Member-only story
A SEVEN-MINUTE STORY
Johnny Curious and the Seven-Minute Curse
Apropos the criminally overlooked magic of storytelling
Johnny Curious loved his Grandmother.
Yes, of course he loved and respected his parents, for he was a good son and they were good parents, but he loved his Mother’s Mother the most, for she was magical, and she was a storyteller.
And boy, could she tell some stories.
Johnny often assumed that she was much older than a hundred and had lived in times when magic roamed the earth, not long after the dinosaurs.
“Tell me one I haven’t heard before,” he said.
“Which one?” said Grandma.
“How should I know? I haven’t heard it before,” said Johnny.
“Good point,” said Grandma. She reflected for a while. “I think I’ll tell you the story about Gertrude.”
“That’s her name?”
“Yes.”
“That’s an old name.”
“It’s an old story,” said Grandma. And then she said, “All right, then, this is the story.”
“Why isn’t she talking?” said the Crow.
