The sweet, delightful, and flashy Mistress of Fiction, Rochelle, has prompted my muse with a bit of rain for the second week in a row. Combining strokes from her purple lane, she has splashed the Friday Fictioneer gang with a Roger Bultot picture of a modern, colorful, children’s playground park, seemingly after some precip.
Feel free to dive into our un-juried pool of players with your own fiction of fewer than 101 words. Avoid any litigiousness by giving Roger’s pic a gaveled tap, which will sentence you to review the brief code of conduct behind the purple bars on Rochelle’s blog page. You may want to get setup to be served weekly with a summons write early each Wednesday morning.
Genre: Shakespearean Fiction
Title: Time for Pettifoggers
Word Count: 100
I took my nephew, Dicky, to the playground after the rain had stopped.
He said, “Everything’s all wet, Uncle Billy.”
“Water keeps the insufferable brats and bullies away. Now, go play.”
“There’s lots to climb on. But why no swings or rides?”
“Lawsuits. The lawyers forced the city to take them all away.”
“What are lawyers?”
“People who profit from the misery of others.”
He ran off to play on the wet climbers and such.
“After this,” he yelled, “the first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
“A noble goal, Lad. You’re a chap after the old bard.”
Look both ways for the future of the young.
Mind the gaps and dangerous traps, but a life without risk can be dry and vapid.
Note: “Let’s kill all the lawyers” is a line said by Dick the Butcher in William (Bill) Shakespeare’s Henry VI (Part 2, Act IV, Scene 2). It is among Shakespeare’s most famous and most controversial lines.
Our Literary Journey 
How did lawyers come to be so hated?
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When making money became more important than upholding the law!
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That works too, Peter.
I deeply despise the injury lawyers (ambulance chasers) commercials on TV. Enough,
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I didn’t start that fire, Neil. 🙂
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Where do I sign up?
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Learning so young about lawyers is fine, but maybe an having an extreme thought to start a killing spree is not healthy. There is a dry humour to this, which I enjoyed.
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True, James. I’m chuffed that you enjoyed it.
My alluding to Shakespeare (Uncle Billy) and his character (Dick) was intentional. Even all these years later we still struggle with why the line is there. Humor changes over time. 🙂
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As a former lawyer, I’ve heard that line once or twice. Without lawyers, we’d be in a pretty pickle for protecting the weak, so I’ve never been a fan, but like all professions, there are plenty of lawyers out for profit first.
I agree about water keeping the bad kids away though.
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Researching this I discovered a plethora of lawyer humor I knew nothing about. Since the Shakespearian play was written/published over 400 years ago, it’s an old concept, especially for characters like Dick. 🙂
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Delightfully done Bill, I’m with the kid! I do like the rain that sends others away, but leaves the outside world peaceful for those willing to get a little damp!
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Thanks, Iain. I’m happy you liked it. 🙂
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Your story brought back a funny memory–although I didn’t see the humor at the time. I was very young, and there was some sort of disagreement with a neighbor I played with a lot. She was angry, and hollered, “My dad’s going to SUE your dad!” I had no idea what she was saying, and I replied, “His name is John, not Sue!” Like I said, I was very young.
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Now ya got me thinking about Johnny Cash’s a boy named Sue song. 🙂 Fun memory. 🙂
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A witty way to sneak in Shakespeare!
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Thank you.
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well inspired Bill from that Shakespearean line. You do him credit with your poetic prose and spot on cartoon. Thank you.
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Thank you, Susan.
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Dear Bill,
How can you tell if a lawyer’s lying? His lips are moving. 😀 Yeah, I had to toss that one out there, even if it is all wet. (And so’s my hair because I just got back from the pool).
Remember the carousels on the playgrounds. One of my favorites. Of course it’s too dangerous so this generation will never know the thrill of running to make the thing go fast and then jump on for the ride. Sigh. Oh, and thanks for reading aloud. It connects us more with the writer.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you, Rochelle.
When I lived in FL, I’d often walked through playgrounds. The city had removed the swings and many rides due to litigation.
I added my attempt at voicing on my blog, following your wonderful example.
Peace,
Bill
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A tale that made me think, I like that
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Thank you, Michael. 🙂
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Teach them young? Interesting take on the prompt.
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Thank you, Alicia. 🙂
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A lively tale, Bill, all the better with hearing you read it. Gotta raise the young’ns up right!
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Thank you, Lisa.
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You’re welcome.
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Haha. There are more lawyer jokes than any other I think. My dad was a practising lawyer, my husband has a law degree as does my daughter and son (human rights law). My husband often tells the one: What do you call 5,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start! I’ve heard most all of them but somehow missed the Shakespearean quote. 🙂 Amusing tale, Bill! The insanity of our legal system.
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Thanks for the comment, Brenda. Like the Reagan family on Blue Bloods, only with more lawyers. 🙂
I am a Texas Aggie which means I spend my life hearing more jokes than I’d like. 🙂
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Well, it all makes life more interesting I suppose (haha).
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It’s always cool to hear the voices of our favourite bloggers 😉
And love that you slipped in Bill, Bill 😀
Are there more lawyer or engineer jokes, you think?
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Thanks, Dale. For lawyers there are libraries of jokes, Engineers have a maybe. 🙂
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Hahaha!! Brilliant answer!
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Thank you so much. 🙂
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😀
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Lol… bright kid.
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There is a promising career in the Mob for the young kid, a big thumbs up to any child who quotes Shakespeare. Fun piece.
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Thank you.
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The lawyers will take the playground next. A kid could fall. Kill joys. Amusing story. Awesome characters.
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Thank you, Tannille.
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Very, very occasionally I remember to bring a tea towel to the playground, and get so full of myself I want to take a bow. All the world’s a stage, after all … 😉 Well done!
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Thank you.
One ought never to be without one’s towel. 🙂
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I liike this very much.
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Thank you for telling me. 🙂
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The only problem is, who’s going to defend Dicky in court after he kills all the lawyers?
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Judges and prosecutors are lawyers. So, problem solved. 🙂
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Good point.
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Got that from a post I decided not to post. 🙂
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