Very Short Stories (داستانهای خیلی کوتاه انگلیسی)

[Angel]

The Wait
by: Patrick Johanneson

She planted the seed and waited. After a while rain came down from the sky, pelting her skin, chilling her. She shivered but didn't leave, not yet.

The sun came out, warming the soil, driving the cold from her bones. She waited. Clouds scudded by overhead, in a hurry for some reason. The moon rose, stars wheeled, and then the sun rose again.

She didn't just wait, of course. She prayed, she sang, she read the old stories, the myths and the legends. On the seventh day she snoozed under a cloudless sky, waking only briefly when a dragonfly happened to touch down on her nose. She observed its cathedral-window wings, irridescent with refracted sunlight, and drowsed once more after it left her.

Rain, sun, moon, stars: she endured them all. The seedling broke the soil with a questing green curlicue, looking for all the world like a question mark in the Old Tongue. She sat on it and waited more: days, months, decades.

A boy came along and asked her why she'd climbed to the top of the tree.

"I didn't," she said.

source: ecclectica.ca

[Angel]

Eating Everything There Ever Was
by: Patrick Johanneson

It started with a local hot-dog eating contest. Lou Verbain took first place, and moved on to the provincials, where he placed second. But the first-place contestant bowed out when his stomach ruptured, and Lou was on to the nationals. At internationals he placed a distant third to a whip-thin Japanese girl.

Lou wasn't about to take that lying down, so he went into hard-core training. He ate all the hot dogs in town, then in the province, and eventually he caused a continent-wide shortage in meat-ish products.

He moved on. Hamburgers, pies, cookies, anything he could stuff down his gullet. He grew and grew, too, expanding like a weed, like a balloon. It was surreal.

The day he started eating cars was probably the point of no return. He started small, with a rusted-out Datsun, but by week's end he was devouring Hummers and limos.

At some point hydrogen fusion started up in his stomach, but he didn't notice.

Long story short, now he's a black hole, Verbain X-1, and the Universe is slowly falling into him.

source: ecclectica.ca

[Angel]

Dancing
by: Patrick Johanneson

On a hilltop at sunset, they danced one last time. High clouds burned crimson and chromium, and she sang to him:

o this is the guillotine, and this is the knife
this is for murder, this is for life

He whirled her like a dervish, spinning her about and about, watching her dark hair mask her face like a funeral veil.

so come, hangman, tie up your noose
my lover is here, waiting for you

He dipped her low, kissed her, then lifted her into the sky. She laughed with delight, and he couldn't remember the last time she'd sounded so happy.

we dance on the hill, we prance through the heath
we eat, drink and are merry, till we're all out of breath

And the music ended, and the first stars appeared in the eastern firmament. He bowed to her, both of them dripping sweat from their hair. Her smile was inscrutable.

"It's time, isn't it," he said.

"It is," she said. "Time to wake up."

He woke, and the bed was empty, and once more he was a widower.

He put on his ring and faced the day.

source: ecclectica.ca

[masumeh]

I didn't Recognize You

A 45 year old woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she had a near death experience. Seeing God she asked "Is my time up?" God said, "No, you have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live.
"Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a Face-lift, liposuction, breast implants and a tummy tuck. She even had someone come in and change her hair colour and brighten her teeth!
Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as well make the most of it. After her last operation, she was released from the hospital.
While crossing the street on her way home, she was killed by an ambulance. Arriving in front of God, she demanded, "I thought you said I had another 43 years? Why didn't you pull me from out of the path of the ambulance?"
God replied: "I didn't recognize you".

[گلناز]

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.

He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence
Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.

You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.”

[گلناز]

Jack went to Manchester by train. He left the station, and thought, 'The office isn’t far from the station. I'll find it easily.'

But after an hour he was still looking for it, so he stopped and asked an old lady. She said, 'Go straight along this street, turn to the left at the end, and it's the second building on the right.' Jack went and found it.

A few days later he went to the same city, but again he did not find the office, so he asked someone the way. It was the same old lady! She was very surprised and said, 'Are you still looking for that place?' Jack worked in an office in a small town. One day his boss said to him, 'Jack, I want you to go to Manchester, to an office there, to see Mr Brown. Here's the address.'

[گلناز]

The cautious captain of a small ship had to go along a coast with which he was unfamiliar , so he tried to find a qualified pilot to guide him. He went ashore in one of the small ports where his ship stopped, and a local fisherman pretended that he was one because he needed some money. The captain took him on board and let him tell him where to steer the ship.

After half an hour the captain began to suspect that the fisherman did not really know what he was doing or where he was going so he said to him,' are you sure you are a qualified pilot?

'Oh, yes' answered the fisherman .'I know every rock on this part of the coast.'

Suddenly there was a terrible tearing sound from under the ship.

At once the fisherman added," and that's one of them."

[گلناز]

The peacock and tortoise

ONCE upon a time a peacock and a tortoise became great friends. The peacock lived on a tree by the banks of the stream in which the tortoise had his home. Everyday, after he had a drink of water, the peacock will dance near the stream to the amusement of his tortoise friend.
One unfortunate day, a bird-catcher caught the peacock and was about to take him away to the market. The unhappy bird begged his captor to allow him to bid his friend, the tortoise good-bye.

