonlight painted silver leaves across the garden, reminding her courage sometimes begins with one unexpected beat and one faithful heartbeat.

Rall:

you’re a sly old fox

feigning insomnia

using it as an excuse

for not doing your choressleeping during the day

i know you don’t like dusting

how dare you

accuse me of keeping you

awake all night

doing a fan dance

banging a tambourine

you know

i don’t like percussion instruments

as for fan dancing

it has been thirty years

since i danced flamenco

Mark Fraidenburg:

Insomnia gnawed her raw nerves. The ceiling fan clicked, a metronome counting down to something terrible. Dust settled over photos of victims she’d failed. A dead fox hung from her porch railing this morning. His message. She wouldn’t dare sleep now. Her phone vibrated: a video. A child’s tambourine shaking slowly in darkness. Her daughter’s hands.

Pensitivity101:

George Fox and Sammy Dare became friends in High School.

Both had dreams of making it big in the music business after a night of insomnia had them blowing the dust off an old fan and tambourine for their improvised instruments.

Their skills did not go unnoticed and they were invited to join the school orchestra’s percussion section that year.

Teleportingweena:

Midnight in the desert, where the insomniacs had gathered, as a fox yipped in the distance. Shuffling their feet in the dust, the fans of conspiracy dared each other to breach the fence line with the warning prominently posted. One sleepless person took the dare, as she rattled her tambourine in the air. Then she stepped over the line.

Lily’s Corner:

When Spoons Hit the Fan

The Rhythm Tin Band meets every Friday night at the Insomnia Coffee House.

Seated by the cozy fireplace with our tambourines and spoons. We were dared to play a song that caused one guy to lose control of his spoon. Up it flew and hit the fan. Dust sprinkled everywhere, and I coughed sharply, which oddly sounded like a fox.

M.A.D. Works:

A fox watched me battle insomnia, its eyes glowing like tiny lanterns in the dark. The tambourine on my shelf rattled with every shift I made, stirring dust into the air. I whispered a dare to the silence, hoping courage might cool my racing thoughts. But only the fan answered, humming its lonely lullaby.

Lou by the Sea:

I am Faithless 

So hot

Deep in the bosom of the gentle night

I’ve woken

My fan has broken

Catching dust mites in the light

Dare to stare that street fox in the eye

Mr Tambourine Man earworm

Driving insanity

But there′s no release, no peace

I toss and turn without cease

I need to sleep, I can′t get no sleep

NOW DANCE!

Boomcha:

Insomnia kept me upright, listening to the fan rattle like a tired tambourine. I didn’t dare move, not with the fox watching from the doorway again. Dust drifted off its coat as it breathed, slow and deliberate. I whispered that I wasn’t afraid. It tilted its head, as if deciding whether to believe me.

Squirreljan:

At midnight, I decided to clean the house.

Ding-dong. It was my new neighbour probably come to complain about the music. How dare she. Her little boy was constantly playing his tambourine.

 “Would you mind if Tommy and I joined you. He’s a massive Meatloaf fan.”

As we danced, dusted and screeched like foxes, for once I thanked my insomnia.

Dawgy Daddy Responds:

My insomnia had me feeling like a fox on the run. I dusted off my stereo and dared to record what would become more than AI slop. After nine months of this I have started to become a fan of making music with Suno and moving toward producing my own album. I’ve recently tried adding a tambourine to the mix. 

Annette Rochelle Aben:

On the Prowl

Never a dull moment for me, the Fan Fox. Honesty, there’s so many celebrities to hound, if one does dare! Seriously, I begin each morning, shaking the dust from my bushy tail; make my protein drink, grab my autograph book and tambourine then head out of my lair. Provided I did not have a bout of insomnia the night before,

Blind Wilderness:

Stella thought she could fox them all. Banging on her tambourine just as a strong gust of wind blew she fell over. Dust went into her eyes. Her pride wounded, she began to fan herself. She had only done it for a dare. The Parade came to an abrupt halt. She was certainly going to suffer from insomnia that night.

