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1.6.16

TROUBLE AT T'MILL - a 100 word story for Friday Fictioneers

TROUBLE AT T’MILL

When the mill-race dried up and the wheel stopped turning, the mill-stones couldn’t grind flour and the entire village went hungry.
“That’ll be His Lordship’s bloody lake,” said Chalky Miller, “I knew that dam would be a disaster.”

A week later the flow still hadn’t been restored, so Chalky and some villagers dynamited the dam. What they hadn’t accounted for was the weight of a million gallons of water. The flash flood spun the wheel so fast that sparks flew from the mill-stones, the flour dust ignited, and the mill burned.

The villagers stood by helpless, hungrily breathing in the scent of baking bread.
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A bit of light-hearted story-telling this week as an antidote to last week!
Thanks are due to https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/ for hosting Friday Fictioneers, and to Piya Singh for the photo prompt. Do follow the link from Rochelle's blog to read how other writers interpret the photograph.

29 comments:

  1. Oh dear. Were they swept away?

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    1. Not this time, Helen - this was not a totally tragic tale!

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  2. Oh this sounds like one of this cases where it went from bad to worse... I have a feeling that there is never going to be bread again.

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    1. Unless the villagers are resourceful enough to rebuild - and aren't evicted by a vengeful Lord of the Manor!

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  3. Very vividly described scene, with irony and humor to spice up the disaster.
    Great description here:
    'The flash flood spun the wheel so fast that sparks flew from the mill-stones, the flour dust ignited, and the mill burned.

    The villagers stood by helpless, hungrily breathing in the scent of baking bread.
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  4. I love the way this tale escalated. :)

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    1. Thaks Sandra - this was one of those stories that almost wrote itself.

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  5. well that would have been terrifying

    http://obliqview.blogspot.in/2016/06/the-man-whowrote-diary-he-looked-at.html

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  6. Dear Liz,

    That last line with the smell of baking bread was a killer. Very well written.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    1. Thanks Rochelle - it probably seemed that way to the villagers too.

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  7. Great one!
    When passion leads the way logic goes out the door.
    Tragedy usually ensues.
    Passion and Logic must go hand in hand to achieve thoughtful action!

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  8. They should have used their loaf!

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  9. Sounds like a string of poor decisions on behalf of all parties involved. I love the name Chalky Miller (a pun there, I suppose). Very entertaining story.

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    1. The name has been used for millers in England for centuries, so I can't take credit for it.

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  10. Hilarious, the progression of mishaps based on bad decisions was a hoot. I loved it.

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  11. A pretty bad day for the villagers, then. Talk about the domino effect. A sadly funny story.

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  12. Love the name Chalky Miller and how it works so many ways in the story.

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    1. Thanks CK - it was the only one to use!

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  13. Uh oh, that didn't quite work out. No more baked bread for them. Oh, how very sad. Great story, Liz.

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