Garden Party

/ Liz H-H

White Adirondack chairs on a villa's summer lawn: child-sized chair in between a whole and a broken chair

From Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr’s photo prompt, The Unicorn Challenge (09/15/23). No more than 250 words in length. Otherwise, let your creative flag fly!

Never invite a bear to your late-summer garden party. It’s just not worth the trouble.

The bears will arrive, freshly bathed in the river, teeth picked clean of salmon and blueberries, having already had a substantial snack at home, to avoid overeating at the party. They’ll dress in their finest hats, Momma in her lace collar and a single strand of faux pearls. Poppa still struggles with his bow tie, but Baby Bear’s Minnesota Twins cap fits just so over his ears, a discreet elastic to secure it. He does get excited at the lawn games; he loves to jump.

Best manners at front and center, they’ll amble around the perimeter of the summer villa to the back yard, precisely 35 minutes late, so they don’t embarrass the neighbors who arrived early having already downed a drink or two.

The Bears wish to blend in.

Poppa and the men discuss the Olympic Games, stock market trends, and golf. Poppa listens quietly as they discuss golf. He has trouble with his stance and secretly wishes they would talk about his favorite sport, fly fishing. Momma sits with the women, on the edge of an Adirondack chair to discuss baking, Montessori, and gardening. She also wishes they would talk about fishing.

There’s a small chair between the Adirondacks, just right for a tearful child, or a sleepy cub. Everything is perfect until SHE shows up, enraged at Momma Bear.

That blond bimbo never got over losing Poppa Bear and marrying the Wolf.

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2023)

28 thoughts on “Garden Party”

  1. Pingback: Savage Starfish | Valley of the Trolls

      • Alrighty then:
        Check out “Beyond the Woods: Fairy Tales Retold”, edited by Paula Duran (2016). That’ll get you started.
        And then there’s “The Girls At The Kingfisher Club” by Genevieve Valentine (2014) – check my FB post for today for a review of this re-visioning of the “The 12 Dancing Princesses,” set in the 1920’s.
        And then to blow your mind, there’s also Tanith Lee’s “Sabella”, which is a terrific Gothic vampire novella (1980). She also did a pretty disturbing rewrite of Snow White (don’t know the year). She is SO missed from the literary world.
        And while I’ve mentioned Snow White, there’s also Gaimon’s graphic novel “Snow, Glass, Apples (2019).
        Just to start…Lol!

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Excellent story, Liz. I’m still smiling.
    Such delightful descriptions of the bears fitting in to the party.
    And then the blonde bimbo and the wolf – set me off imagining a whole new story.
    In fairy tales anything can happen!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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