“Here’s my idea for a story,” Jakob said. “A girl with long hair gets locked in the tower.”
Wilhelm scoffed. “That sounds dumb.”
“No, listen! She’s locked up there and she lets her hair down for people to climb up.”
“Climbing up hair? That’s ridiculous!”
“It’s magical hair.”
“That’s even dumber. Magic hair. Besides, there’s a stairwell right there.” Wilhelm pointed to the door at street level.
“What if,” Jacob said, “she was locked up there with a bunch of straw and spinning wheel? What if she had to spin the straw into gold?”
“What if she pricked her finger on the spindle and fell asleep?”
“What if the whole country fell asleep?”
“What if a frog hopped up and kissed her?”
“No, no — it should be a prince.”
“The frog could turn into a prince!” Wilhelm suggested.
“You thought magic hair sounded dumb. Listen to your ideas. Frogs kissing people and turning into princes! Pshaw!”
The two boys walked slowly out of the city in silence.
Suddenly they both stopped.
“What if…” they said at exactly the same time, and then both started laughing.
“What if it was just a story about kids walking in the woods?” Jacob suggested.
“Yeah! And they find a house made of gingerbread with icing and all?”
“How about walking to Grandma’s house and meeting a wolf?” Jacob said.
“That could be scary,” said Wilhelm.
“Really scary,” said Jacob. “Let’s try to write that one.”
With that, the Grimm brothers headed for home.
A struggle — but it’s done!
Unicorn Challenge — no more than 250 words launched from the photo prompt
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 
I’ve often wondered how the Brothers Grimm got started on their fairy tale collection.
Now I know!
As ever with your writing, Sally, I can just see the boys wandering along, with the back and forth of boy banter.
It might have taken you time to get the inspiration, but the end product is full of creative fun.
Actually, I think all the fairy tales have pretty deep roots in folklore and across multiple cultures.
I am, however, sort of fascinated/interested in the writing process of other people — and reading through other people’s responses to the prompts always offers a little insight. For me, I raised a bunch of kids and have always loved eavesdropping on conversations. 🙂
You, my friend, have the gift of encouragement and I always appreciate your kind words.
Loved that and it’s so clever 💜💜💜
Thanks, Willow!
🙄😁
This is clever. 🥰
Awesome 👏🏼
Everybody’s gotta start somewhere!
This is great, Sally. Very entertaining and clever!
I think their ideas were all daft, but your story is terrific!
Too cool, Sally.
Bravo!
High-pitched, fingers to mouth whistle noise I’ve never been able to make
Knuckles rapping on round lacquered tables in smoke-filled café
cigarette lighters in darkened auditorium
…excellent story
So… are you saying that you liked it? 😉
Brilliant!! I always wondered….
Good one. LOL
It’s true! When you look way back, before the Brothers Grimm began collecting stories, and also look cross-culturally, the stories blend into one another(from the oral tales). A fun run on how those boys began being interested in folklore and fairy tales. ❤
I love the brainstorming session they are having! How fun! 💞💞💞