Tagged: short stories

Perfect Peace

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace. The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and...

The Parable of the Two Servants

There once was a man who had two indentured servants. One day a disagreement arose between them as to who was the greatest in the eyes of their master. So they went to the master of the house and asked him, “My lord, which of us is greater?” The master of the house replied, “I will let you discover that for yourself. I will ask each of you a question and you must answer truthfully.” So the servants stood before him and he started to question them. To the first servant, he asked, “What do you do for me?” “Sir,...

Our Hands

An old man, probably some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the park bench. He didn’t move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn’t acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if he was okay. Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was all right. He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking,” he said in a clear strong voice. “I didn’t...

Horse Sense

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if one stops the car, or is walking by, one will notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing. Listening, one will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, one will see that it comes from the...

God Talk

“So where does it come from?” the young woman asked. “From a place on the edge of tomorrow looking back at yesterday,” I replied. I’ve been asked so many times about my writing. To the point of embarrassment I read warm, generous comments about my work and deal with them one word at a time. It’s the only way I can accept it. But she wanted to be there where I go to find the words. I couldn’t take her there. I could only describe it from the outside looking in. “I have fallen in love with words,” I told...