He knew exactly what the wicked old witch was trying to do. Feeding him all these wonderfully delicious treats, trying to get him nice and fat so she could eat him.
So far Hansel had managed to refuse the food the crone tempted him with. He hadn’t taken a single bite of the sticky cinnamon buns offered through the iron bars of his cell – the only thing in this house not made of candy. He’d turned up his nose at the sweet chocolate cakes the hag baked and he’d even resisted the honeyed baited pancakes.
But now Hansel’s stomach growled and churned. Pressing his fists into his stomach, he tried to distract himself from the overwhelming hunger that had grown bigger and bigger in the last three days. Food was his only thought. One bite wouldn’t hurt would it? Surely he could take a small bite without getting fat enough to be eaten himself. No! It wasn’t worth the risk.
Laying down on the floor of his candied cage, Hansel brought his knees into his chest and rolled onto his side. The growling in his stomach continued, stabbing painfully, making the small boy whine. Resting his head against the floor, the heady scent of cinnamon entered his nose. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the syrupy smell tantalise him. Before he could stop himself, Hansel’s tongue darted out his mouth and licked the floor. It tasted like sugar and was the start of Hansel’s sweet demise.
Word count: 248
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What is Flash Fiction?
Flash fiction is a genre of fiction, defined as a very short story. While there’s no set word count that separates flash fiction from more traditional short stories, flash fiction stories can be as short as a few words (while short stories typically run for several pages).
Flash fiction is also known as sudden fiction, short-short stories, micro-fiction, or micro-stories.
Backyard tales 