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Contents

Editor’s Note

In January, the days are already getting longer but it doesn’t feel that way! This issue has some short short fiction—the winners of our 2018 contest—to match the season’s short short days, as well as wintry, dark landscapes in both art and poetry. It also has three longer stories that matched the seasonal mood in [...]

Editor’s Note

 

The Pendulum

    Most nights, my cat stares at the grandfather clock in the living room. She is a grey tabby with splotches of black and white. Her eyes are golden and edged in greenish blue, like a miniature painting of the sun over a forest, or a mood ring, because you never know when the [...]

The Greater Good

Lizard Corporation started as a tiny, innocent store in Miss Angelica Plum’s basement when she was only 18 years old. “Want an invention of your very own? A novelty item to show off to your friends? Come on in!” she shouted, in her loud voice with an accent nobody could identify. Those were the first [...]

The Sycamore Tree

    Once upon a time, there lived a bright and cheerful sycamore tree named Triffle. Triffle was bewildered by the rapid riffles at the edge of the clear blue river. She was very astonished at how rapidly the river was moving. She spotted a baying dog and a squalling bunny running away, trying to [...]

The Power of Nature

The water gushed from the waterfall that I could just about see and it formed a sapphire river feeding life itself. Dark green shrubs poked their beautiful heads out of the ground pleading with the smiling sun to grow and live. Just by looking at this beautiful jewel, a feeling of pure happiness washed over [...]

The Deadly Storm

“It’s so dark tonight,” said Elizabeth to her mother. Elizabeth is an only child. She’s 12 years old. Her dad died from a heart attack when she was only four years old. They were on the way to the hospital because her dad was having severe chest pains. Two years before he died, the doctors told [...]

A Dinner Party

  The old man tidied his home for his dinner party. Slowly, the guests trickled in, and a subtle murmur burbled across the room. He stepped across his woven carpet, antique and intricate like moss burnishing a forest floor. The guests seemed uneasy, whispering amongst themselves around the oaken table. The old man pulled in [...]

The Hummingbird

    As I walked along the trail, the wind rustled the deep-green leaves in the tall trees. I could sense everything in the forest that day; the soft whispers of the tall grass, the chipmunks that silently skittered across the trail, the lullaby of the creek as clear water trickled over smooth stones. But [...]

Hide-And-Seek

  For my Opa “Faster, faster, faster!” Carlotta squealed, her eyes shining with excitement. Freja Larsen and Madeline Aaron, best friends since birth, laughed at the silliness of Freja’s younger sister. Giggling and talking, they rode home on Farmer John’s hay cart every day after school. “Three, two, one and . . . jump!” All [...]

Silence/Ages

  Silence shine When the silence goes over the mountains And when it goes down into the sea We never know how far it’s going to go In the sea or in the trees And the silence spreads so far away That no one can say When you look over and around You’ll see a [...]

In the Mirror

  It’s not surprising I look like a monochrome: The only colors are pink laces on my shoes And purple bags beneath my eyes. Like an old-fashioned photograph— “Subject stares beyond the camera. Subject seems so sad.” The people in the pictures never smile. Their faces stay stony and unreadable Even though they see everything, [...]

Snow

  drifting falling a small voice calling through the wind through the clouds snowman made on the ground a snowball fight begins a cold ball hits me on the chin

Snow

 

Night

    The stars stood gleaming Like sequins On a black cloth The moon came to rest On the surface Of a pond The grass swayed From side to side Like a rocking horse The night was as quiet As an empty page.

Fox on a Snowy Night

Tick Tock

The Lonely Tree

The Cuts of the Blade

Silent Stalker

Optimistic Darkness

Stone Soup Honor Roll: January 2019

Welcome to the Stone Soup Honor Roll! We receive hundreds of submissions every month by kids from around the world. Unfortunately, we can't publish all the great work we receive. So we created the Stone Soup Honor Roll. We commend all of these talented writers and artists and encourage them to keep creating. – The [...]