There once lived an old man and an old woman who were peasants and had to

work hard to earn their daily bread. The old man used to go to fix fences and do
other odd jobs for the farmers around, and while he was gone the old woman,
his wife, did the work of the house and worked in their own little plot of land.

1.One foot in front of the other, One more step, and then one more. Jack's only
thoughts were to keep moving no matter how much his body screamed to stop
and rest. He's lost almost all his energy and his entire body ached beyond
belief, but he forced himself to take another step. Then another. And then one
more.

2.Don't forget that gifts often come with costs that go beyond their purchase
price. When you purchase a child the latest smartphone, you're also committing
to a monthly phone bill. When you purchase the latest gaming system, you're
likely not going to be satisfied with the games that come with it for long and
want to purchase new titles to play. When you buy gifts it's important to
remember that some come with additional costs down the road that can be
much more expensive than the initial gift itself.

3."Explain to me again why I shouldn't cheat?" he asked. "All the others do and
nobody ever gets punished for doing so. I should go about being happy losing to
cheaters because I know that I don't? That's what you're telling me?"

4.She considered the birds to be her friends. She'd put out food for them each
morning and then she'd watch as they came to the feeders to gorge themselves
for the day. She wondered what they would do if something ever happened to
her. Would they miss the meals she provided if she failed to put out the food
one morning?

5.Betty was a creature of habit and she thought she liked it that way. That was
until Dave showed up in her life. She now had a choice to make and it would
determine whether her lie remained the same or if it would change forever.

6.I don’t like cats and they don’t like me. I used to be allergic to them and I
would get stuffed up and have hives. That doesn’t seem to happen anymore. But
I still don’t like them. I lived with 3 cats that were not good at peeing in the
litter box. They seemed to find something important to me and pee on it. Most
of the time they peed on photographs or papers that would be ruined. Cats also
bring fleas into the house. There is nothing worse than having to flea dip cats
and also flea bomb a home. That is why I don’t like cats.

7.She sat down with her notebook in her hand, her mind wandering to faraway
places. She paused and considered all that had happened. It hadn't gone as
expected. When the day began she thought it was going to be a bad one, but as
she sat recalling the day's events to write them down, she had to admit, it had
been a rather marvelous day.
8.The leather jacked showed the scars of being his favorite for years. It wore
those scars with pride, feeling that they enhanced his presence rather than
diminishing it. The scars gave it character and had not overwhelmed to the
point that it had become ratty. The jacket was in its prime and it knew it.

9.The lone lamp post of the one-street town flickered, not quite dead but
definitely on its way out. Suitcase by her side, she paid no heed to the light, the
street or the town. A car was coming down the street and with her arm
outstretched and thumb in the air, she had a plan.

10.He sat across from her trying to imagine it was the first time. It wasn't. Had
it been a hundred? It quite possibly could have been. Two hundred? Probably
not. His mind wandered until he caught himself and again tried to imagine it
was the first time.

11."What is the best way to get what you want?" she asked. He looked down at
the ground knowing that she wouldn't like his answer. He hesitated, knowing
that the truth would only hurt. How was he going to tell her that the best way
for him to get what he wanted was to leave her?

12.She had been an angel for coming up on 10 years and in all that time nobody
had told her this was possible. The fact that it could ever happen never even
entered her mind. Yet there she stood, with the undeniable evidence sitting on
the ground before her. Angels could lose their wings.

13.It had been a late night. To be more correct, it had been an early morning. It
was now 3:00 AM and George was just getting home. He wasn't sure if it had
been worth it. He was supposed to have been finished by 10:00 PM, but his boss
had implored him to stay and help when it was clear they weren't going to meet
the 10:00 PM target time. So, he had stayed an extra 5 hours and lost a good
night's sleep for something he didn't really believe in, but he did anyway
because he was afraid if he refused he might lose his job.

14.It wasn't that he hated her. It was simply that he didn't like her much. It was
difficult for him to explain this to her, and even more difficult for her to truly
understand. She was in love and wanted him to feel the same way. He didn't,
and no matter how he tried to explain to her she refused to listen or to
understand.

15.Things aren't going well at all with mom today. She is just a limp noodle and
wants to sleep all the time. I sure hope that things get better soon.

16.They had made it to Las Vegas, wide-eyed and with so much hope and
energy. They had planned the trip for more than a year and both were so
excited they could barely control themselves. They still hadn't realized that Las
Vegas promised a place where dreams come true, it was actually the place
where dreams came to die.
17.Sometimes it's simply better to ignore the haters. That's the lesson that
Tom's dad had been trying to teach him, but Tom still couldn't let it go. He
latched onto them and their hate and couldn't let it go, but he also realized that
this wasn't healthy. That's when he came up with his devious plan.

18.Matt told her to reach for the stars, but Veronica thought it was the most
ridiculous advice she'd ever received. Sure, it had been well-meaning when he
said it, but she didn't understand why anyone would want to suggest something
that would literally kill you if you actually managed to achieve it.

19.The opened package of potato chips held the answer to the mystery. Both
detectives looked at it but failed to realize it was the key to solve the crime.
They passed by it assuming it was random trash ensuring that the case would
never be solved.

20.I inadvertently went to See's Candy last week (I was in the mall looking for
phone repair), and as it turns out, See's Candy now charges a dollar -- a full
dollar -- for even the simplest of their wee confection offerings. I bought two
chocolate lollipops and two chocolate-caramel-almond things. The total cost was
four-something. I mean, the candies were tasty and all, but let's be real: A
Snickers bar is fifty cents. After this dollar-per-candy revelation, I may not find
myself wandering dreamily back into a See's Candy any time soon.

21.He had three simple rules by which he lived. The first was to never eat blue
food. There was nothing in nature that was edible that was blue. People often
asked about blueberries, but everyone knows those are actually purple. He
understood it was one of the stranger rules to live by, but it had served him well
thus far in the 50+ years of his life.

22.The light blinded him. It was dark and he thought he was the only one in the
area, but the light shining in his eyes proved him wrong. It came from about 100
feet away and was shining so directly into his eyes he couldn't make out
anything about the person holding the light. There was only one thing to do in
this situation. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flashlight of his own
that was much stronger than the one currently blinding him. He turned it on and
pointed it into the stranger's eyes.

23.Frank knew there was a correct time and place to reveal his secret and this
wasn't it. The issue was that the secret might be revealed despite his best
attempt to keep it from coming out. At this point, it was out of his control and
completely dependant on those around him who also knew the secret. They
wouldn't purposely reveal it, or at least he believed that, but they could easily
inadvertently expose it. It was going to be a long hour as he nervously eyed
everyone around the table hoping they would keep their mouths shut.

24.To the two friends, the treehouse was much more than a treehouse. It was a
sanctuary away from the other kids where they could be themselves without
being teased or bullied. It was their secret fortress hidden high in the branches
of a huge oak that only they knew existed. At least that is what they thought.
They were more than a little annoyed when their two younger sisters decided to
turn the treehouse into a princess castle by painting the inside pink and putting
glitter everywhere.

25.She nervously peered over the edge. She understood in her mind that the
view was supposed to be beautiful, but all she felt was fear. There had always
been something about heights that disturbed her, and now she could feel the
full force of this unease. She reluctantly crept a little closer with the
encouragement of her friends as the fear continued to build. She couldn't help
but feel that something horrible was about to happen.

26."It was so great to hear from you today and it was such weird timing," he
said. "This is going to sound funny and a little strange, but you were in a dream
I had just a couple of days ago. I'd love to get together and tell you about it if
you're up for a cup of coffee," he continued, laying the trap he'd been planning
for years.

27.He looked at the sand. Picking up a handful, he wondered how many grains
were in his hand. Hundreds of thousands? "Not enough," the said under his
breath. I need more.

28.The paper was blank. It shouldn't have been. There should have been writing
on the paper, at least a paragraph if not more. The fact that the writing wasn't
there was frustrating. Actually, it was even more than frustrating. It was
downright distressing.

29.He heard the loud impact before he ever saw the result. It had been so loud
that it had actually made him jump back in his seat. As soon as he recovered
from the surprise, he saw the crack in the windshield. It seemed to be an
analogy of the current condition of his life.

30.Finding the red rose in the mailbox was a pleasant surprise for Sarah. She
didn't have a boyfriend or know of anyone who was interested in her as
anything more than a friend. There wasn't even a note attached to it. Although
it was a complete mystery, it still made her heart jump and race a little more
than usual. She wished that she could simply accept the gesture and be content
knowing someone had given it to her, but that wasn't the way Sarah did things.
Now it was time to do a little detective work and try to figure who had actually
left the red rose.

31.She has seen this scene before. It had come to her in dreams many times
before. She had to pinch herself to make sure it wasn't a dream again. As her
fingers squeezed against her arm, she felt the pain. It was this pain that
immediately woke her up.
32.The desert wind blew the tumbleweed in front of the car. Alex swerved to
avoid the tumbleweed, but he turned the wheel a bit too strong and the car left
the road and skidded onto the dirt median. He instantly slammed on the brakes
and the car stopped in a cloud of dirt. When the dust cloud had settled and he
could see around him again, he realized that he'd somehow crossed over into an
entirely new dimension.

33.It wasn't supposed to end that way. The plan had been meticulously thought
out and practiced again and again. There was only one possible result once it
had been implemented, but as they stood there the result wasn't anything close
to what it should have been. They all blankly looked at each wondering how this
could have happened. In their minds, they all began to blame the other
members of the group as to why they had failed.

