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Flash Contest #25: Write a Story that begins with “Once upon a time in a land far away. . .” and ends with “. . . and they all lived happily ever after.” Our November Flash Contest was based on our weekly creativity prompt #125, asking participants to write a story–any story–with the traditional fairy tale opening and closing lines. What a difficult task we had judging these entries! We could see that all our entrants had fun with the idea of playing with and subverting the fairytale form, and we loved reading the range of imaginative journeys everyone took. While we enjoyed many stories involving the more traditional witches, royalty, dragons and other magical creatures (not necessarily in traditional mode, though!), we also encountered aliens and were transported into outer space–and even entered the mind of a roll of toilet paper (look out for that one on the Covid-19 blog)! A huge thank you and a hearty well done to everyone who wrote a piece and submitted it to us. In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners The Aliens by Benjamin Fraenkel, 8, Mansonville, Quebec, Canada The Queen and the Tiara by Samantha Lee, 11, Thomaston, CT The Bookcase by Iago Macknik-Conde, 13, Brooklyn, NY The State of Matter by Maya Mourshed, 8, Silver Spring, MD The Forest of Mystery by Areesha Nouman, 12, Westlake, OH Honorable Mentions Happily Ever After by Isabella Bixler, 13, Fairview Park, OH The Witch’s Journey by Lorena Manrique, 11, Fort Worth, TX Dragon Tales by Georgia Grace Hoover, 11, Forth Worth, TX The Naughty Princess by Atalie Lyda, 11, Portland, OR My True Self by Michelle Peng, 10, Scarsdale, NY  Selected for the Stone Soup Blog Pecky’s Bravery Saves The Forest by Elise Cheung, 8, Danville, CA The Toilet Paper Roll’s Quest by Charlotte Zhang, 12, Portland, OR Benjamin Fraenkel, 8Mansonville, Quebec, Canada The Aliens Benjamin Fraenkel Once upon a time, in a land far away, a rocket-ship landed in the middle of a playground. I know because I was there. I was just walking home from school when an unknown kind of alien climbed out of it right next to the sandbox. Their rocket-ship made poisonous gas and horrible noise. And they themselves were unlike anything I had ever seen. They had two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears, hair uniquely on the tops of their heads and their skin was pale! They were also wearing weird white suits. I couldn’t understand them, so I took out my languaginzinator to comprehend what they were saying. Here’s what appeared on the screen: “Who are these weird aliens with green hair covering their bodies, three eyes, two noses, two mouths, four ears, and shiny black skin!?” “No idea, but take out your gun, they may be dangerous!” Gun? I didn’t know what that was, but I was furious. They seemed to be insulting my green fur. I had groomed it nicely, thank you very much! I knew what I had to do. I had to go to the supreme king of Planet Benzadya, King Benzoubi. He was chosen by the citizens of Benzadya because he had gotten the highest mark on the goodheart-measurer. He was a kind, good ruler. “Aliens!? Hamuns? I mean, humans? My, my!” he exclaimed. “I must help them! I have seen how they destroy each other and their planet. I will speak with them, and then I must create a portal to planet Dearth, eh, I mean, Earth.” He bustled out of the room in a hurry. I heard much talk after that, and I even overheard them speaking about something they call “war” where they divide into groups as though to play zorkball, but instead they kill each other! Silly hamuns! We gave them a goodheart-measurer, a device that allows you to detect jealousy, anger and goodness in a person’s heart. And also a copy of Benzadya’s book of wisdom translated into human-speak. We all study it in school here. I have not seen the humans since then, but I can only hope that they brought our wisdom back to Earth and lived happily ever after. THE END Samantha Lee, 11Thomaston, CT The Queen and the Tiara Samantha Lee, 11 Once upon a time, in a land far away there lived a little bunny. The bunny’s name was Tiara, for it had long been told in those parts that if you said the right words, the little bunny would turn into a gleaming tiara. Tiara’s fur was a perfect, sparkling white and was softer than fresh snow on a winter day. Her graceful ears and big eyes made Tiara the cutest little rabbit in all of the land. She would spend her days frolicking in the Caramel Meadows and bounding through the Lollipop Forest. Sometimes, the bunny would go to the far edge of the meadow and look up at the sky where she could just imagine a shimmering castle glistening beneath the clouds, always housing a little princess in a sparkly tiara and glittering gown. As it turned out, Tiara’s imagination was closer to reality than she would have thought, though farther off than she would have wished. The sparkles and light had long since vanished from The Castle in the Distance. So had the glittering girl Tiara pictured. Instead there loomed a stark, menacing castle and a Queen that was both starker and more menacing. The Queen’s imagination wasn’t nearly so lighthearted as Tiara’s. The Queen imagined conquering more wide, green lands and taking more innocent people as servants. The Queen’s favorite word was “more”, especially when it came after the word “much”. One day, The Queen heard tell of the magical bunny Tiara from one of her older servants. A wicked grin spread across her lips and an evil laugh slipped out. The Queen wanted Tiara. She wanted her very much. And when the Queen wanted something, she would do anything at all to get it. Tiara inhaled deeply as she sat in one of her favorite clearings in the Lollipop Forest. A sweet, fresh smell always seemed to linger about there, making the whole clearing radiate a perfect aroma. The berries were