To save her friends and herself from being eaten, a ghost crab enters a juggling contest with a devious and possibly unbeatable opponent.

Genre: Fable

Excerpt:
Four unlikely friends were frolicking in the ocean one day. They were the Ghost Crab, the Blue Marlin, the Jellyfish, and the Nautilus. The crab and the marlin splashed about on the surface, and dove back down, while the jelly and the mollusk bobbed gently under the surface.

Overhead, there passed the shadow of the Seagull, who watched the friends with great interest, a great interest born of a keen hunger. Here she saw a variety of sweet and juicy treats for her to feast on.

What’s the Writing Prompt that inspired the story?
Not a prompt, but a challenge to write a story that’s between 2500 to 3500 words. Aim for as short as possible without going below (or too much below). I chose a genre, fable.  And at some point, I had the words “crab” and “juggling” written down. So…what was the crab juggling?

Faster Fictioneer
Ever wonder how I’ve gotten all these hundreds of stories written?  I have a method.  If you’ve got 40 minutes, I can teach you an abbreviated version of that method, right here: FASTER FICTIONEER

(If you want to learn even more, I’ve got info about my online course on that page too.)

I’ve Got Issues For You
The Storyfeather Gazette is a monthly round-up of my recent podcast episodes, short stories, trailers, news, recommendations, and more that I send by email. Follow the link to look through old issues and to Sign Up: STORYFEATHER GAZETTE

Storyfeather-themed merchandise
T-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, baby onesies, and more featuring artwork from stories and art challenges
STORYFEATHER TEEPUBLIC STORE

CREDITS
Story: “The Juggling Ghost Crab” Copyright © 2020 by Nila L. Patel
Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production:  Nila L. Patel

Music:
“Trip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background” by Digital Emotions (Intro/Outro)

Music by JONATHAN SHAW*
“Afternoon Chat”
“Midnight Creeping”
“Cold Sanctuary”
“Spinning Tavern”
“Thoughts”
“Encounter of Misdeeds”
“Lingering Evil”
“Showdown of Misdeeds”
“Checking Inventory”

*These tracks were part of a music and sound effects bundles I purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market.

Music by Jonathan Shaw licensed from GameDev Market
Sound effects from AudioJungle and GameDevMarket
Vocal effects made in Audacity
Changes made to the musical tracks?  Just cropping to align with my narration.

Find more music by Digital_Emotions at audiojungle.net
Find more music by Jonathan Shaw at jshaw.co.uk and at gamedevmarket.net
Find more stories by Nila at storyfeather.com

Episode Art Description: Digital drawing. Standing on sand facing forward is a ghost crab with the left claw held up.  Above the crab from left to right are a pine cone, a wedge of watermelon, and a saucer and cup of tea with tea spilling out over one edge. A bright and speckled circle of energy arcs over the objects and below the crab. Water of “Storyfeather” at bottom right. Border at top and bottom to make the image square displays a starfish pattern in colors that match the drawing.