Tastes Like Lions

Here's the Kid's first short story -- written entirely by her, BTW. I just did the typing:


Tastes Like Lions

Once upon a time there was a lion village. There were lots of people. Then one day a giant chicken swooped down and ate all their lions, and the people became poor.

So the leader of the village, he himself a lion, called together the two most popular knights. “You should go and try to slay this giant chicken.”

The first most popular knight went first. He was big and brawny, but he had an itty bitty brain.

The chicken lived up on a high cliff – you must not forget this, for it will be very important later on. The first most popular knight climbed up to the top of the cliff and grabbed the chicken around the throat. The chicken then pecked him, and the knight ran backwards, and the chicken chased him down and ate him.

Then the second most popular knight came. He was very wise. He climbed up the cliff very carefully. The chicken said, “Knight, why do you come?”

The knight said, “I come to slay the giant chicken.”

The chicken said, “But I am the giant chicken.”

“In that case, I shall have to slay you.” So far the knight has not moved a step.

The chicken is thinking that this guy is like the first knight, easy to slay, low on strength. The chicken says, “Well, I will not let you.”

The knight say, “Well I must.” He steps forward.

“Why must you slay me?” The chicken backs up a step.

“Because you eat lions,” the knight says, stepping forward another step, “and the leader of my village is a lion, so he doesn’t want to be eaten.”

“Well, I did have my eye on him,” the chicken admitted, backing up another step, “he does look juicy.”

“See, that is why I must slay you,” said the knight, stepping forward one more step.

“Well, I will not stand for this,” the chicken said, backing off one more step and stepping off the edge of the cliff.

“Well, that was easy,” said the knight, going over to look off the edge of the cliff.

Down below, the giant chicken became lunch for the village full of lions.


Explanatory Notes:

(1) It is a giant chicken and not a dragon because We Like Dragons, and no knight should ever slay one

(2) I asked her where she got the idea to have the knight slay the chicken by having it back off the cliff, b/c wow, what a cool plot twist, and she's just eight, how come I can't come up with plot twists like that, and she said she just imagined Tom and Jerry and what would happen if it was Tom and Jerry having a fight. Also, that in her *first* draft, the knight waved his sword at the chicken and scared him off the cliff, but she liked this version better.

Have I got a tiny Chaucer on my hands or what now?