The Empress of Hay

The Vignette Gazette Edition #186–horse

Image copied from Michael John Scott

The Vistula glints, a lazy ribbon of silver under the Toruń sun. I, Gryzka, am the undisputed queen of this haystack, perched by the old granary. Below me, a grand farce unfolds.

A plump mouse is attempting to orchestrate a heist of a single, perfect oat. Eight of his less-bright cousins are using a fallen leaf as a battering ram against a stubborn seed. A particularly arrogant beetle is strutting like a tiny, armored knight, and a frantic rabbit has mistaken a cluster of dandelion fluff for a predator, thumping his foot with panicked idiocy.

Honestly, the sheer incompetence is exhausting. I stretch a languid paw, the movement sending a cascade of hay down upon them. Chaos erupts. The mice scatter like brown water, the beetle somersaults off his stem, and the rabbit… well, the rabbit just sits there, blinking.

The clamor of hooves on cobblestones drifts from the Old Town, a horse from the tourist carriage, no doubt. I snort, a sound of pure feline disdain. These creatures have no discipline. As the sun warms my ginger fur, I let my eyes drift half-shut. A single, perfect fly buzzes by my nose. I yawn, revealing a tiny pink tongue.

They’ll be back. They always are. And I’ll be here, the stoic, furry god of this hill of golden stalks, watching their tiny, hysterical lives. For now, my nap is far more important.

Prompt given by: Michael John Scott

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