Illustration by Anirban Ghosh
TOWARDS FREEDOM (1st Prize)
«Jana gana mana …» The schoolboy squirmed. Another two minutes? He knew he should stand at attention. The drillmaster’s cane loomed large.»Vindhya Himachal …»He grunted in discomfort. This was unbearable. He considered making a dash; after all he was in the last row. What if the master noticed? The cane loomed again. He gritted his teeth.»Tava shubha …»This is it. He cast his eyes around.»Jaya he …»He started running.»Jaya he …»He was almost there.»Jaya he …»The chorus floated from afar. He was already in the toilet, heaving a relieved sigh.
—Subramaniam Mohan, Chennai
THE WINDOW (2nd Prize)
On a windy winter morning, a woman looked out of the window.The only thing she saw, a garden. A smile spread across her face as she spotted Maria, her daughter, in the middle of the garden enjoying the weather. It started drizzling. Maria started dancing joyfully.She tried to wave to her daughter, but her elbow was stuck, her arm hurt, her smile turned upside down. Reality came crashing down as the drizzle turned into a storm. Maria’s murdered corpse consumed her mind.On a windy winter morning, a woman looked out of the window of her jail cell.
—Saanchi Wadhwa, New Delhi
IDENTITY CRISIS (3rd Prize)
The country was on fire. Communal riots had paralyzed most of the state. Reyaz, with the help of a friend, got a fake identity card—his new name was Rakesh—and booked a ticket to Aligarh. The ticket checker on the train asked for his identification—Reyaz nervously showed the one he had recently procured. He seemed satisfied and Reyaz heaved a sigh of relief.At Aligarh there was none to fear. «Assalamu alaikum,» said Reyaz to ward off a group of enraged people. The angriest of them, with bloodshot eyes, approached Reyaz and asked for his identity card.
—Junaid H. Nahvi, New Delhi
LEERING LOTHARIO (4th Prize)
She peered over the open magazine, and there he was, still staring at her, disconcertingly. For the past 30 minutes, she’d endured his irritating attention. Time to call airport security. The burly cop strode in purposefully, with a sleek Alsatian on leash. «Sir, there’s been a complaint. I need you to come with me. Quietly, please,» he growled. The leather-jacketed man didn’t move a muscle. His hands were rock-steady on the trolley handle in front of him. The cop waited for a minute, and then reached out to handcuff the Ray-Ban-wearing guy. The hands were locked in rigor mortis.
—Ed Sudhir, Bengaluru
LOVE ACTUALLY
«Do you believe in shooting stars?» she asked.»Do you?»»There is no harm, is there?» She paused. «I’d love to sit in the balcony amidst all the flowerpots and watch the busy world go by.»He said nothing. She needed no assurance, no promise. She squawked a reply when they asked if she was ready to go back to her room. It would be another 10 minutes before the duty nurse wheeled him away.She had laughed at the last tooth he had lost. He had teased her about the silver hair at the back of her sweater.
—Maya Davi Chalissery, Thrissur, Kerala
A BROKEN PROMISE
Hearing a knock on the door, she hustled towards it with her little feet, her lips uncloaking the cutest smile and her voice singing, «Daddy’s home!» Her mum, glued to the news channels for the past week, approached the door hesitantly and opened it with trepidation.Two men in military uniform were standing at the doorstep. One of them handed her an envelope with a mournful expression, adding plaintively, «We’re sorry, Mrs Bhatt.»»Where’s my dad, Uncle? He promised we’ll celebrate Diwali together this time,» exclaimed the girl. They stared helplessly, with a lump in their throats and moistened eyes.
—Aditi Sharma, New Delhi
MEETING THE ONE
They met at a cafe, stealing glances at each other while the parents spoke animatedly.They remained silent throughout, only exchanging shy smiles while ordering snacks at the counter.Returning with the food, he moved to the head of the table to get a good look at her.Noticing his manoeuvre, she smiled down at her coffee, making him beam like a proud schoolboy.When the two families parted at the end of the meeting, he rushed back to the cafe, praying that the girl, who had been at the table behind theirs all afternoon, would still be there.
