Weekly Wordzzle Challenge # 179

Still going with the story of Fred Johnson,  Paragon of Virtue. Here are links to the previous episodes.  If you need/want to catch up, click here for the 1st installment, 2nd installment, 3rd installment, 4th installment, 5th installment, 6th installment, 7th installment., 8th installment, 9th installment, 10th installment, 11th installment, 12th installment, 13th installment, 14th installment, 15th installment, 16th installment, 17th installment, 18th installment...

Tuesday 11/22 Update.   I'm taking the rest of the month off, though I WILL do these exercises during that time. The next Wordzzles will be postponed, though, until December 2nd at which point I will hopefully approach them with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.

Words for this week's 10 word challenge were:  rumble, grumble, tumble, mumble humble,stumble, fumble, bumble, crumble, jumble   And for the mini: mice, twice, splice,  price, slice, spice 



My mega:   

At the appointed hour Psycho arrived at the Paragon's door mumbling irritably about mice, the price of heating a fortress, and something Fred didn't quite understand about twice spliced fragments of something or other. Even Cane seemed to sense the pain that lay beneath the surface and quietly butted his head against the Count's hand. Unsure how to proceed, Fred finally decided to let the magic of one of Confetti's meals do it's work before he broached the delicate subject of the Count's missing mother. "Come sit," he said to his guest, "Confetti seems to have outdone himself tonight. Something he calls Humble Tumble Bumble Crumble Casserole and slices of his amazing spice cake for dessert. I don't know about you, but my stomach is grumbling and rumbling both, I'm so hungry." They didn't talk much as they ate, though the healing power of Confetti's cooking did seem to soothe Psycho's spirit in some way. Finally, fumbling for words, his thoughts jumbled by his fear of stumbling and saying the wrong thing, Fred finally said. "I'm sorry about your mother. Bubbles and McFlash told me the story and showed me her portrait. If you will forgive me for saying so, I don't believe she left you voluntarily. Something about her portrait spoke to my heart. I saw your pain when I spoke of my mother so I hope you forgive me for speaking about something sensitive."  He expected a caustic reply, perhaps or a snort. Instead, much to the Paragon's shocked surprise, he saw tears running down Psycho's cheeks."


My mini:

With the deep instinct most dogs have for healing, Cane rested his head on the Counts leg, a gesture which unleashed deep sobs.  Fred, not all that comfortable with deep emotion, could only think to offer the count another slice of spice cake. They sat in silence for a time. Twice the Count tried to speak only to break into another round of tears. Finally, he managed to splice together a few sentences, fraught with a palpable agony.  "My mother paid a heavy price for loving me. I know my father was evil. We were all - even me - mice or maybe ants in his eyes.


And the 10-word:  rumble,  

"She was a wonderful mother," he continued, "gentle and kind. And she loved to laugh.... she used to make up poems for me sometimes.... This was one of my favorites.

Do not grumble when you stumble
If you tumble or you fumble
If your thoughts go all a-jumble
Or some task you somehow bumble
There is no reason you should crumble, 
No excuse to groan or mumble
Let it keep you wise and  humble
Mistakes, my child, are how we learn.


He looked up and smiled and Fred could see the innocent child who hid inside the twisted monster who sat across from him. "Thank you for seeing that she loved me. When you said it, for the first time in many years, I knew it was true...  You have given me a priceless gift. And restored my appetite. Do you hear my stomach rumbling again even after all we ate? I think I will take another slice of that cake."  Tears in his own eyes, now, the Paragon passed his guest a thick slice of cake and whispered, " I don't know why, but I think your mother is alive and trapped and that a purple teddy bear is somehow key to finding her." "You mean Candy?" the Count replied, his voice shaking with emotion? "My father took him and hid him somewhere just before my mother 'left." 

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Words for next week's 10-word challenge:  parasite, changeable, fertile, chance, gravity, artist, arrival, shaken, fake, music

And for the mini: wonder, wing, flowers, drunk, purpose

Thanks you for playing.  Newcomers can check here for some guidelines to make the game more fun. There are no rules, just some general guidelines and tricks.