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The Wonderful Stag, or The Courtship of Red Elsie
In a fairy tale equal parts gorgeous and gruesome, village couples seek approval for marriage from a stag with golden rings adorning its horns. That is until one suitor, determined to convince a woman to fall in love with him, makes a rash decision.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
13 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2021
About the author
Kathleen Jennings
65 books150 followersKathleen Jennings is an illustrator and writer based in Brisbane, Australia. As an illustrator, she has been shortlisted three times for the World Fantasy Awards, once for the Hugos, and once for the Locus Awards, as well as winning a number of Ditmars. As a writer, she has won two Ditmars and been shortlisted for the Eugie Foster Memorial Award and for several Aurealis Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
September 7, 2021
And in time, at last, with the innocent curiosity of a wild thing which knows itself rare and precious in the world, the creature appeared. It picked its way into the glade before the boulders, the soft-chiming rings shining in the new starlight.
the synopsis of this one promises a fairy tale equal parts gorgeous and gruesome, but what it doesn't say is that this tor short is SO short.
my smalleyed early morning reading self is grateful for this, but my reviewing self is somewhat at a loss for what to say about it. it was indeed as advertised, sort of like the aesop story of the goose and the golden egg party-crashed by david cronenberg.
i mean, that about covers it, really. considering how much time i spent thinking about and then writing about the last tor short i read, let's leave it there and call it even.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2021/09/01/the-wo...
come to my blog!
January 29, 2022
And in time, at last, with the innocent curiosity of a wild thing which knows itself rare and precious in the world, the creature appeared.
A stag with gold rings on its antlers blesses the couple's unions in the woods. No one knows where the stag got the gold rings from but George-the-Wolf heard that the stag is made of living gold and he plans to get its blessings to wed Red Elsie but Red Elsie wants nothing to do with George-the-Wolf. George-the-Wolf thinks that once he gets the stag's blessings, Red Elsie wouldn't have any other choice but to marry him. Would he be able to find the stag?
It was enchanting initially, but it ended abruptly. I know it is a short story but even by short story standards, this felt even shorter. I did like the dark fairy tale elements. I just wish the ending made a bit more sense.
2.5 - 2.75 stars
A stag with gold rings on its antlers blesses the couple's unions in the woods. No one knows where the stag got the gold rings from but George-the-Wolf heard that the stag is made of living gold and he plans to get its blessings to wed Red Elsie but Red Elsie wants nothing to do with George-the-Wolf. George-the-Wolf thinks that once he gets the stag's blessings, Red Elsie wouldn't have any other choice but to marry him. Would he be able to find the stag?
It was enchanting initially, but it ended abruptly. I know it is a short story but even by short story standards, this felt even shorter. I did like the dark fairy tale elements. I just wish the ending made a bit more sense.
2.5 - 2.75 stars
October 27, 2021
This is a really short story, free on Tor.Com HERE.
A fairy tale story about village couples who seek approval for marriage from a stag with golden rings adorning its horns following tradition.
Eventually one suitor, determined to convince a woman to fall in love with him, is unable to catch up to the stag. He hatches a plan to get a golden ring.
Too short to be able to say much more!
3 stars - too brief!
A fairy tale story about village couples who seek approval for marriage from a stag with golden rings adorning its horns following tradition.
Eventually one suitor, determined to convince a woman to fall in love with him, is unable to catch up to the stag. He hatches a plan to get a golden ring.
Too short to be able to say much more!
3 stars - too brief!
May 16, 2022
The Wonderful Stag, or The Courtship of Red Elsie by Kathleen Jennings - 2/5★
A VERY short short-story with a (magical) stag and a gruesome ending.
The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.
A VERY short short-story with a (magical) stag and a gruesome ending.
The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.
December 8, 2021
A good story but I really wanted more from it. The ending felt a bit to abrupt.
May 24, 2022
finally. an actual fairy tale.
February 4, 2023
A very short story in which every word counts. I thoroughly enjoyed the prose and the fairytale way to go about teaching a moral lesson.
September 10, 2021
A short, evocative fairy tale with horror elements about a stag who gives rings to those whose marriage it approves of. But one man desperately want to wed one particular woman, but is thwarted, for the stag eludes him. Until one day, he hatches a terrible plan to get a ring, whose outcome would lead to a horrifying punishment.
September 7, 2021
this is SO GOOD but it's SO SHORT!!!!!!!!
December 31, 2021
A fairytale with a Midsomer ending, which sadly stretched my intelligence beyond credulity sadly.
September 1, 2021
A grim fairy tale, a tale to urge and to caution trying to turn your desires into truth with no real work.
September 30, 2021
Available online, here: https://www.tor.com/2021/09/01/the-wo...
Well-worth the handful of minutes it'll take you to read it.
Well-worth the handful of minutes it'll take you to read it.
December 13, 2021
A fairy tale story with a truly gruesome ending. Now I know how Red Elsie got her name.
September 4, 2021
I can imagine this happening the the world of the Winternight Trilogy, which is of the highest praise from me. Also makes me want to read the Wolf and the Woodsman out of nothing other than seemingly similar characters.
September 23, 2023
3.5/5, just can't decide if leans more toward the 3 or the 4.
This has the vibe of a classic fairy tale-- something inexplicably magical, an over-reaction, a dark conclusion that lingers...