—Preyanka Paswan, New Delhi
HUMANKIND
It was pouring, as I entered a nearby porch.Out of the blue, a kid startled me from behind—I panicked and scampered away. His father asked him not to scare anyone.After some initial hiccups we became good friends. I often visited their house, ate with them.One day, while I was slurping down the milk, a man entered their portico, begging for food.The father yelled at him and pushed him out of the entrance.I was terrified, and in a jiffy, I ran away screaming, «Meow! Meow …»
—Aswin R. S., Chennai
RED SAND
Border guard Melissa Walter fumed, «Madam President’s lost it.» A new batch was arriving. The count had crossed 10,000. «As if the country doesn’t have enough mouths to feed.»Officer Gerald was off-duty, so here she was, about to ‘welcome’ refugees. The boat arrived. She pasted on her best professional smile.So many people, all skinny and gaunt. Teary, scared eyes, with a weak gait. Clinging to the elders, the children walked on.»Look!» a boy exclaimed, dropping down. «The sand is so soft here. It’s not red. Can I touch, Mama?» he pleaded.Melissa stood still, stunned into silence.
—Geetha M., Kanchipuram
WHAT, SERIOUSLY?
Varun called his friend over to his house. When he arrived, he told him he had to speak to him about a problem. They both went up to Varun’s room.»What is it?» asked the friend. «I think I am having an identity crisis,» said Varun.»What do you mean?» asked his friend.»MOOOOOO!» he bellowed like a cow.His friend stood frozen, in stunned silence. Varun burst out laughing, «I was just kidding!»»Are you sure? Because we just ran out of milk,» came the reply.
—Aditi Ashok, Chennai
THE GOODBYE
Out jogging, I saw two elderly women hugging each other and weeping inconsolably. The women had been good friends, living in adjacent apartments on the ground floor, for years.One of them was now having to shift to the fifth floor, as the house owner wished to undertake major maintenance work.Since there were no lifts in the building, she would be carried upstairs, unable to come down—ever again. Her friend, just as frail, would not be able to visit her upstairs either. Accepting the inevitability of their permanent separation, the poor dears said their final goodbyes.
—Deepak Nair, Thiruvananthapuram
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE
As a married couple, they led a charmed life. Jantu had his own circle of friends and Tulu had hers. And every morning they exchanged and savoured their previous day’s experiences over breakfast. Jantu was not immune to the seven-year-itch, though. The days he strayed were few and far between. Faithful Tulu was quietly accommodating. On the nights he slipped, Jantu would indicate it by skipping his daily apple at breakfast.That morning, Jantu was devastated to see Tulu’s favourite pear was left untouched.
—K. L. Narayanan, Bengaluru
THE UGLY TRUTH
«Hello,» said the figure cloaked in darkness.»Who are you?» I asked.»I am that which you fear the most,» it said to me and stepped into the light.What I saw next sent me into a paroxysm of fear. There stood a creature most hideous: twisted body, gnarled fingers, with a semblance of what might have once been a face. Chillingly revealing a gaping hole where its heart should have been, spilling oily blackness.Overcome with revulsion and trembling in horror, I fell to my knees.»I am you,» said the creature.
—Vaishnavi R. Krishna, Thiruvananthapuram
MUMMIFIED
During our visit to Egypt’s Alexandria National Museum, I took my five-year-old son to the basement to see a mummy and started explaining what it was. Confused, he bolted from the room and rushed to his mother, who was busy chatting with other tourists.He told my wife breathlessly, «Mum! Dad just showed me another mummy. He is looking at her.»Surprised, my wife followed him to the basement. She sized up the situation instantly and retorted, «Oh! Mummy is a daddy.»Confused, sonny asked innocently, «If mummy is the daddy, then who is the mummy’s mummy?»
