Nothing ever went quite right for Hoo. It had been that way since he’d been born, sixteen summers earlier, shooting out of his mother, Marta, so quickly that he gave the midwife a concussion.
She’d still been a little addled when she’d asked Marta to name him.
“Who?” asked Marta. Did the midwife mean the child, or the man responsible for her predicament?
And so ‘Hoo’ was recorded in the register. Marta never revealed the name of his father. The villagers came close to the truth of his parentage when they enquired, “Who done it?” It was, however, unlikely that Lord Dunnit would ever have claimed the child of a milkmaid as his progeny.

Hoo’s early childhood was spent hiding in the woods from his peers. It was there that he was discovered, on his thirteenth birthday, by Master Wizard Rissole, who took on Hoo as apprentice.

On Hoo’s sixteenth birthday, Rissole said, “You are of age now to choose your wizard name. You must think long and hard about this. You will live with it for many hundreds of years. Think of something that truly gives you inspiration.”
Hoo thought long, and he thought hard. He liked sausages and Betty from down the lane, but neither of those inspired him, or suited an important personage like himself. He stared at the night sky. This was his favourite time of day. It came to him then; Nocturne. That sounded sophisticated and wizardly.
His naming ceremony was to take place during the village ‘festival of light’. A famous pyromancer, Firedancer, would be in attendance, only adding to the excitement.
“Now, Hoo,” said Rissole. “At midnight I shall shout ‘wizard, name thyself’. Remember, the words you utter after this shall be your name forever.”
At midnight, just as the naming ceremony began, Firedancer set off some of his finest fireworks. Hoo was enthralled by the wonderful sounds.
“Wizard name thyself,” called Rissole.
“Whizz bang!” shouted Hoo, still in raptures.
And that is how a boy named Hoo gained, not the dignified name Nocturne, but was, for evermore, known as the wizard Whizzbang.

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    Linda Rock
    Linda Rock(@linda-rock)
    2 years ago

    Loved all the humour in this story Carrie. You had me smiling from beginning to end.

    Marianna Pieterse
    Marianna Pieterse(@marianna-pieterse)
    2 years ago

    Poor Hoo, I couldn’t help laughing at his predicament. This was great fun to read.

    Alan Kemister
    Alan Kemister(@alan-kemister)
    2 years ago

    Really good story. I particularly enjoy it when people take offbeat or whimsical approaches to these challenges, and this one definitely had me smiling.

    Christer Norrlof
    Christer Norrlof(@christer-norrlof)
    2 years ago

    This was a very pleasant read, Carrie! All the misunderstanding of names that kept repeating themselves had me smile several times. There is a nice mix between fairy tales and Mark Twain in this story. Very entertaining!

    Lotchie Carmelo
    Lotchie Carmelo(@lotchie-carmelo)
    2 years ago

    This is a nice one and funny. I love how this story makes me smile. Good job.

    Santina Forlenza
    Santina Forlenza(@santina-forlenza)
    2 years ago

    Hi Carrie, Master Wizard Rissole really turned Hoos`s life into a magic story! Thank you for this story, Carrie. Beautiful!

    Santina Forlenza
    Santina Forlenza(@santina-forlenza)
    Reply to  Carrie OLeary
    2 years ago

    Yes Carrie, and writers are the Master Wizards. They can create an entire world.

    Santina Forlenza
    Santina Forlenza(@santina-forlenza)
    Reply to  Carrie OLeary
    2 years ago

    Hi, Carrie. Nice to think of writers as wizards 🙂 This virtual space gives us the magic wand!

    Dipayan Chakrabarti
    Dipayan Chakrabarti(@dipayan-chakrabarti)
    2 years ago

    Your story is designed to amuse and to excite mirth in the reader. It never fails to do that.

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