John W. Howell:

Some dope would , of course, dare play a tambourine outside my window, while, with insomnia, I sweat under a fan blowing dust and fox dander, in my allergic face, trying to remember where I hid my shotgun.

Susan Batten:

Blame my insomnia – I found myself at three in the morning, in the attic with Aunt Valerie’s things, including two boxes of dusty vinyl.

Ignoring the fans and the moulting fox fur I’d once worn for a dare, I blew the dust off “Mr. Tambourine Man” and trudged downstairs to celebrate Dylan on her gramophone.

“Play a song for me…”

Richmond Road:

Sing-song in my head
Dancing machine
Insomnia in bed
Prancing tambourine
Body is shaking
Touch me if you dare
Love in the making
Show me you care
Get your body moving
Disturb a little dust
Get it grooving
Don’t let that booty rust
I’m a fox, Goldilocks
I’m hot. Need a fan
Take off your polkadot socks
I’ve got a plan.

Rohini:

Outfoxed

After days of insomnia, I accepted a dare to perform tambourine music for a fox. The fox listened, stroked his chin thoughtfully, and said, “Too much enthusiasm, not enough rhythm.”

A nearby fan hummed in agreement. Humiliated, I kicked some dust and left. The fox later published a bestselling book of music reviews.

Pictures Imperfect Blog:

Sicilian Challenge

The Fox, so-called for his cunning mind, shook the dust of his shoes and walked into the Insomnia Café in the small seaside town of Scopello in Sicily. He stood directly under the cool fan while he watched a ginger-haired woman passionately swirling around with a tambourine, red ribbons flying.
I dare you to dance the tarantella with her, Fox!

Kim Smyth:

I had insomnia one night, so I wandered out onto the backyard deckand my eyes beheld such a sight!

I saw a fox standing on a box fan playing a tambourine as the dust swirled and danced in front of him.

I didn’t dare move nor could I, I was so entranced.

He stopped playing, winked at me, and vanished!

Ann Edall-Robson:

Another sleepless night but not from insomnia. A lead, not a dare, brought the detective and his team to this barn. 

Was that shriek from a fox? He stopped. 

The moon’s stream on the floor showed footprints etched in the dust. On the floor beside a broken fan, the child sat tapping a metal tambourine and humming. 

We found you. 

I.J. Khanilwala:

An insomniac vampire has a hard time living, if you can call it living. He can hardly slink through shadows like a fox, for fear of turning to dust at the slightest touch of the sun. No, he must turn the fan on in his lonely sweltering coffin and play any musical instrument that fits, maybe a tambourine or cymbals.

iMartist:

Heat

Roxy Fox lay naked and sweating profusely with severe insomnia.

Beneath her lived Miguel, a fan, dared himself to access her by any means necessary.

“The depravity of man’s heart knows no floor.” he whispered with a quick shake of a tambourine.

With an attempt to scale the building, he fell to his death landing in a cloud of dust.

Lauren Scott:

Sleep and I aren’t best friends. Insomnia is my middle name, and it never helps with dust making me sneeze, waking me up when I finally drift off. But in a moment of deep slumber on a hot July night when the fan purred quietly, I dreamed of a fox playing a tambourine! I dare you to state it’s impossible!

The Elephant’s Trunk:

Insomnia

Three a.m. Insomnia again. A fox screamed somewhere in the distance. Faint chiming, like a dare, beckoned Trina to climb the ladder to the attic. Dust clung like a fog around a bare bulb. Her grandmother’s tambourine still hung on its nail, jingling faintly as the fan below blew warm air upwards. Trina shook the tambourine; magically, the screams stopped.

A Jeanne in the Kitchen:

When you have severe insomnia, it’s like someone is daring you to dust with the fan on while chasing a tambourine playing fox running around the house. You are running in all directions at full speed.

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Image credit: Pinterest