—Dhananjay Sinha, Kolkata
STREET SMART
It was 9 a.m., 26 January. The politician’s car, on the way to the flag-hoisting ceremony, stopped at a red light. A 10-year-old street vendor came running to the car and waved the tricolour, hoping that selling one more flag will help him buy some vada pav. With no intention of buying, the politician rolled down the window and smirked, «Today you are selling the national flag. On other days, I have seen you sell toys, umbrellas and kites. Is there anything you have not sold so far?»»Our country,» the boy retorted at once.
—Kalpesh Sheth, Mumbai
All entries have been edited for clarity. They were graded on grammar, language, originality, plot device and storytelling technique by RD editors, basis which the winning entries were selected. Winners will receive book prizes, courtesy HarperCollins Publishers India.
Crystal David » The Story of English in 100 Words — читать книгу онлайн бесплатно
Конец
Книга закончилась. Надеемся, Вы провели время с удовольствием!
Поделитесь, пожалуйста, своими впечатлениями:
Оглавление:
-
1
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
3
-
4
-
4
-
5
-
5
-
6
-
6
-
7
-
7
-
8
-
8
-
9
-
9
-
10
-
10
-
11
-
11
-
11
-
12
-
12
-
12
-
13
-
13
-
14
-
14
-
14
-
15
-
15
-
15
-
16
-
16
-
16
-
17
-
17
-
17
-
18
-
19
-
19
-
19
-
20
-
20
-
21
-
21
-
21
-
22
-
22
-
23
-
23
-
24
-
24
-
24
-
25
-
25
-
26
-
26
-
27
-
27
-
27
-
28
-
28
-
29
-
29
-
29
-
30
-
30
-
31
-
31
-
32
-
32
-
32
-
33
-
33
-
34
-
34
-
35
-
35
-
35
-
36
-
36
-
37
-
37
-
38
-
38
-
39
-
39
-
40
-
40
-
41
-
41
-
42
-
42
-
42
-
43
-
43
-
44
-
44
-
44
-
45
-
45
-
45
-
45
-
46
Looking for a writing activity that helps build student skills, but doesn’t take a full period? Try the 100 Word Story activity.
ESL teachers usually look for new writing prompts and warm-ups to help their students stay interested in learning English writing. 100 Word Story is a website, a writing challenge and a terrific writing idea for the ESL classroom.
Time Estimate
- 15-30 minutes
Introduction
The idea is simple: write a story with 100 words.
The topic is wide open.
The only rule, except for the word count, is that it must be a story, not a random collection of words.
Writing Example
The 100 Word Story website has many stories. Here is a wonderfully creative example by Carly Anderson.
Apartment Key
It was Sunday in October—the day he arrived at the hardware store and asked to have it cut, the day he fingered its nickel plated edges before placing it in her palm, before she asked if he was sure and then tucked it inside the zippered pocket of her purse, before they cha-chaed in Little Havana and spent the summer declaring thumb wars, before he lost his job and started smoking out on the fire escape, before she locked herself in the bathroom while he smashed her porcelain teacups, before she cried while abandoning it on the coffee table.
Extra Directions
Writing a coherent story is the big challenge of this activity. Encourage students to write a complete idea, rather than an unfinished story. Teach students to focus on one idea. To answer a question. To pose a question.
Teach writing?
Get the ebook Teach Essential Writing Skills. Transform the quality of EFL student writing by focusing on four essential skills. Click here for details about the ebook that should be part of every writing teacher’s resource library.
Save time. Teach well.
Cut your lesson prep time with this 240-page collection of ESL resources that stimulate language learning and critical thinking: awesome pair work speaking activities, logic puzzles, trivia, word games and much more. Simplify your lesson planning because teaching should be a joy, not a chore.
187
Previews
7
Favorites
Purchase options
Better World Books
DOWNLOAD OPTIONS
No suitable files to display here.
14 day loan required to access EPUB and PDF files.
IN COLLECTIONS
Books to Borrow 
Books for People with Print Disabilities 
Internet Archive Books 
Uploaded by
station22.cebu
on October 15, 2020
#7
T-Rexby Daled79
What happens when your boss is a dinosaur…kind of. Flash fiction based off of the picture.
