The Worst Gift is this month’s prompt for the Fiction in Fifty Words meme #Fi50. Please thank Rebecca Douglass for hosting it all year and reminding us to link to her own post each month. More people are welcome to join in – see the information page at her Ninja Librarian site.
My inspiration for this gift came from an old sketch, or a sketch revived in an old comedy programme, possibly Monty Python or the Two Ronnies. There are still some of us who will fall into parodies of the original sketch, which relies on some chaps trying to outdo each other in testifying to their working class roots by reminiscing on how poor they were. So being bathed in a tin sink on the kitchen table (my brother testifies to that, and I witnessed the tin bath’s existence), was outdone by having to share it with the neighbours, out on the cobbled street. In the snow… with actual tar for soap… and so it went on.
Despite the worsening of these gifts, I hope you have a good Christmas. If you don’t want to give a gift to anyone, why not buy something for a charity instead, or as well.
The Worst Gift
“That’s nothing,” I said. “One year all I got was a lump of coal, wrapped in a ribbon.”
“You think that’s bad,” Sid countered. “We were that poor we couldn’t afford ribbon.”
“My dad got killed one Christmas, down the mine,” Pat mumbled.
We paused. “That’s the worst,” we agreed.
© J M Pett 2018
I’m just helping Rebecca out by offering a sign-up linky list for Fi50.
You can get the code here.
Books on Sale
Most of my collection will be on sale at Smashwords for the Christmas – New Year week.
Unexpectedly sad end! It was definitely a Monty Python sketch.
Kind of put a stop on the reverse bragging, didn’t it? And I think shows us that there’s a certain pride or something about the “hard times” that can’t stand up to real hard things. Great take on the prompt. I shouldn’t have read it before writing mine, because I’ll never come up with something to match that!
I didn’t know it’s a competition! LOL
Went out and bought a trunk full of food for the cats are our local shelter – and some Milk Bones for the dogs!
Have a wonderful holiday season!
:snowflake:
Wishing you and your loved ones peace, health, happiness, and prosperity in the coming New Year. Thank you for your kindness and caring.
Yeah, that’s a pretty terrible “gift.” I guess coal wouldn’t be so bad if you were using it for warmth. Could probably use the ribbon for other things.
– J