The Greatest Short Story Ever Told

The short story is among the most celebrated genres in American Literature. Notable authors of the form include Stephen King, Jack London, Ray Bradbury, William Faulkner, and Ernest Hemingway, to name just a few. You can read a short story in one sitting, with most ranging from one to ten-thousand words. And if you enjoy a quick read, there other even shorter forms, including what’s called micro fiction, flash fiction, and even Six-Word Stories — the latter being the most challenging to write. You see the six-word story has no beginning, no middle, or end. And yet if done effectively it can convey to the reader an entire narrative in just a few short words. Perhaps the most famous example, often attributed to Ernest Hemingway, is the following devastating line: “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”

Now let that sink in for a moment.

In today’s Gospel Episode we have an example of an epic story delivered in a single sentence. We read, “They saw…