Ostrich short story

She holds her elegant neck high above the masses which she saunters through. Like a diva at a show she flaunts her plumes, casts a wary eye about for rivals, and turns up her nose at her drab brown and cream comrades.

Behold, an animal of distinction and refinement. Here is the ostrich, queen of the winged kingdom. Around her, antelope bow their heads in shame, cringing at their inferiority. Where she steps the grass seems to wither in embarrassment. Even the sun seems reluctant to disgrace her chestnut and ivory feathers.

Stop. Look around. Sour musk lines the brisk breeze. She lowers the foot which was held aloft a moment ago, her previously serene expression now one of incandescent disapproval. The antelope prick up their ears. A glimpse of golden pelt in the grass and an explosion of hooves signifies the beginning of the chase.

She runs like a demon, head pointed forward and wings outstretched. Long legs kick up turf, spraying it into the streak of gold fur behind her. Sweat drips down her now very exposed-looking neck. As three more lions appear in front of her, she slows. Something murderous glints in her eyes.

The four young lions circle her confidently. Silence reigns the savanna. The breeze slows down to watch as the largest, most confident brute sees his opportunity. He pounces, talons ready to rip into her, teeth bared in preparation for the warm wet taste of the split jugular vein.

The ostrich barely seems to move. Her powerful foot flicks out and catches the pouncing cat's jaw, dislocating it. Reeling away, he is intercepted as a brother of his leaps, somehow colliding with the hard sole of the ostrich's foot. He falls, blood staining gold fur crimson. The other two flee, rippling golden streaks in the dry grass.

Away she struts, head held in the air again. Snowy feathers splayed, elegant neck swaying slightly, a regally offended look is again plastered on her face. The brown- clad bovines lower their heads in submission.

The queen preens her feathers, feathers even the sun dare not shine on. Then she saunters on.

~Hannah ~

Comments

Cool Words. Because Why Not?

- Jo - This should come as no surprise to you: I like words. They're useful things on the whole and almost all of them have or have had huge value. However, I am of the opinion that all words are not created equal. Some of them are useful and boring, while others are more fun than a dozen more combined. Now, I don't know if you do this, but I find myself often interrupting myself to remark on my admiration for a particular word that had come up in conversation. Unfortunately, the reasons for this love are as varied as they are arbitrary, so there's no telling which word will next catch my fancy. And you never know, some of these might actually come in handy to you, too. Still, it's important to note that this is by no means a comprehensive list. Gelatinous - I was in the car on the way to church some weeks back and I had a question sloshing around in my head: "Are there words in English that have all five vowels? Surely, right? So, how many of ...

The Writing Famine

Colette apologizes, Grace - the original author of this post - has been temporarily removed from this post. Mostly due to the fact that she was not writing anything. Which might have been the point. Since the page is titled "Writing Famine" the page may have been meant to experience a famine of words. In which case it ought to be blank. So Colette will stop writing and allow the page to properly experience a writing famine. There will be no more words. Colette couldn't do it. She has thought of another topic for this page - what if it was supposed to be about the lack of writers, or about writer's block? If so, the page cannot be blank! So she had to write this. She is also aware that Hannah has covered this topic, and she was talking about the lack of creativity. So, as Jo said: we are forgetful people and need to be reminded of things. Therefore Colette will remind you that you never know, if you feel there is a lesson the world can be taught ...

Originality in Writing is Over-Rated

People are stupid. Really, really stupid. And this isn't me pretending to be Khepri or Mina, looking down in disdain on all the poor, ignorant peasants around me (you'll get that reference later) - I am 100% including myself in 'people' here. And this isn't to say that people aren't wonderful creations of God, beautiful, unique, brilliant and individually filled with huge potential. I believe every one of those things is true, but we are also stupid. For example, I once lit a match in church, during the service. Why? Because it was there, obviously. What else was I supposed to do with a match? Don't worry, I didn't burn down the building or anything, it was just an incredibly dumb move. And it wasn't all that long ago, either. (More than a year, but definitely while I was a teenager, not a young child.) But doing dumb things isn't the only way in which humans prove that we're idiots. We also forget important lessons, and this is the t...

The Writing Mafia

Search This Blog