short fiction
2 min
My favorites
The Three Mischiefs
Tanvi Kataria
There were once three animals who were the best of friends. There was Daniel the stag, a Russell Terrier named Ron, and Emma the otter. They could all talk, breathe anywhere, and transform into anything. One day, they were playing in the woods when they came across a clearing with a huge box of candy, which was so full, the top wouldn't close even if they tried. True to their name, they promptly devised a plan on how to get the whole box back to their treehouse. The box was from their favorite shop, The Duke of Honey's.
But as soon as Ron reached out his paw and grabbed the closest chocolate frog, the delicious amphibian disappeared into thin air! "Ron, stay away from the candy," Emma snapped, "it must have some kind of charm on it." "Come on now, Emma, we wouldn't have known if I hadn't tried to get the chocolate," Ron replied. While they were arguing, Daniel had been examining the box, walking slowly around it. "Well, I'll be," he mumbled to himself. Emma whipped her head around. "What is it, Daniel?" she asked. "There's a patch of grass here," he said, "but it's white." Ron bounded over. "Let me see," he said. "Now isn't that something," he said in awe when he saw what Daniel was pointing at. Then Emma had an idea. "Let's all put our hands on the box and see what happens." Ron and Daniel agreed. "On the count of three," she said, "one, two, three!"
They all smacked their hands against the bright blue sides of the box and braced themselves, eyes shut, jaws clenched. Then a whirring began and their eyes flew open as they tumbled through a whirlwind of worlds, from starry nights to golden sunsets to sparkling shorelines. Suddenly, they fell into a pilot eddy in the middle of a field of lollipops. "Whoa!" they all said in unison. Emma jumped onto Daniel's back, her favorite spot for long walks, because they were going to explore wherever they were. They trod on, marveling at the hot-chocolate waterfalls, the Jell-O ponds, cotton-candy clouds, and gummy towns. When they got hungry or thirsty, they would devour the candy around them. After exploring, they made a map and figured out that just a couple of yards ahead, they would enter the field where they had arrived. Finally, they found the pile of candy. "Let's go home," Emma said, and the boys agreed. So they grabbed ahold of a piece of candy and traveled back to the clearing with the box of candy. Then, Ron had an idea.
When they were back in the clearing, Ron had an idea. "What if we each take a piece of candy," he said, "so we can go back to Sugarspell without having to come here." "Great idea, Ron," Daniel said. So, they each took a piece of candy, and this time, the sugary treats didn't disappear, but instead turned into gloaming coins. They each tucked them into their sling bags and walked home. They would visit The Wonderful Land of Sugarspell, as they called it, from time to time and then they told their children, who told their children, who told their children, and on this went, until the end of time. And that was the story of how three friends discovered Sugarspell, The Land of Candy.
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