(This is a Friday Fictioneers submission inspired by the above picture (Copyright Sean Fallon). At 114 words, it’s the closest I’ve got to meeting the word limit.
For more stories, please see: http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=338383)
Noone in Greece expected the recession to reach Mount Olympus, but it did.
For a while, order held. Citizens tried gamely to make ends meet, taking on odd jobs in their spare time but there were only so many farmers with stables needing cleaning. Lion pelts were used in place of clothes. Eventually, shops started to struggle but the savvy deity, however, there were bargains to be had; fig leaves could be bought from the right shop for less than the cost of a cup of ambrosia.
But then came the looting. I got this mannequin from Persephone’s haberdashers. It’s shop-soiled, but it makes a great conversation piece in my otherwise Spartan living room.
The Inevitable Asterisk 
Love the title and the last line! 🙂
janet
Thank you. Last sentence was only made it in after an edit but I’m glad you like it. Thanks
oh how the mighty have fallen. loved that last line 🙂
Thanks for reading. Pleased you enjoyed it.
One of the most coveted last lines to be written. Well done.
Couldn’t resist it, even if I had to go back and change it when I thought of it. Thanks for your comment.
Love the classical references, and the last line really does make it.
Thanks. I’m trying to take my daughters through the Labours of Hercules/Heracles for school so it’s kind of been on my mind.
Wonderful play with words!
Thank you. Really pleased you enjoyed it.
Dear Etienne,
I love a good game of word play. Last line caps it off nicely.
shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you. And thanks for organising this every week.
Nicely done! 🙂 and a killer last line.
Thank you.
Entertaining piece, well done.
Thanks. Glad you liked it.
“…otherwise Spartan living room.” Nice one!
I think in editing you may have left out a verb, or left in an unintended phrase. “Eventually, shops started to struggle but the savvy deity, however, there were bargains to be had….” It might make more sense without the middle part: “Eventually, shops started to struggle but there were bargains to be had….” Does that help? If not, feel free to ignore 🙂
Thanks. And well spotted, I meant to have the word ‘for’ before ‘the savvy deity’. I actually edited it quite brutally in a failed effort to get under 100 words and that sentence was obviously one of the casualties. Thanks for pointing it out. 🙂
A mannequin also doubles as a cheap dinner guest–good story.
Agreed, though they now refuse to serve me at the local McDonalds.
I guess no-one is safe from the recession. Imagine being reduced to wearing lion pelts, the poor chaps.
I loved the title!
A witty story, Etienne. You’ve found a wonderfully original twist for this prompt. A great read.
Clever – on so many levels! Fun to read. 🙂
Very funny! Spartan living room! And I took on Hercules in my story … Ann
Thank you. I’ve had a look for your story but I couldn’t find it. Pleased you enjoyed mine.
Here’s the link to my story: