Wonderland 2024

E-2. The Cheshire Cat

PROMPT ▶︎

Write a short story or poem of a most cunning person with the phrase “with the grin of a Cheshire Cat” used somewhere within. (<1000 words) or (<40 lines)

Puzzlin' Pete Collier
The world's cunningest puzzle solver
Finally met a worthwhile rival
With the Sunday crossword's arrival

He tackled the first half with nary a frown
Not even hesitating at the tricky 8-Down
And with the grin of a Cheshire cat
He filled in the word "Ziggurat"

Puzzlin' Pete seemed downright unstoppable
Supremely confident his answers were unswappable
He did that Sunday crossword with a pen
Only to realize the clue about red spice couldn't possibly be "cayenne"

That error caused his confidence to take a hit
His hubris got the better of him, he'd admit
And with that realization sending his entire worldview askew
Puzzlin' Pete's writing instrument of choice is now a Ticonderoga #2


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(16 lines)