34.Hopes and dreams were dashed that day. It should have been expected, but
it still came as a shock. The warning signs had been ignored in favor of the
possibility, however remote, that it could actually happen. That possibility had
grown from hope to an undeniable belief it must be destiny. That was until it
wasn't and the hopes and dreams came crashing down.

35.There was something in the sky. What exactly was up there wasn't
immediately clear. But there was definitely something in the sky and it was
getting bigger and bigger.

36.Mary had to make a decision and she knew that whatever decision she made,
it would upset someone. It seemed like such a silly reason for people to get
upset but she knew the minute that she began to consider doing it that there
was no way everyone in her life would be pleased with what she ultimately
decided to do. It was simply a question of who she would rather displease most.
While this had always been her parents, and especially her mom, in the past
that she tried to keep from upsetting, she decided that this time the person she
was going to please the most with her decision was herself.

37.It was difficult for him to admit he was wrong. He had been so certain that he
was correct and the deeply held belief could never be shaken. Yet the proof that
he had been incorrect stood right before his eyes. "See daddy, I told you that
they are real!" his daughter excitedly proclaimed.

38.It was a weird concept. Why would I really need to generate a random
paragraph? Could I actually learn something from doing so? All these questions
were running through her head as she pressed the generate button. To her
surprise, she found what she least expected to see.

39.The house was located at the top of the hill at the end of a winding road. It
wasn't obvious that the house was there, but everyone in town knew that it
existed. They were just all too afraid to ever go and see it in person.
40.It all started with a random letter. Several of those were joined forces to
create a random word. The words decided to get together and form a random
sentence. They decided not to stop there and it wasn't long before a random
paragraph had been cobbled together. The question was whether or not they
could continue the momentum long enough to create a random short story.

41.He knew what he was supposed to do. That had been apparent from the
beginning. That was what made the choice so difficult. What he was supposed to
do and what he would do were not the same. This would have been fine if he
were willing to face the inevitable consequences, but he wasn't.

42.The time had come for Nancy to say goodbye. She had been dreading this
moment for a good six months, and it had finally arrived despite her best efforts
to forestall it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep the inevitable
from happening. So the time had come for a normal person to say goodbye and
move on. It was at this moment that Nancy decided not to be a normal person.
After all the time and effort she had expended, she couldn't bring herself to do
it.

43.The kids were loud. They were way too loud for Jerry, especially since this
was a four-hour flight. The parents didn't seem to be able, or simply didn't want,
to control them. They were yelling and fighting among themselves and it was
impossible for any of the passengers to concentrate or rest. He thought about
politely tapping on the parents' shoulders and asking them to try and get their
kids under a bit more control, but before he did he came up with a better idea.
Sure, it was a bit sinister, and he'd probably end p in a lot of trouble, but he
really didn't care at that point.

44.It was a rat's nest. Not a literal one, but that is what her hair seemed to
resemble every morning when she got up. It was going to take at least an hour
to get it under control and she was sick and tired of it. She peered into the
mirror and wondered if it was worth it. It wasn't. She opened the drawer and
picked up the hair clippers.

45.Stormi is a dog. She is dark grey and has long legs. Her eyes are expressive
and are able to let her humans know what she is thinking. Her tongue is long,
pink, and wet. Her long legs allow her to sprint after other dogs, people or
bunnies. She can be a good dog, but also very bad. Her tail wags when happy or
excited and hides between her back legs when she is bad. Stormi is a dog I love.

46.Dave watched as the forest burned up on the hill, only a few miles from her
house. The car had been hastily packed and Marta was inside trying to round up
the last of the pets. Dave went through his mental list of the most important
papers and documents that they couldn't leave behind. He scolded himself for
not having prepared these better in advance and hoped that he had
remembered everything that was needed. He continued to wait for Marta to
appear with the pets, but she still was nowhere to be seen.
47.Twenty seconds were all that was left and Richard could hear each one tick
by. Fifteen seconds now remained and the panic began to fully set in. Ten
seconds and he wasn't sure he had enough time. Five seconds, four, three, two,
one...

48.It probably seemed trivial to most people, but it mattered to Tracey. She
wasn't sure why it mattered so much to her, but she understood deep within her
being that it mattered to her. So for the 365th day in a row, Tracey sat down to
eat pancakes for breakfast.

49.I've rented a car in Las Vegas and have reserved a hotel in Twentynine Palms
which is just north of Joshua Tree. We'll drive from Las Vegas through Mojave
National Preserve and possibly do a short hike on our way down. Then spend all
day on Monday at Joshua Tree. We can decide the next morning if we want to do
more in Joshua Tree or Mojave before we head back.