This has the vibe of a classic fairy tale-- something inexplicably magical, an over-reaction, a dark conclusion that lingers...
January 20, 2022
Once there was a village where a couple sought approval for their marriage from a stag with antlers adorned with golden rings. In this tiny village, the approval of the stag must be won; a ring perhaps wrested from his antlers.
No one knew where the rings had come from, but theories abounded. Perhaps they fell from a tree deep in the forest. Or the gentlefolk beyond the forest threw them at the stag’s antlers. Sadly, some speculated that those wishing to divorce made payment with a golden ring hung on the stag’s antler while others surmised they’d been dug up from graves.
Perhaps they simply grew from the antlers; perhaps the stag was made of living gold.
George-the-Wolf desired the hand of Red Elsie, but she continually refused him. So George-the-Wolf headed off into the forest but was unable to catch the stag. It was then that he hatched his terrible plot.
What will George-the-Wolf do? Will it win him the hand of the woman he wishes to marry?
=========
With a grim and gruesome portion, this fairy tale is part Aesop, part brothers Grimm. Creepy, dark, and disturbing, this Tor short story is both magical and unsettling. While the characters behave in predictable fashion, the unfolding story manages a surprise or two for the reader.
Recommended.
No one knew where the rings had come from, but theories abounded. Perhaps they fell from a tree deep in the forest. Or the gentlefolk beyond the forest threw them at the stag’s antlers. Sadly, some speculated that those wishing to divorce made payment with a golden ring hung on the stag’s antler while others surmised they’d been dug up from graves.
Perhaps they simply grew from the antlers; perhaps the stag was made of living gold.
George-the-Wolf desired the hand of Red Elsie, but she continually refused him. So George-the-Wolf headed off into the forest but was unable to catch the stag. It was then that he hatched his terrible plot.
What will George-the-Wolf do? Will it win him the hand of the woman he wishes to marry?
=========
With a grim and gruesome portion, this fairy tale is part Aesop, part brothers Grimm. Creepy, dark, and disturbing, this Tor short story is both magical and unsettling. While the characters behave in predictable fashion, the unfolding story manages a surprise or two for the reader.
Recommended.
October 1, 2021
In a fairy tale equal parts gorgeous and gruesome, village couples seek approval for marriage from a stag with golden rings adorning its horns. That is until one suitor, determined to convince a woman to fall in love with him, makes a rash decision.
The Wonderful Stag, or The Courtship of Red Elsie by Kathleen Jennings is a Tor short story.
George-the-Wolf has his eyes set on Red Elsie, but she spurns him more than once. He seeks to petition the magic stag of the forest but fails time and time again. Then he devises a horrible plan.
Excellent storytelling and I certainly want to explore more of this author.
4 Stars
The Wonderful Stag, or The Courtship of Red Elsie by Kathleen Jennings is a Tor short story.
George-the-Wolf has his eyes set on Red Elsie, but she spurns him more than once. He seeks to petition the magic stag of the forest but fails time and time again. Then he devises a horrible plan.
Excellent storytelling and I certainly want to explore more of this author.
4 Stars
April 3, 2024
This would absolutely feel at home in Aesop's fables. While part of me bemoans just how short it is, I can't figure out how making it any longer would improve it. The long and short of it (no pun intended, but now that I see it, I'm leaving it in here :D ) is that I enjoyed it regardless of the length and since it is absolutely free to reed on TOR (still not sure why they changed the name to Reactor), I can neither complain about the price or the length. Need a quick palette cleanser (or running behind on your reading goals? ;) ), there are worse things than a fast, enjoyable read. :)
https://reactormag.com/the-wonderful-...
https://reactormag.com/the-wonderful-...
January 28, 2022
A fairy-tale of the cruel kind and if I had read it as a child I would have wept for the wonderful stag much as I thought often and deeply on the nobility of the golden-horned king of the stags with pearl necklaces in a book of Indian fairy tales I had. And the one with silver hooves in Russian tales. As a friend of stags and of the wonderful it is a painful read.
I'd give it 3.5 stars if the option existed. I'll think about it.
I'd give it 3.5 stars if the option existed. I'll think about it.
June 21, 2022
But the more Red Elsie refused him, the more determined George-the-Wolf was to win her. She would not, of course, go courting in the forest, so he went alone to find the stag and demand its blessing. That, he thought, must persuade her to accept his suit.
(three and a half stars)
December 30, 2021
okay the first half was tight, but the second half was a bit tooo revenge-bonery and I think I was more interested in the cool mythological stag and its stories than everyone messing up george's deal
July 8, 2022
"The Wonderful Stag" is an honest to goodness fairy tale that is just as whimsical as it is horrific. I truly loved this little story. I takes all of 15 minutes just follow the link in the book description.
September 2, 2021
Great concept. Would love to see this expand into a backstory for a character in a complex world.
September 5, 2021
Wonderfully violent old school fairy tale, definitely want to read more by this author
September 5, 2021
Jeepers that was dark.
September 5, 2021
Creepy, slightly gory fairy tale
September 6, 2021
All fear and revere Red Elsie, and tread lightly! Also be reverent to forest creatures, always!
September 6, 2021
Amazing imagery, and so gruesome and dark.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews