There wasn’t a Three Line Tales prompt this week, or if there was, I didn’t see it, so here’s a three line tale based on the painting for my own Sunday Strange microfiction challenge.
When the Little God discovered that his Tree of Life had been vandalised, its branches broken and its first flowers stolen, he screamed for the likely culprits, his Six Miserable Sisters, who appeared with the evidence of their crime in their hands.
“Mother told you not to mess with things,” said the eldest sister, “and if you don’t want your backside tanning you’ll leave Creation to your elders in future.”
Pouting, as only a Little God can, he waited until his sisters had gone and peed, a long, golden, Little God pee onto the stricken tree, and smirked, a nasty Little God smirk when the golden stream worked its magic, and new, putrid blossoms began to take form on the stricken limbs.
Jane Dougherty Writes 
A queer strange pick…astonishing it is…like it
Thank you 🙂
Haha I like this! I love the use of capitalisation to title the Little God and his Six Miserable Sisters; it’s a wonderful twist on the image. I also love your use of repetition, especially in the last sentence, because it makes it quite rhythmic, almost like a poem, or a song, or a retold myth, which is incredibly apt given the subject. 🙂
Thank you! I’m glad you thought it read like a ‘proper’ story. Repetition is used in all the best folk tales, and I love it 🙂
Completely agree! 🙂
Absolutely well done and twisted enough with some chewy black humour – most excellent Jane!
Thank you! This is one that grew legs and ran. A sort of spontaneous combustion 🙂
works like an absolute dream – but then, it’s a pretty odd painting, so definitely walking hand in hand here 🙂
I have no idea what the painting is all about. Somehow, I don’t think I want to know…
I have to say, I kind of agree, but curiosity gets the best of me 😳
You’d have to look into its history because the title, ‘The Chosen One’ or ‘The Chosen Few’ (I don’t know any German so take your pick) doesn’t tell you a whole lot.
I’d be curious to know the painter. Certainly, the title itself is enough to make one stop and do a double, or multiple take!
If you click on the image you should get a link to the wiki page.
thanks Jane – was checking it out and didn’t think to hover over the image – Duh! 😉
Did it work? I put a link in the image so if you click on it you go to its wikimedia page with all the info.
it sure did and – and quickly enough, here is what I found –
odler developed a style he called “parallelism” that emphasized the symmetry and rhythm he believed formed the basis of human society.[3] In paintings such as The Chosen One (1893), groupings of figures are symmetrically arranged in poses suggestive of ritual or dance. Hodler conceived of woman as the embodiment of the desire for harmony with nature, while a child or youth represented innocence and vitality –
so that explains the more technical issue – as to meaning? well, anyone’s guess and that’s more than enough to spark the imagination ….
Hmm. I’m none the wiser. As you say, you have to make up your own story around it.
I know what you mean.
I just stared blankly when you posted this picture. Such a relief that you know exactly what happened here and I don’t have to try and make something up. 😊 Reminded me of Saki, somehow.
It took me a whole week to start writing the story. I didn’t know what was going on either. The Little God just sort of took things over 🙂