Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Anthologies

Mark Twain always had a unique way of sharing stories that never seemed as if they had any real life as a story. Imagine a conversation with Mark and an undertaker. It's possible the undertaker has just spent too much time by himself, maybe the embalming chemicals were a bit too strong, and maybe he really thinks he talks to his 'clients'. This short story will leave you wondering how such a fun story could come from a funeral home. Your view of the song 'Pop Goes the Weasel' may never be the same.

Each of us responds to our world based on what we know. This story shows how when you never see what others view as normal then normal becomes frightening. Follow a three-year-old boy as he lives following a war that ravaged his country. A short story that challenges conventional thought on normalcy. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Meet Jenny Wren. In spite of physical difficulties she is an industrious young girl with friends, and work that she enjoys. You may think her life extremely harsh by today's standards, but her enduring spirit will inspire. You may even come to wish you were more like Jenny Wren. A little-known classic short story from the mind of Charles Dickens. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Tales of Terror and Mystery narrated by Norman Gilligan, a collection of Arthur Conan Doyle stories including: "Tales of Terror", "The Horror of the Heights", "The Leather Funnel", "The New Catacomb", "The Case of Lady Sannox", "The Terror of Blue John Gap" "The Brazilian Cat Tales of Mystery", "The Lost Special", "The Beetle-Hunter", "The Man with the Watches", "The Japanned Box", "The Black Doctor", and "The Jew's Breastplate". These stories will keep you enthralled and in suspense.

The narrator pledges to donate 50% of his proceeds to The Royal British Legion Poppy Day Appeal - please support. "The United Front", by Alfred Noyes [1880-1958], was published in Poems of the Great War, in 1914, on behalf of The Prince of Wales' national relief fund. Unable to join the fighting forces due to defective eyesight, Noyes worked on propaganda and by wrote morale-boosting short stories.

Ellis Parker Butler is known for his humor and he doesn’t disappoint in this tale. Imagine a cat who intentionally snuffs out each of his nine lives. Imagine the trauma and “paroxysms” endured by the family that watches the cat with such personal disrespect for limited second chances. While Butler tries to present this as a factual account there are many word pictures that will amuse, entertain, and allow you to relate to a melancholy cat.

"Why the Sea Is Salt" is a fairy tale narrative that explains in fictional form how the sea came to be salty. It all started with a poor farmer with information he did not share. A moral tale for all ages.

Criminals should not return to the scene of their crime. Sometimes, it's just too horrible to bear!

"The Hour" by James Bernard Fagan (1873-1923) was published in Poems of the Great War in 1914 on behalf of The Prince of Wales' National Relief Fund. Fagan was an Irish-born actor, poet and playwright.

If you’ve ever participated in an "over the hill' party you know they can be a fun way to roast a friend who reaches a mythical milestone. Acclaimed author Ellis Parker Butler wrote a wonderful story about facing life at 50 and his observations may seem different, yet very relatable. Welcome to a world where some lifelong pains become friends, where some of the best work in life begins, and where things that once seemed so important are relegated to the dust bin of vanity.

All of us want to leave a mark on our world. We want to be remembered for the good we did. This is the dilemma for author Ellis Parker Butler, a contemporary of Mark Twain. In the case of Butler, he found that the more he followed rabbit trails and gathered 'goat-feathers' without actually doing much to finish the work he thought was more important, the less fulfilled he became. Filled with humor and wit, this author's lamentation is both understood and smiled at.

This story existed before the term 'hoarders'. When one believes they are capable of letting go of an article that ties them to an emotional memory, they will come to find solace in the struggles of the narrator letting go of some of his most 'priceless' possessions. A dash of humor can be found in this very relatable storyline from the author of Winnie the Pooh. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Two older men are set to oppose each other for sharing a similar interest in business. Once a pie is mashed into the head of one, and a bit of a 'raslin' match is concluded, the elderly men set about making up while planning the largest business in the nation. If their plan works it would change America, but would their wives approve? Will the men even be bold enough to share their idea with their brides?

An intriguing short story by acclaimed writer Bram Stoker focusing on what a patient might experience in the midst of an intense illness. For both the patient and the caregiver the result bears a remarkable look at something that may seem familiar, disturbing, and sometimes humorous. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Two outcasts seemed well suited to each other. While one is a carved image no one likes, the other is a songbird that receives no welcome. This classic short story from Saki embraces the notion that each of us need others and that the joy we find is often in the seeking and finding of another. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

This short story takes you back to the start of radio in America. Filled with just the right amount of humor this story takes a millionaire's final wish and makes it possible for him to broadcast an approved message through a loud speaker in his headstone. This captured the attention of the nation, but no one expected the worst case scenario, but it is just this scenario that empties a cemetery. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Follow the tale of a traveling writer as he sought the particulars of the origin of "Lover’s Leap" when the town was situated on flat prairie. Kildare resident 'Uncle Billy' was quite pleased to explain the where and why of lover’s leap. Humor is abundant in this delightful short story by Ellis Parker Butler.

In a world where we have much to fear from living predators, perhaps it is the nonliving ones we should fear more.

The Ghost Patrol portrays the dilemma men face when they are put out to pasture. Don Dorgan was such a man. He was a cop, and he loved his beat. When he returns to his old beat, he becomes the Ghost Patrol.

In a London suburb is a dead-end alley where twice a day a horse-drawn omnibus leaves for the Promised Land. Just make sure you get a return ticket before you leave, or you won't be coming back.