Read Online Grimm Tales by John Kenyon - Free Book Online

him made it all the more intense. He pounded harder and quicker till he was done. Jenny bit into his shoulder to suppress the sounds of her joy.
    The two of them collapsed into silent laughter and they straightened out their clothes before sneaking out.
    â€œDanny.” His voice was coming from the conservatory.
    â€œYes, boss,” Danny called back.
    â€œI’m ready,” he said.
    Danny and Charlie headed out to the van where Ralph was supervising the merchandise, twenty-four girls sorting through a pile of clean clothes of assorted styles and sizes.
    â€œYou did good,” Charlie said as he looked over at his maid sorting out the laundry on the lawn.
    It was an open secret about Charlie and Lucy. He’d spent a fortune on surgery turning her into the woman of his dreams.
    With breasts that size Danny wondered how she managed to stay upright.
    Ralph arranged the girls into a neat line, tallest to shortest, and Charlie went to introduce himself.
    There was a routine to it all. He’d shake hands, tell them to open their mouths and do a little twirl. Next he’d let his hands wander and decide where to send them.
    While he was at it, Jenny walked into the garden innocent as you like. Paid no attention to what was going on and went straight over to help with the washing.
    She knew damn well what she and her dad got up to in the laundry room. Kept it to herself in case she could use it to her advantage one day.
    It was nice for Danny to have something else to look at while Charlie prodded and poked, but he couldn’t help turning back to see what he was up to.
    He was halfway through. Had reached the feisty one. Maybe Danny should have warned him.
    She was turning into a woman all right, her hips accentuated in her new pair of jeans.
    Charlie put his hand up into her armpit. Let his thumb rub at the buds protruding from her chest. Slid his palm down her waist and then along the curves.
    That’s when it happened.
    A ball of spit flew from her mouth and landed in Charlie’s eye.
    He pulled his hand back and went for the slap, but he was too slow.
    The girl ducked and ran.
    There was nothing anyone could do, but she was never going to get away. Probably knew that all along.
    Straight for the maid she went. Pounced like a lioness. Had her down in one movement.
    When down flew a blackbird and pecked off her nose.
    She had her teeth around the poor maid’s nose like she was born to such a thing. Her head swung from side to side like she was watching a pulsating tennis game.
    When she straightened up there was a lump of flesh in her mouth. It was small, but she was smiling like it was the biggest prize of all.
    Ralph got to her first. Dragged her off by the arms.
    Charlie was next. Gave her such a kick in her belly that the nose spilled free from her jaws. It lay there in the grass like an end of raw sausage.
    Hearing the commotion, little Jenny Wren,
    Came down into the garden and put it back again.
    The maid stayed down like a boxer taking the eight, her mouth hanging open and trying to scream.
    Jenny reacted first. Picked up the tip of the nose and pressed it back where it was supposed to be, connecting it to the blood supply as if everything might be right as rain.
    Ignoring his bit on the side, Charlie followed Ralph as he dragged the girl away.
    Didn’t need to be a clairvoyant to see what her future held.
    Danny saw the look of satisfaction in her face. Wished he’d taken her under his wing. Sent her home and given her a chance, the chance she’d given her friends—twenty-three girls sprinting in different directions towards the perimeter hedge, hoping to find their land of milk and honey.

King Flounder: A Monologue
    By Loren Eaton
    â€œKing Flounder: A Monologue” was inspired not only by “The Fisherman and His Wife”
(my favorite Grimm’s fairy tale), but by memories of flats fishing in Key West with my father and a certain scene in Francis Ford