Three Drabbles: Cake, Trams, and Bells

This week: a dog with demands, a tram with nowhere to go, and a bell that should never ring.

Three drabbles, exactly 100 words each, with nothing in common except the length. A talking dog makes a threat, a robot tram drives an empty world, and a boy faces an impossible choice. Read all three in under two minutes.

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Cake or Fingers

“Just want to let you know kid, in case you were wondering, that last cake, the chocolate éclair, it’s got my name on it. Touch it and I’ll have your fingers off!”

“Mum! Mum! Aunt Sally’s dog just said he’s going to bite me. He says the chocolate éclair is his.”

“Don’t be silly dear, little Henry can’t talk, he’s a dog. Now play nicely with him, there’s a good boy. And don’t feed him any cake. Aunt Sally has him on a strict diet.”

“Well kid, it’s up to you. What’s it going to be, cake or fingers?”

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The Empty Tram

The empty tram trundled along the deserted tracks, sticking rigidly to its irrelevant timetable.  At each stop a mechanical voice would tell you where you were and wish you a good day.  The doors opened automatically for their mandatory fifty-seven seconds and then closed. 

The driver, a ZXR456 fully automated robot, needed no tea breaks, nor worked any shift pattern, so could continue this journey, back and to, from one end of the promenade to the other – forever. 

Had his programming included being aware of his surroundings he would have noticed the human race had long ceased to exist.

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The Bell

“Whatever you do son, don’t ring that bell.”

Samuel stopped dead in his tracks and looked towards where the quiet, menacing voice came from. In his hurry to reach the warning bell he’d not seen the stranger emerge from the swirling, crimson mist.

“I’ve got to mister,’ he said, none too convincingly, “It’s my job. If I don’t ring the bell, then the people in the village won’t be ready.”

“I’m sorry son but I can’t let you do that,” whispered the stranger, gently pulling a fearsome looking weapon from inside his long, black coat. 

The bell remained ominously quiet

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That’s this week’s three Drabbles. If one stuck with you more than the others, tell me which with a note in the comments, and if you haven’t already, subscribe so the next batch lands straight in your inbox.

Thanks for reading.

Mike