#8
bite-sized thrillersby Vivid Lies
Each story here has a horror/thriller theme, and all stores only consist of 100 words. No more and no less. They are all themed differently and come from different backg…
#19
Stories That Are Shortby Waterway22
This is a random collection of short stories that I have created. Some are writing prompts or challenges…I don’t what is really going to be in here in the future. But…
fictions in a hundred words or less
with inspiration from Micro SF/F and A Small Fiction
On a Small Planet
The Two Capes
The Layover
Invisibility
The Enchanted Book
In the Waiting Room
Flowers for Louis
The Self on the Shelf
Published
July 19, 2017July 18, 2017
10 thoughts on “100-Word Stories”
-
100-word stories are called “drabbles”. I used to think this was after Margaret Drabble, the English writer (whom I had confused for a moment with Margaret Atwood, the Canadian writer), but Wikipedia says it’s a Monty Python reference. How disappointing.
-
Ah, thanks for pointing out – I like the word! Per Wikipedia the fad originated right here in Birmingham, England. But we can call them “Atwoods” if you like; or maybe “Attrees” (being a fraction of an Atwood? or is that a pun too far?).
-
-
-
Yeah! I once tried to write some that were exactly 100 words, each comprising a single sentence, with no word used more than once per story; but they came out (as you might expect) a little too stilted!
-
-
Brilliant! Love these. I love your blog although have to admit I rarely understand the mathsy stuff. Words AND numbers – Rare talent!
-
Should of course have added AND artwork …
-
The artwork? :O See, now I *know* you’re being too kind.
-
-
-
-
These messed me up. I just want you to know that.
-
This was profoundly different from your usual posts. This was also amazing
Leave a Reply
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 13, 2012
The «Story of English in 100 Words» is intended to merge two approaches to writing about the English language. One approach is to discuss themes and trends within major periods of development, as author David Crystal has done in other volumes. Another approach involves «wordbooks» or «phrase books» that examine the etymology of particular words or the origins of certain phrases. In an effort to reconcile these two techniques, Crystal has selected the 100 words he offers here because each tells part of the story of how the English language developed, all the way through to contemporary usage.
Crystal largely succeeds in his attempt, though I think the result still ends up being more of an etymology book than a systemic history of English. Still, it’s a fun and highlighy readable narrative, and as a bonus you’ll actually learn the stories of far more than 100 words—while each of the 100 chapters uses a single word as its starting point, Crystal introduces many other words and phrases for illustration and comparison.
There are plenty of illuminating moments. Chapter 4, for example, explores the history of the word «loaf», a word that started out as the Anglo-Saxon «hlaf» during the 9th Century. The head of a household was a «hlaf-weard,» literally a bread warden; the woman of the house was a «hlaefdige,» a bread-kneader (the word «dige» is related to the modern «dough»). Hlaf-weard changed in the 14th century, as people quit pronouncing the «f», leading eventually to «lahrd» and finally to «lord.» (Although Crystal doesn’t mention it in this book, the Anglo-Saxon «hlaefdige» gradually evolved into «lady».) It’s interesting to learn that the words «lord» and «lady» derived from the old Anglo-Saxon word for a loaf of bread, which speaks volumes about the subsistence level of the Medieval English economy—such people were important because they controlled the food supply, not just because they owned bags of gold.
Another, similar book, which I took up after finishing Crystal’s work, is
The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
, which performs a similar service, albeit in a more pointedly witty way.
6 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 9, 2012
David Crystal is obviously a very talented writer and a careful scholar, and as a lover of his Stories of English (which I highly recommend) I wanted to like this book much more than I did. The selection of words is interesting and a number of the facts are new to me even as a reader of etymologies, including his. «Roe» is great for the archaeological insight as much as the linguistic history and Crystal is clear and funny on the idiosyncratic origins of collective nouns in «Gaggle».
The prose, and the storytelling, are where this book falls down. Parts of it read like it’s meant for a ten year old—‘egg’, for example, features a recounting of the Caxton eggs/eyren story that I knew from Stories of English, except this version is written in Simple English for someone who’s never heard of an inn before: «One of them went into a café (as we’d call it today) and asked for some ‘eggs’, but the lady who ran the establishment didn’t understand what he wanted, and replied that she couldn’t speak French. This made the sailor angry because he couldn’t speak French either! He just wanted some ‘eggs’.» This isn’t writing for amateurs—this is writing for children, and the kind of writing for children that infuriated me as a child because it talked down to me. And if his target audience is children, why the inclusion of a**e and c**t?
I could see buying a hard copy of this book to have around, but on Kindle, it’s far from engaging enough to drop ten dollars on. Buy it if you need another fix of Crystal, but don’t expect the light touch of his larger works.
14 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 3, 2014
IT IS NOT CRYSTAL’S BEST WORK!
I have purchased David Crystal’s books since I started to study English as a Foreign Language long time ago, and I got used to his style. After reading his The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language and The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, I expected something deeper.
So, do not expect to learn the story of English in this book. On the other hand, we should ask ourselves: is that possible to tell the story of English in 100 words?
Well, Crystal explain how he did it in the preface of his book : “ it is , of course, a personal list. If you would choose 100 hundred words to represent the English language, they would certainly be different.”
Considering he has a great knowledge in Language Teaching and Learning and is a famous writer in this field, I guess he can write a good book in this issue, maybe better than any other writer. Besides, it`s good price.Therefore, it’s worth to buy the book.
I did not read the story of English, but I learned lots of curious aspects of English language.
6 people found this helpful
Report
Top reviews from other countries
1.0 out of 5 stars
Printed by Amazon (?)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 20, 2022
For Christmas I recieved Crystal’s books on grammar, punctuation, pronunciation and spelling from Profile Publishing. This was the last book of Crystal’s Profile books. The wait was never-ending.. but then it came.
I opened the package from Amazon and was shocked at the difference between this book and the others. I thought ‘maybe it’s because this is the first book by Crystal at Profile?’.
The last page said something different: ‘Printed in Great Britain by Amazon.’ What on earth?
I decided to keep my mind open so I decided to order from a local bookshop. Well… a picture is worth a thousand words so I decided to publish four of them, you do the word count fellow reader.
The pictures speak of the visual differences, which is horrid. First of all, the hue of the pages? It’s so sterile and bright it could lighten a dark room! The front page is made in some strange material that is similar to rubber of some kind? It’s a very strange feel.
To not waste anyone’s time any further, let me summarise:
I sincerely hope that my money went to Profile and David Crystal, because they deserve the money, every penny. The ‘Printed by Amazon’ text gives me shudders that are undescribable in sensation. I have previously bought most of my books from Amazon, without any problems. This ONE incident has left me with the question ‘is it worth it?’ and I fear the answer will be ‘no’. I might go back to buying locally, pricier or not does not matter when it comes to the work of the author and the publishing house. I hope this consideration will be made by others who are reading this.
I will, however, finish with something positive: Crystal’s Profile books are wonderful and give a wide (albeit general — I mean how detailed can you go?) perspective of the English language filled with amazing details and facts! Definitely a worthy read for anyone interested in the subject!
1.0 out of 5 stars
Printed by Amazon (?)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 20, 2022
For Christmas I recieved Crystal’s books on grammar, punctuation, pronunciation and spelling from Profile Publishing. This was the last book of Crystal’s Profile books. The wait was never-ending.. but then it came.
I opened the package from Amazon and was shocked at the difference between this book and the others. I thought ‘maybe it’s because this is the first book by Crystal at Profile?’.
The last page said something different: ‘Printed in Great Britain by Amazon.’ What on earth?
I decided to keep my mind open so I decided to order from a local bookshop. Well… a picture is worth a thousand words so I decided to publish four of them, you do the word count fellow reader.
The pictures speak of the visual differences, which is horrid. First of all, the hue of the pages? It’s so sterile and bright it could lighten a dark room! The front page is made in some strange material that is similar to rubber of some kind? It’s a very strange feel.
