Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

The Ram in the Ficket

Lily came out of Sunday School full of excitement and eagerness. She tugged at her mother's skirt. "Mummy, Mummy," she said.

Mummy was busy talking to Mrs. Fitzgerald, who talked and talked and talked, and never stopped, so she held up one finger at Lily. This was her way of saying "Wait."

Lily stood on one foot, then the other. She twirled around in circles, then she raised her arms and flapped them like an eagle. After that she pulled her long, dirty blond hair straight out to the sides and let it cascade back around her face.

Mummy was still talking to Mrs. Fitzgerald, so she started all over again. One foot, then the other...

Finally Mrs. Fitzgerald was finished talking, so Mummy looked at Lily, who was on her fourth repetition of "flap like an eagle" and said, "What is it, Lily?"

"Can we go to the ocean?"

"The ocean? Good heavens, sweetie, it's the middle of November! Why would you want to go there?"

"I'm hungry."

"Hungry?"

"Uh huh."

Mummy smiled indulgently. "Well, honey, there's no food at the ocean, unless you're planning to catch some fish."

"Is too food," Lily replied adamantly. "On the beach. Miss Waters says so."

Miss Waters was Lily's Sunday School teacher. Mummy doubted Miss Waters would have told Lily any such thing. "What was the Bible story today?"

"Aberham and Izik and the ram in the ficket."

"Uh huh. That didn't happen at the ocean."

"No, but God made a promise to Aberham. He said Aberham would have lots and lots of children. More children..." She scrunched up her face in serious concentration, trying to remember what Miss Waters had said.

"More children than there are stars in the sky?" Mummy prompted.

Lily nodded, then said triumphantly, "And more than the sandwiches on the seashore!"

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