copyright J Hardy Carroll
What the Donkey Saw
The blindfolded child tottered towards the two-dimensional donkey, another victim of her uncle’s over-enthusiastic spinning.
The point of the pin swayed. Then, with a deft thrust, she skewered the animal’s eye.
In a bunker near Pyongyang, technicians watched the screen turn to static.
“Sir, camera destroyed.”
“Clearly,” the captain said. “Well, Operation Birthday Party was yielding less intelligence than anticipated.”
“Sir, I was wondering—”
“For the last time, no bouncy castle!” the captain shouted. Twelve faces drooped. “Well, maybe for the Dear Leader’s birthday. Now, switch to Operation Chucky Cheese. That mouse has some dark secrets. I guarantee it.”
The Green-Walled Tower 
May 23rd, 2019 at 11:01 am
It’s hard not to make the Dear Leader the butt of burlesque fun isn’t it? He’s so tempting.
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:44 pm
Yeah, he’s an easy target, a good combination of well-known and ridicule-worthy.
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:15 pm
Makes me want to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey, a game I loved at all those parties I oddly still remember. Love…operation birthday party. So funny. Saw it held in a submarine for some reason. Go figure. You’re so good at these…:)
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:43 pm
I’m sure I must have played pin the tail on the donkey when I was really small, but I can’t remember now. It is one of those cultural touchstones though. I wonder if kids still play it now.
May 24th, 2019 at 4:28 am
Love the phrase…cultural touchstones. Sigh Woids…they can make your day.
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:29 pm
Very funny – a shame they need to do such research to discover what makes a good party!
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:42 pm
I know, right? North Korea can put on some pretty impressive spectacles, although I’m not sure how fun they are for the participants.
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:45 pm
Ha, good one! Makes me wonder what kind of intelligence they originally got that made them think Operation Birthday Party would be fruitful in the first place. 🙂
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:41 pm
They’re playing the very, very long game in intelligence gathering. 🙂
May 23rd, 2019 at 8:55 pm
They must have mad record-keeping skills for that to pay off. 😉
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:03 pm
Ha!! really funny, I love a bit of dear leader baiting!
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:40 pm
Yeah, I’d better be careful if he reads this. 🙂
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:43 pm
Ha ha – that was so funny – I love your sense of humour.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:40 pm
Thanks, Susan. I try to write a variety of stories, but I do tend towards weird, absurd ones.
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:46 pm
Well, that’s a different twist–and a very funny post 🙂
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:39 pm
Thanks! Yeah, it takes a 180-degree turn half-way in. 🙂
May 24th, 2019 at 12:54 am
It seems the Dear Leader and his countrymen are unfamiliar with parties and party games. They’ve chosen the best places to investigate. Funny story, David. 😀 — Suzanne
May 24th, 2019 at 6:36 am
So clever. Surreal, or not?
June 3rd, 2019 at 7:17 pm
Absurd, at the very least. 🙂
May 24th, 2019 at 9:49 am
Dear David,
I could come up with a few games for the Dear Leader. 😉 A very different and imaginative story. But then we expect that from you. (And we get it. 😉 )
Shalom,
Rochelle
June 3rd, 2019 at 7:17 pm
Thanks, Rochelle. I aim to be predictably unpredictable.
May 24th, 2019 at 11:54 am
I love where your mind went with this one, David. Long game for sure. Hmmm. wonder what they are really after?
May 24th, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Inventive and entertaining story.
May 25th, 2019 at 3:31 am
Watchers in Pyongyang should busy themselves with better task than watching a birthday party.
June 3rd, 2019 at 7:15 pm
True. There are bar mitzvahs, baby showers, all kinds of useful intelligence sources. 🙂
May 25th, 2019 at 11:27 am
Ha! Well done! This made me laugh.
May 26th, 2019 at 4:25 am
Very creative and quirky. I love it!
June 3rd, 2019 at 7:14 pm
Thanks, Brenda. Glad you liked it. 🙂
May 26th, 2019 at 6:31 am
Very amusing. I can’t help thinking there must be some more fruitful events to bug than a child’s birthday party, but presumably they know what they are doing. 🙂
June 3rd, 2019 at 7:14 pm
They’re playing the long game in surveillance. 🙂
May 26th, 2019 at 1:49 pm
Ha love it— what a way to end the sting… next time the camera goes in the ass.
June 3rd, 2019 at 6:59 pm
Haha, nice.
May 26th, 2019 at 3:26 pm
Great tail (pun intended), David. I like Bjorn’s suggestion. No child would ever hit a camera place there.
June 3rd, 2019 at 6:58 pm
I know, right? 🙂
May 28th, 2019 at 4:02 pm
Haha haha hilarious !
June 3rd, 2019 at 6:47 pm
Thanks, Laurie! 🙂
January 31st, 2022 at 7:37 am
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