Oh, Goodness...

Whimsy is common among magical creatures, as a theme and strangely enough as a name. You really know you have an unusual one though when it has a strange name like Simple. Few magical creatures are simple. Though my friend Simple the Manticore is pretty unusual. He has all the usual characteristics of a manticore the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and the face of a man with a mouth filled with multiple rows of sharp teeth. The thing about Simple is the things he likes, crossword puzzles, watching the weatherman on television, and vanilla pudding. Overall Simple is very vanilla.

That is why when I heard Simple had gotten himself into a magical mess I was surprised. He went to the magical stylist to get his mane trimmed. When he got there he found a new fairy had joined the staff. Simple was very particular about his stylist. He saw Misty every time. Well, this time Misty was literally swamped pruning The Creature from the Lagoon. The new fairy offered to do his mane for half price. He accepted even though her name was Trixie.

He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes when she put the hot towel over his face. It was the perfect temperature and he quickly fell asleep. He awoke to the sound of Misty exclaiming, “Good heavens!”

Simple sat up and the towel fell from his face. In the mirror across the room, he saw a strange creature staring back at him. It was another manticore. It had a rainbow mane done up in tight pin curls. He blinked at that then realized it was him. This simply wasn’t what simple had wanted.

“I am so sorry Simple,” Misty howled smacking Trixie with a wet towel. “Let me fix this!” She spent the next hour trying every spell she knew to restore his mane to its previous glory. Failing completely, Misty turned on Trixie. “What have you done?”

“I gave him a permanent.”

Misty looked back at Simple with horror on her face. “I am sorry Simple. There is simply nothing I can do until it grows out other than shaving it off.”

Simple left the stylist that afternoon minus a mane and with the firm new resolution never to allow anyone but Misty to do his hair again.

391 words

Prompt ▼

Prompts:

1. Your creature/animal wanders into a field of magical beings known as...
2. Favorite resolution of your creature/animal
3. This can fall under nonfiction as well: A walk in the park on a sunny day.
4. This can fall under nonfiction as well: Favorite animal

I chose prompt 2.