To not waste anyone’s time any further, let me summarise:
I sincerely hope that my money went to Profile and David Crystal, because they deserve the money, every penny. The ‘Printed by Amazon’ text gives me shudders that are undescribable in sensation. I have previously bought most of my books from Amazon, without any problems. This ONE incident has left me with the question ‘is it worth it?’ and I fear the answer will be ‘no’. I might go back to buying locally, pricier or not does not matter when it comes to the work of the author and the publishing house. I hope this consideration will be made by others who are reading this.
I will, however, finish with something positive: Crystal’s Profile books are wonderful and give a wide (albeit general — I mean how detailed can you go?) perspective of the English language filled with amazing details and facts! Definitely a worthy read for anyone interested in the subject!
One person found this helpful
Report
5.0 out of 5 stars
A celebration of the English language by an infectious fanatic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 24, 2014
I just LOVED reading this book.
A few years ago I read Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson and I enjoyed it thoroughly. But I bet that this tiny little tome will have a longer-lasting effect on my appreciation of the English language.
Not only is the author the consummate master of his topic, he’s also head over heels in love with it. No exaggeration, you get the feeling he narrowed it down to 100 from his favorite 10,000 words. He weaves in the Celtic, the Anglo-Saxon, the Viking, the Latin and the Norman / French, but does not forget the American, the Indian or even the Pidgin and he goes looking for the medical and the Internet terms that have crept into the language too. As a Greek, and one who speaks five languages, I’m rather miffed he never refers to the Greek roots of several English words, but I regardless thought this was a masterpiece.
What we have here is a celebration of the English Language, rather than a mere story, basically. Reading this book is a bit like having the curator of the British Museum take you through his favorite ten exhibits. You get the history, the context, the evolution, everything.
I’m jealous of David Crystal. He gets paid to share his life’s biggest passion.
Six stars
5 people found this helpful
Report
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable and informative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 2, 2012
I’m a fan of David Crystal’s works because of my interest in etymology. This work, though, is as much about the future as the past, highlighting the fluid nature of language. Words are continually deprecated, added, changed, trimmed, merged (I’m sure there are proper linguistic terms for this but I’m no expert), and their meanings and usage continually evolve. This is not a new phenomenon as the examples show. A lot of focus is given to new media, for example Twitter, showing how they accelerate this process. Some neologisms even I was unaware of.
I’d always viewed the history of language as distinct from the traditional «history» discipline. I’d regarded today’s English as the pinnacle of linguistic evolution. Maybe watching Star Trek, based three centuries in the future but with the same lexicon and pronounciation, cemented my misconception. I now feel disconcerted because I realise that my English will also be history, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
6 people found this helpful
Report
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful style of writing — clear and simple!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 2, 2020
I bought this product as a recommended book to read for a particular university linguistics module and I’m delighted to say how great David Crystal’s style of writing is. It’s clear and simple, understandable. I never thought I would be so intrigued by a random 100 words of English and where they had originated from. This is such an information-packed book. I’d recommend this to any English Language/Linguistics students!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thrilling Journey
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 18, 2012
Reading anything from David Crystal, the acknowledged world leader in the study of the English language, is always a thrill and ‘The Story of English in 100 Words’ is no exception. He takes us on an exciting journey from the first known written work of the earliest form of English, scratched on the ankle bone of a Roe Deer in the early fifth century via Chaucer, Shakespeare, Johnson, and dozens of other writers (referring to dozens, if not hundreds of other words besides the 100 of the title) right up to present day forms of txtng and journalism; not shrinking from the history of taboo words not usually written in full, if at all, in newspapers.
David Crystal shows us that language, and the English language in particular, is a living, ever-changing, adapting, absorbing creature, reflecting the historical, cultural and social situations in which it operates. The best evidence of this is his twice repeated use of what must be one of his favourite expressions, ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet!’
This is the sort of book you can read either right through fairly quickly, simply delighting in the author’s use of the language he obviously loves, and getting a panoramic view of the language on the way, or as a reference work, stopping off to take in the detail at places that interest you, perhaps with help from the comprehensive index.
7 people found this helpful
Report