Emma Keith

In a thriving city not far from here, there lived a talented baker and his wife.  But the passion in the baker’s heart for his pastries and bake shop did not match the funds in his bank account, which ran drier by the day. At last, the baker and his wife realized that they had but enough money and ingredients for one more day of pastry production.  The baker dutifully prepped his ingredients and bases for his last day of operation the night before, shedding a single tear as he turned off the lights in his shop’s kitchen and headed upstairs to his apartment.  But when the baker turned up the lights in the kitchen the next morning, he was met with a glorious surprise: a row of pastries and treats, still hot and fresh, all ready their trays. He gasped in delight and called to his wife, who helped him set the treats out in the shop.  Soon the shop’s regulars began to appear for their morning muffins and danishes. They noticed on first sight how beautiful ...

Anchor: "Aaaand welcome back to Forest News at Five. We've got breaking news for you about a crime in our forest that will make you lock your doors tonight. For more, we go to the scene with reporter Lucy Lion." Lucy: "I'm here at the three bears' castle with some truly startling news. In a neighborhood most assumed to be safe, the bears have seen otherwise today. Let's hear from the bear family now on the disturbing occurrence that took place here just hours ago." Mother bear: "It was terrifying. When we got back from our wonderful afternoon picnic, I realized our castle's front door was open just a crack, and that's where the trouble started."  Father bear: "When we walked in, I saw my son's chair was all broken down and clearly sat in, but that was only the beginning of what this hooligan did to our beautiful home." Lucy: "The three bears report that on returning home, they found out that not on...

I began life as a boulder.  A rather large boulder, but a simple boulder, nonetheless. My humble beginnings are all in my past now.  But a boulder in the great Yosemite Valley, where I watched the children of the tribe and the wild creatures pass me by season by season. I am certain, is the most beautiful place on earth, but I grew tired of my insignificance in that valley.  One day, as I was bemoaning my place in the world, two tiny boys from the nearby tribe sat down on my smooth, shiny surface. I was warmed by the sun that day and they were clearly tired from their day in the Merced, so I happily hosted their nap.  I cannot explain what happened next; it must be the magic of that valley. All I know is that I began to feel a change, and the next I knew, I was growing. So slowly I barely noticed at first; so slowly that I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. I grew until I was too tall for these two small boys to safely escap...

Announcer A: Annnnd it looks like Sindbad's been left alone on a dangerous island again! Thanks for tuning in folks — let's see how our adventurer's going to get out of this one. Announcer B: Welcome back to The Great Escape, where each week we bring you to some of the most dangerous places on the globe with some of our most daring wilderness survivors. Today we're joining Sindbad, a world traveler and expert trader, in one of our most remote and harrowing locations, and he's about to find himself in a jam. Let's have a look! [Scene cuts to Sindbad, who's just waking up on a deserted island after realizing his ship left him. Sindbad climbs a tree to try to look around and get his bearings.] Announcer A: And he's at it folks! It looks like Sindbad's noticed something in the distance, but it's not his ship! [Sindbad has spotted a large, gleaming white object in the distance.] Announcer B:  Our adventurer's having a go at it! Oh, now...

Dear diary, Image from page 170 of "Stories from the Arabian nights." Source: Flickr .  A tragic day for the kingdom.  Our dearest sultana has betrayed the sultan, so quietly and painfully. Father tells me the sultan is mad with grief, pacing the halls of the palace and tearing at his hair. None of this can excuse the sultan's final actions toward his wife today or his forcing father to play a part. I am conflicted — while I am disappointed in the sultana's actions, I mourn deeply for her loss at the sultan's hand. I only hope we as a kingdom can move past this and the sultan can return to h is former mind.  ___________________________________________________ Dear diary,  Dark times across the city. The sultan has taken a turn for the worse — that may in fact be an understatement. Father weeps every night when he arrives home for the tasks the sultan sets him to. Each morning the sultan slaughters his bride from the evening before and each day f...

Far in the East, in Babylon, there lived two youths surely destined for one another. Pyramus, the pride of his city, and Thisbe, a woman of great beauty, had dwelt in adjacent homes since infancy, growing in stature and love for one another.  The two fell in love through hours of conversation and shared secrets, but as their bond strengthened, so did their parents' resolve to keep them apart. Soon, they were forbidden from speaking, kept from marriage by a will not their own.        "Thisbe." By John  William  Waterhouse. Source: Wikipedia Commons . Between them there was but one remaining avenue of communication: a tiny crack in the wall between their homes, a fissure where they could meet each morning and night to whisper to one another. They lamented that they could not kiss, or even see one another in full, but rejoiced that they could feel each other's presences. One morning as they met in their spot, tired of being apart, the two f...

In a certain town in the American west, a well-respected and elderly man realized his time had come. He had but one son called Hanina who lived not far from him, and he called on his child to set his affairs in order. "My son, it's time for your mother and I to pass on," he told Hanina. "But I will care for you even when I am gone. After your week of mourning, I want you to go to the marketplace and buy the first item offered you. Your purchase will bring you great fortune." Hanina was deeply distressed by his father's request and his impending death, but was comforted with his father's command at their parting: "be at peace, my son." Days later, Hanina's father and mother passed within hours of one another. Hanina and his own wife buried them on a small plot outside town.  A week after his parents' passing, no longer dressed in black, Hanina woke early on a Saturday morning and walked to the market in the center of town.   Mo...

In a charming village in a place not far from here, there lived a quiet family on a quiet farm — a mother and her three daughters. One Friday morning, the mother set out on her monthly journey to the market. The market was in a far-off town, and at least a day's journey there and back. She could not spare any of her daughters for the journey, and so, before she left, asked if she could bring them any treats back from the market. Her two oldest daughters asked for fabric for new dresses and ribbons for new hats. When she got to her youngest child, Mary, the girl asked for one thing only. "If you could only bring me three roses from the market mother, I would smile for a week" Mary posed sweetly.  Her mother was taken, and left with a smile, determined to bring her daughters back their goods.  That evening, as the mother returned with her buggy full of goods from the market, she was struck with the realization that she had forgotten one thing: Mary's roses.  ...