The bird-catcher allowed him his request and took him to the tortoise. The tortoise was greatly disturbed to see his friend a captive.
The tortoise asked the bird-catcher to let the peacock go in return for an expensive present. The bird-catcher agreed. The tortoise then, dived into the water and in a few seconds came up with a handsome pearl, to the great astonishment of the bird-catcher. As this was beyond his exceptions, he let the peacock go immediately.
A short time after, the greedy man came back and told the tortoise that he had not paid enough for the release of his friend, and threatened to catch the peacock again unless an exact match of the pearl is given to him. The tortoise, who had already advised his friend, the peacock, to leave the place to a distant jungle upon being set free, was greatly enraged at the greed of this man.
“Well,” said the tortoise, “if you insist on having another pearl like it, give it to me andI will fish you out an exact match for it.” Due to his greed, the bird-catcher gave the pearl to the tortoise, who swam away with it saying, “I am no fool to take one and give two!” The tortoise then disappeared into the water, leaving the bird-catcher without a single pearl.

[گلناز]

The year is 1853, and the palace is California.

People are coming toCalifornia from many

countries. They are lookingfor gold. They

think that they are going toget

rich. Levi Straussis one of these people .He’s

twenty-four yearsold, and he too want to get

rich .He is fromGermany. He has cloth from

Germany to make tentsfor the gold miners

A man asks him: Whatare you going to do

with that cloth

Straussanswers: I’m going to make tents

The mansays: I don’t need a tent, but I want a

strongpair of pants. Look at my pants they’re full ofholes

Levi makes a pair of pants from thestrong

cloth. The man is happy with the pants.

They’re a big success. Soon everyone wants a

pairof pants just like the man’s pair. Levi

makes onemore, ten more hundreds more


thousands more. That’s the history of your jeans

[گلناز]

The cautious captain of a small ship had to go along a coast with which he was
unfamiliar , so he tried to find a qualified pilot to guide him. He went ashore in one of the
small ports where his ship stopped, and a local fisherman pretended that he was one
because he needed some money. The captain took him on board and let him tell him
where to steer the ship.
After half an hour the captain began to suspect that the fisherman did not really know
what he was doing or where he was going so he said to him,' are you sure you are a qualified pilot?
'Oh, yes' answered the fisherman .'I know every rock on this part of the coast.'
Suddenly there was a terrible tearing sound from under the ship.
At once the fisherman added," and that's one of them."

[گلناز]

RIGHT SPEECH

There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that

"A speech will either prosper or ruin a nation."

Many relationships break off because of wrong speech.

When a couple is too close with each other,

we always forget mutual respect and courtesy.

We may say anything without considering if it would hurt the other party.

A friend and her millionaire husband visited their construction site.

A worker who wore a helmet saw her and shouted,

"Hi, Emily! Remember me?

We used to date in the secondary school." On the way home,

her millionaire husband teased her, "Luckily you married me.

Otherwise you will be the wife of a construction worker.

" She answered ,"You should appreciate that you married me.

Otherwise, he will be the millionaire and not you."

Frequently exchanging these remarks plants the seed for a bad relationship.

It's like a broken egg - cannot be reversed.

[گلناز]

Two old gentlemen lived in a quiet street in Paris. They were friends and neighbours, and they often went for walks together in the streets when the weather was fine Last Saturday they went for a walk at the side of the river. The sun shone, the weather was warm, there were a lot of flowers everywhere and there were boats on the water The two men walked happily for half an hour, and then one of them said to the other 'That's a very beautiful girl 'Where can you see a beautiful girl?' said the other. 'I can't see one anywhere. I can see two young men. They are walking towards us The girl's walking behind us,' said the first man quietly 'But how can you see her then?' asked his friend The first man smiled and said, 'I can't see her , but I can see the young men's eyes

[گلناز]

Miss Williams was a teacher, and there were thirty small children in her class.
They were nice children, and Miss Williams liked all of them, but they often lost clothes
It was winter, and the weather was very cold. The children's mothers always sent them
to school with warm coats and hats and gloves. The children came into the classroom
in the morning and took off their coats, hats and gloves. They put their coats and hats
on hooks on the wall, and they put their gloves in the pockets of their coats

Last Tuesday Miss Williams found two small blue gloves on the floor in the evening, and
in the morning she said to the children, 'Whose gloves are these?',
but no one answered. Then she looked at Dick. 'Haven't you got blue gloves, Dick?' she asked him
'Yes, miss,' he answered, 'but those can't be mine. I've lost mine'

[گلناز]

Here is a short story with a beautiful message...
Little girl and her father were crossing a bridge.
The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter,
'Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river.'
The little girl said, 'No, Dad. You hold my hand.'
'What's the difference?' Asked the puzzled father.

'There's a big difference,' replied the little girl.

'If I hold your hand and something happens to me,
chances are that I may let your hand go.
But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens,
you will never let my hand go.' ..........

[گلناز]

I don't want you to be perfect, for no one
can ever be. But you were first in line
so I fished you from the sea. Of people
that is, they all looked fine. And elegance
gleamed there face. And there you were.
How I perceived your grace out of all
the jeweled fabrics, I know not. But you
were the one I saw. Not him. Not her.
Just you. Only you. And you found me
among the see of drifting eyes. Who
cared what they thought. They only knew
the cost and not the value of love. So we met.
And we embraced. I saw a thousand miles
in your eyes as you held your head with pride.
I was the one you choose. And no one could take
that night.

Briana Johnson