“Two-Minute Tuesdays” are a series of micro-stories written in five ten minutes or less.  Consider them “public practice,” like that guy who shoots free throws in the park.  Prompts are supplied at the bottom in case you want to try your own hand at one of them.

The Boy From Portugal (Part 2)

After years of war, his tribe prevailed over its enemies and the young man was crowned king of the Nile. However, he did not feel any wiser than he had herding sheep in Portugal. Giving up, finally, on the spirit’s promise, the young man went back to the oasis where his love was (traveling in disguise, of course, because he’d read One Hundred and One Arabian Nights from cover to cover).

He found his love quickly. She was married to another man—an honest, brave man. He was a caravan guide and part-time camel merchant, and knew the desert well. The woman did not recognize the young king, because of his disguise, and so he asked his love about the boy from Portugal.

She sighed, but smiled. “I love him still, but love is not the only thing.”

“What more is there than love?” asked the young king.

“My lover left to seek wisdom,” answered the woman, “but my husband finds his wisdom in me. I am his life, and he is mine—we need not seek it elsewhere. That is love, and more.”

And so the young king left, and wrote a royal decree giving his entire kingdom to his love and her husband (for he could tell that they were both strong and worthy—kings know these things), keeping only enough for himself to travel back to Portugal and buy a new flock of sheep. There he lived until the end of his days, reflecting that the spirit had indeed given him a small grain of wisdom, but that love had been his to lose.

(prompt: Write a fairy tale.)

(Nice happy ending, there, bud.)

“Two-Minute Tuesdays” are a series of micro-stories written in five ten minutes or less.  Consider them “public practice,” like that guy who shoots free throws in the park.  Prompts are supplied at the bottom in case you want to try your own hand at one of them.

The Boy From Portugal (Part 1)

Once upon a time there was a young boy from Portugal named Paulo. Despite the best efforts of his mother and father, he wanted nothing to do with life on the farm and became a shepherd instead, wandering the hills with his flock instead of earning an honest living. The life suited him, and although he dreamed of doing more he never did anything about it.

One afternoon, during his usual nap, a mysterious and powerful spirit visited him.

“Boy,” it said, “I can give you one of three things. I can give you great wealth, a mighty empire, or a small grain of wisdom. Choose well.”

The boy had read One Hundred and One Arabian Nights from cover to cover, and quickly saw through the spirit’s ruse. “Give me wisdom,” he said.

“Very well,” said the spirit. “Go to the pyramids, in Egypt. You will find wisdom there.”

The boy awoke hours later, remembering the vivid dream. “I must go,” he said to himself, “if I’m not to waste the spirit’s gift.” And so he sold his sheep and set off.

Many adventures happened to the boy along the way. The pyramids were much further away than he originally suspected, and it took years to work his way across Africa. Finally he arrived at the fianl oasis in the desert, nearly at his goal.

There he met a beautiful young woman, and they fell in love.

He wanted to stay with her—she made him happy. But he knew he could not stay without sacrificing the wisdom that the spirit had promised him. So the lovers parted, and she pledged to wait until his return.

The young man reached the pyramids, but instead of wisdom he found a vast treasure. After a hair-raising adventure, he was made chief of a powerful tribe, and as much as he wanted to go back to the oasis and his love the duties of leadership called.

(prompt: Write a fairy tale.)