MFTS – A Nice Story
Here is my contribution to Barbara Beacham’s Mondays Finish the Story. I apologise that this is my second flash fiction of the day, but I have been leaving things rather late this past week.
The supplied sentence to go with the prompt picture is in bold in my story, and you can read this week’s other contributions by clicking on the blue froggy.
The petroglyphs told the story of an unusual event.
“By Jove,” remarked Pinkerton-Smythe excitedly. “Look at this, Pendergast!”
The two smartly dressed gentlemen perused the carvings.
“On the right,” continued Pinkerton-Smythe, “we have an attack by wild animals, see there?”
Pendergast nodded.
“And here, look, concentric circles indicating the tribe’s wanderings to escape these attacks. Here they climb mountains in their trek – it seems as if they constructed ladders to help. We see them hunting as they walk, and here these squiggly lines, a river, undoubtedly.”
“I do see, old chap.”
“And here at last you see, bottom left, they arrive in a forest and make their home.”
“I say, this carving is exquisite! I must have it, Pinkerton-Smythe! You there, ten million for this!”
Five thousand years ago…
“Wumpa! What have I told you about doodling on your dad’s table top? He’ll be so mad! And where did you get that chisel? Put it back at once!”
“Aww, Mum, I bet it’ll be worth a fortune one day!”
I wonder if my “engravings” in the family kitchen table will become great museum quality art someday? That would be pretty funny too.
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I do believe my kid tried this. The “worth money some day…” argument, not chiseling into ancient stone (though he would argue I am really that old!).
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It’s always a good fall-back excuse when you’ve wrecked something in the name of art!
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The first Rorschach test?
DJ
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Your interpretation would certainly speak to your character, I reckon.
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this is why I have saved all my son’s scribbles 🙂 Nice dialogues.
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Thanks! Those scribblings will be worth a fortune in three thousand years 🙂 But I bet they’re priceless to you right now.
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I love these two characters! They’re just so upper-crust British! Pinkerton-Smythe interpreted the scene well, though, especially the part about the ladders. lol. I won’t discuss how many of our tables might have been ‘worth a fortune’ one day, had they not come in handy on November 5th. Great story!
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Oh no, you didn’t go and burn one-day-possibly-priceless art, did you? 🙂
I’m glad you liked my two “English gentlemen”!
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I was never sure what went up in smoke when my husband wanted a clear out, or Bonfire Night arrived. He may well have destroyed a future masterpiece. We have a couple of good artists amongst our offspring. 🙂
Loved the names of your gentlemen, too.
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One must have a suitably upper crust name when one is a proper English gentleman, what?
Hopefully your husband spotted and saved any future priceless works of art 🙂
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Love it, totally went in a different direction than expected, but you always manage to do that! Great job!
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I’m never one for the obvious 🙂 I’m glad you liked it.
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I love this, Ali. 🙂 The voices of Pinkerton-Smythe and Pendergast are really well done – you get a great sense of their characters just from the dialogue – and that it’s actually just an ancient child’s doodle makes it perfect!
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I’m glad you liked them, I imagined them talking in my head as I wrote 🙂
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I’ll bet this story is true of a many more ancient “writings” than archaeologists would ever want to admit to! It would be embarrassing to have to remove a kid’s doodle from a museum…
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I wouldn’t be surprised. I bet most of them are shopping lists. But as you say, the museums have to keep up appearances…
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I say old chap, you’ve done a frightfully good job with this one 🙂
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Why thank you 🙂
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Lovely tale! The boy had foresight.
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If only he were still around to reap the rewards!
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I loved your “upper-crust” accent. as much as I love the Cornish dialect. You do both well. Well done, Ali. 😀 — Suzanne
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I enjoy doing the “upper crust” more, I think 🙂 I’m glad you liked my story!
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A pragmatic take and a lovely satire.
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Thanks! How many ancient carvings are actually doodles, I wonder?
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No body knows for sure but they are some academics bread & butter. 🙂
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Hysterical Ali! Loved the ending. Another great take on the prompt. Do you like games? Coming to a challenge soon… be well…. ^..^
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I’m glad you enjoyed it!
A little hint for an upcoming MFTS there?
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A tease!
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🙂
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Fantastic story! And great interpretation of the petroglyphs! And the hilarious flashback 😀
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I’m pretty sure that’s what it actually says. Shame it’s just juvenile scribblings 🙂
I’m glad you liked it!
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Great story! They thought it was some exquisite message and all it was was a kid’s scribbles 5000 years ago! LOL! I don’t ever remember carving or drawing on our family tables but I do remember drawing on the inside roof of my grandmother’s car. She was pretty mad to say the least. LOL
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Yap, brilliant in deed.
I love the thousands years back track. Shows just how smart Pinkerton-Smythe truly is.
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He had a good stab at it, but sometimes a doodle is just a doodle 🙂
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So very true.
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It all begins that way, I guess…a bit of scribble that we don’t see coming can one day go into an art’s museum. 😉 Enjoyed your take on the prompt Ali.
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I wonder how many of my DraliDoodles will become masterpieces? (Answer – none of them.) 🙂
I’m glad you liked it!
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First… I could hear the cultured precise tones of the gentlemen explorers… perfect! The twist…. fantastic!!! Great story!!!
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I do wonder if cultured gentlemen of the age really did speak like that :-).
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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Hilarious! Gotta love ancient manuscripts! ❤
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And the people who think they know what they mean 🙂
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Nice visualization.. 🙂 I loved the ending.. 🙂
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Thanks, I always like to put a little something unexpected or fun at the end to round things off 🙂
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What a cute twist at the end. 🙂
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked the flashback in time 🙂
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love it- I can just imagine them standing around the carvings, pimms in hand, fanning themselves from the heat. its just a shame that Wumpa didn’t get to profit from his art!
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If only they knew! It is a shame for Wumpa. All he got was a telling off!
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The mark of a true artist- tragic in life, hero in death 🙂
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Very true!
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