Sunday, October 9, 2011

Cepheus

All Mr. King wanted was a break from the wife who didn’t want her daughter arriving at the party with those “little sluts” from the swim team . . . from his daughter who, after promising not to drink and drive, came to him.
     “I need your help again, Daddy.”
     And so Andromeda will take her mother’s car, past the kitchen window, with Mr. King hiding low in the front seat. He’ll drop her off, drive it back, and park two blocks from home, as instructed.
     And even all this, he figures, is a pretty small sacrifice for a little peace and quiet.

Painting from The Little King December by Michael Sowa. Rewritten for Magpie Tales 86 where you can see how other writers have interpreted this little king.
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31 comments:

  1. Roy SchulzeOctober 9, 2011 at 2:34 PM

    All Mr. King really wanted was a break from the wife who didn’t want their daughter arriving at the party with “those little sluts” from the swim team…

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  2. christopherOctober 9, 2011 at 3:21 PM

    How much will we sacrifice for a little peace and quiet?

    How much happens on the planet just this way?

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  3. Kristen HaskellOctober 9, 2011 at 5:12 PM

    I have to ask the same questions as Christopher. I think that is kind of problematic...

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  4. Tess KincaidOctober 9, 2011 at 5:42 PM

    Oh, this made me giggle...great piece of writing, Roy...

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  5. moondustwriterOctober 9, 2011 at 6:04 PM

    Hmm Mr King goes around the back way to make a point ( or not)

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  6. Jim SwindleOctober 9, 2011 at 8:26 PM

    I feel sorry for Mr. King and also for Mrs. King.

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  7. DeborahOctober 10, 2011 at 4:45 AM

    The joys of parenting ay! ... very well done :o)

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  8. JinksyOctober 10, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    I seem to have missed the point here- it's all ended up a bit muddled? Why did Mr King have to hide? And where was Mrs King? I've read it three times, and am still in the dark. maybe its a punctuation thing...Help! :)

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  9. Roy SchulzeOctober 10, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    @jinksy: Most teenaged plans make no sense, but the best I can figure is that Andromeda made her dad bring the car back and hide it in the neighbourhood so that Andromeda could drink at the party without breaking her promise…or putting herself at risk, for that matter. Mr. King has to hide on the way past the kitchen window, because otherwise Mrs. King would know something was up.

    And it's not a punctuation thing so much as a lack of words: exactly 100 for these short-stories.

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  10. Annie JeffriesOctober 10, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    Mrs. King probably knew, anyway. Sad.

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  11. Brian MillerOctober 10, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    i think i know mr king...smiles...i hope he enjoys his brief respite...ha

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  12. ReflectionsOctober 10, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    Have just read both of your Magpie entries. Liked both, but especially heard the heart with this one. How doth that truth hide yet in the heart of a teen?

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  13. JinksyOctober 10, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    Thanks for the explanation and the email! LOL ♥

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  14. AnonymousOctober 10, 2011 at 5:04 PM

    Dear exquisite corpse: Finding this really brutally honest which is the nature of some and then some! Good n blatant write! Chiccoreal

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  15. LolamouseOctober 10, 2011 at 5:19 PM

    Oh my! Having a teenaged daughter myself, I think I'll be watching my windows more closely!

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  16. ChristineOctober 10, 2011 at 5:34 PM

    A nifty portrait of a sad marriage...

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  17. spacedlawOctober 11, 2011 at 1:43 AM

    Poor man.

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  18. Liz Rice-SosneOctober 11, 2011 at 9:47 AM

    A little "peace" and quiet eh? A little peace indeed. Would that this earths kings were all so small!!

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  19. TrellissimoOctober 12, 2011 at 6:45 AM

    Every one likes a quiet life...

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  20. hyperCRYPTICalOctober 12, 2011 at 7:03 AM

    A fine clever write and I too agree with Christopher.

    Anna :o]

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  21. FrikoOctober 13, 2011 at 9:21 AM

    It will take me a little while to get into the wing of this blog and understand who is who and what is the meaning behind the stories.

    It'll be fun.

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  22. AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 7:01 PM

    the things we do for peace and quiet....

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  23. Roy SchulzeJuly 29, 2014 at 10:30 AM

    Added to ABC Wednesday.

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  24. Leslie:July 29, 2014 at 11:10 AM

    "Mr. King" will get his peace and quiet eventually. Love this!

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  25. Anita SabatJuly 29, 2014 at 11:13 AM

    All what we do for some peace & to keep calm & stay cool :)
    Small price to pay :)

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  26. LmkazmierczakJuly 29, 2014 at 1:11 PM

    An American slice of life...maybe other countries have these goings-ons but I have to think it's mainly USA...nicely written♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/cone-flowers/

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  27. Dilip PatelJuly 29, 2014 at 3:55 PM

    Peace too has a price!

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  28. Black Jack's CarolJuly 30, 2014 at 5:54 PM

    I sort of understood and definitely enjoyed the Cleverness of this allegory (?) but still appreciated Jinksey's need for Clarification and Roy's Considerate response.

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    Replies
    1. Roy SchulzeJuly 30, 2014 at 6:06 PM

      Reading the post and the Comments shows Considerable Concentration!

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  29. Sharp Little PencilJuly 30, 2014 at 10:52 PM

    So, so interesting, this tale. First, the parents (who need therapy). The mother who won't get to know her daughter's friends enough to see past the "slut" designation (which means Mom was probably a total slut in high school herself!). The father who will do anything to stop the wife from nagging and yet, his Achilles' heel is not standing up to her and talking it out. Finally, Little Princess gets all she wants, and she pits her parents against each other.

    In other words, a Dr. Phil show in the making!! Great read! Thanks for ABCing this week. Amy

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    1. Roy SchulzeJuly 31, 2014 at 1:13 PM

      Thanks for the insight, Amy; but who'd've thought I could've gotten so much into measly one hundred words, even it was largely inadvertent. Thing is, this is part of a longer story I've been chewing on for a number of years, a modern telling of the very very old story of Perseus and Andromeda. Cepheus, the King, is but a bit player, but he was the one who literally sacrificed his daughter for peace in his kingdom.

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