Blight
Blight (first published on Blue Monster)
The Blight struck due to it being the wettest August since 1912 and the young family surveyed their crops. The potatoes had gone first, the leaves mottled and dying with the fungus underneath. They had not taken heed of the warning due to the fact they were already plagued by burrowing creatures that had stripped most of the other root vegetables. They assumed it was the same thing.
Then came the caterpillars. No one had ever seen so many and they came and they consumed the brassica – all of the brassicas – the cabbage, and broccoli, the cauliflower and the brussels. Then the badgers had dug up the sweetcorn and the deer had eaten the lettuce and spinach.
The final blow came when they realised that the potatoes’ blight had knocked out the tomato crop also. Honey fungus had also wiped out the fruit trees, leaving the family with nothing to eat other than flax seeds, a few half chewed hazel nuts, and the Jerusalem artichokes which seemed resistant to everything but did give you horrendous wind.
Sadly the young family shook their heads and reassessed their food budget, taking their last £20 they went to the supermarket to stock up on tins of food.
The end
Posted: Thursday, May 26th, 2011 @ 8:17 am
Categories: Flash Fiction.
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