The Shortest Story Ever

June

Gabe Habash -- September 1st, 2011

Look, time is precious–we don’t have time to crack open a book from this list, even if some of them are by Tolstoy and Proust. So, for the minute-crunchers out there who still need their literature fix, we’ve included a pint-sized list of tiny tales below; stories that are short enough to read, in their entirety, in the time it takes for you to conjure up a sneeze and expel it. Heck, even this intro paragraph looks likeClarissa next to these short shorts.

The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.

Ernest Hemingway’s famous 6-word story :

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

“The Dinosaur” by Augusto Monterroso :

(“When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there.”)

“Untitled Hardboiled Pulp No. 7″ by Duane Swierczynski:

After all these years, grandma still had a face that could take a punch.

“Aphorism #20″ by Franz Kafka:

Leopards break into the temple and drink all the sacrificial vessels dry; it keeps happening; in the end, it can be calculated in advance and is incorporated into the ritual.

“Spring Spleen” by Lydia Davis:

I am happy the leaves are growing large so quickly. Soon they will hide the neighbour and her screaming child.

And God said: DELETE lines One to Aleph. LOAD. RUN. And the universe ceased to exist.

Then he pondered for a few aeons, sighed, and added: ERASE. It had never existed.

Are we missing any notable short shorts? Better yet, write one yourself and share it below!