Morning Cup

A Magpie Tale

Michael Sowa, from The Little King

"Oh, no.  Not again."

The feeling of warm contentment in the royal belly churned into an angry growl as the new monarch found himself looking up at the table.  Regime change can be stressful, but this was ridiculous.

"Can't I drink a nice cup of cocoa around here without being belittled?"

Puffing, he struggled to the top of the table.  He had to admit that the exercise might be good for reducing the royal belly.  Still, he wanted to choose his own course, not let his physical fitness depend on the whim of an impudent pageboy.

He had found that stomping to the scullery and demanding the antidote did not make the desired impression when he was shorter than his own teaspoon.  No, this time he would sneak in and find it himself.  Then he would search the library for a spell that would decaffeinate the staff's coffee supply.

He would show them all who was king.

And then he would have another cup of cocoa, with extra marshmallows.

Winged Things

A Magpie Tale

The ostrich has fine wings, the chicken, too,
the sleek penguin, the eminent emu.
If true birds cannot soar, then why should I,
too ponderous to hop, attempt to fly?
Yet since these plumes, unasked, began to grow,
I've wondered if my possibilities
extend beyond just standing on my toes.
Can I thrive beyond the land I know?
And so I cast my trunk into the skies,
and buoyed up by new dreams, begin to rise.

Graceful Winged Elephants by Jean de Brunhoff

Among the more fictitious of my compositions are those I imagine when submitting a piece to a contest or publisher.  In my nervous hope, I try to decide how I would announce to the world that my work has actually been accepted, chosen. 

Now that it has, I'm not sure what to say.  The news feels like a winged elephant--astonishing, but solid.  And quite graceful.  So I'll trumpet it in your ear:

My story, "Foreign Exchange," has won the Publisher's Choice award in LDS Publisher's 2011 Christmas Story Contest! 

Thank you to Tess and the flock of Magpies that have inspired and encouraged my writing.  May the graceful winged elephants lend you their courage, perserverance, and patience as well.