One Child at a Time

PHOTO PROMPT © Janet Webb

A boy of roughly nine entered the shop by himself and wandered aimlessly until a jar of pennies caught his eye.

“You’ve got a lot of coins,” the boy said.

“Indeed, I do,” the man behind the counter replied.

“How’d you get so many?” the boy asked.

“Well, you see,” said the man, “every time a kid asks about ‘em, I take him out back into the woods and sell him to the trolls for a penny. Then I come back here and toss it in the jar.”

The boy ran out the door and the man added another penny.

—

Nothing scary here, unless you count the made up trolls. Just a guy having some fun at the expense of a gullible child, who won’t be the last.

Written for Friday Fictioneers.

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