Small
A Fable in 99 Words
Philip was small for his age, though his parents insisted he’d grow into his own. He was loath to disagree, though they rather missed the point. What good was later on? What he needed, now, was to be strong.
His flockmates so much larger, his self-worth so much worse. Made to feel inferior, he could never make his mark, nor forget his place, not even for a moment.
But when a man came along and cooked the others up, and served them with dumplings over rice, Philip found it better to be small, after all, than not at all.