Mini Saga Competition 2011 PDF

Mini Saga Competition
50 mini sagas
inspired by Hopper‘s paintings
Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

What is a mini saga?
A mini saga is a piece of writing which has exactly fifty words (not 49 or
51 but exactly 50 words), not including the title, which can have up to
fifteen words.
A mini saga has to tell a story with a beginning, middle and ending. It
cannot just be a description of something but should be a real story,
considering the main elements of good storytelling and writing:
character, setting, plot, conflict and theme.
The first mini sagas appeared in 1982 in ‘The Sunday Telegraph’, an

English newspaper. ‘The Sunday Telegraph’ announced the idea of the
mini saga and held a competition for the best ones.

Who is Edward Hopper?
Edward Hopper (1882 – 1967) was a prominent
American realist painter.
In the urban and rural scenes he painted he paid

particular attention to geometrical design and the
careful placement of human figures in proper
balance with their environment.
His primary emotional themes are solitude, Edward Hopper, Self-Portrait (1906)
loneliness, regret, boredom, and resignation.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Edward_Hopper

Lonely Sunday
Every Sunday the old man is

sitting in front of his house
smoking a cigar. He hopes
that his wife will come back
one day. She disappeared
without leaving a trace. He’s
still desperately in love with
her. Will she come back to
him one day? Who’s got the
answer?
Menderes Bagci (1oa)

I remember… but they don’t even know
what Christmas is all about!
The kids in Africa wondered

about the bearded, red-
coated old man with the
furred hat and the strangely
decorated tree that they’d
never seen before. They
happily received the presents
and thankful dark eyes stared
at me. I recognized that I
wasn’t the donor anymore, I
was the donee.
Lutz Burkardt (1oa)

Hotel Room
A young woman was going to

meet her lover in New York.
She went there by train. Her
trip was very long. Now she
was sitting on the hotel bed
reading the letter he had left
at the reception desk. He
wouldn’t come to see her, he
was too busy.
Claudia Christophel (1oa)

Life Unwound
She is sitting by the window

at her sewing machine,
listening to the noise of the
turning wheel and watching
the spool unwind. She asks
herself, ’Isn’t the wheel like
the turning earth and the
spool like myself? The earth
will go on turning but my life
has already unwound.’
Susanne Dinger (1oa)

Alone Again
I can hear my mother calling

me down for breakfast. The
smell of fresh bread is in the
air. We’re all sitting around
the table having breakfast,
my parents, my siblings and
I. We’re laughing and I’m
happy. Suddenly my alarm
bell rings, it was just a
dream. Alone again.
Claudia Eddari (1oa)

God Only Knows Why
A young woman is sitting

alone in ‘Rod’s Bar’ at night.
She’s waiting for a guy from
the neighbourhood. She
always waits for him. She’s
nuts about that guy but it
seems that he’s not coming
tonight. She asks herself,
‘How long will I be able to
bear this waiting?’
Nadja Elsing (1oa)

Sitting, Waiting and Sometimes Losing
He is sitting in his favourite

bar. Seemingly like every
evening. For the people
around him this evening is
going to be the same. But
not for the man who left his
home, wife and child for
ever. What for? He is aware
that nobody will give him the
answer.
Natalia Fahnenstich (1oa)

Failed Relationship
‘I’ll quit’, he said but didn’t

move. She kept staring at her
finger nails. Tom, the
barkeeper, looked up, very
appalled. He knew them for
four years. The man opposite
him laughed quietly. He was
sure she would be walking
home alone. He finished his
drink and left the diner.
Alexander Fuhs (1oa)

Friends Share Everything
In the early evening, two

women are sitting in a
London café. They are talking
about everything. Suddenly,
one of the women says, ‘I
have an affair with your
husband.’ The other woman
smiles and answers, ‘Well,
and I have an affair with
yours but friends share
everything, don’t they?’
Nadine Hess (1oa)

Without Him
I was living my life when he

suddenly came into it. He
said, ‘I will always be with
you’ and ‘you are the only
one for me’. I wanted to
believe him and went with
him. We spent some days
and nights together. I was
happy. And now? He’s
gone…
Holger Kersting (1oa)

Tea Time at Night
Every night the lady with the

yellow hat and green jacket
sits at the same table and
orders the same thing. She
drinks a cup of black tea with
milk and sugar. Never does
she look up or smile or seem
happy. After one hour, she
gets up and leaves.
Stephanie Koch (1oa)

The Stranger
It’s Sunday evening. I’m

sitting on the sofa. I’m lost in
my book when I suddenly
hear the stairs creak and
steps approach my
apartment door. This
happens at the same time
every evening. Then silence,
nothing, just a mysterious
sigh. And the strange steps
disappear without leaving a
message.
Paulina Machleit (1oa)

Girl at Sewing Machine
Sue was sewing a wedding-

dress for her friend Denise
who was going to get
married but was broke. Sue
knew that Denise was sad
about the situation, and had
decided to help her. ’What is
this?’ Denise asked. ’This is
your wedding-dress’’, Sue
answered. ‘I won’t need it
any more.’
Tanja Martini (1oa)

The Stranger
She was sitting at a table, her

jacket hanging behind her.
She had to go to the Ladies’.
When she came back,
another woman was sitting
at her table, opposite her.
She got angry but the woman
apologized and told her an
interesting story which made
her forget her anger.
Verena Mumm (1oa)

When Grandfather Died
Once I saw a picture with a

lady standing on a veranda.
She seemed to be looking at
me. That day my grandfather
died. When I saw the picture
again, the lady had
disappeared. My mother told
me it was my grandmother
who had died long before I
was born.
Jennifer Pils (1oa)

Summer Love
She was sitting on the floor

after making love. She felt
sorry for his wife but she was
too happy to let him go.
‘What are you thinking
about?’ he asked. ‘How
wonderful you are’, she
answered with a smile and
blushed. He returned to
make love to her again.
Nadine Reiners (1oa)

Chocolate Can Work Wonders
On a summer evening Jason

came to see Sarah. They
were standing on the
veranda. As Sarah was very
thoughtful, Jason dug into
his pocket, fetched out a bar
of chocolate and said, ‘Keep
smiling, honey. The way to a
woman’s heart is through her
stomach”. ‘How tempting’,
she said.
Tanja Riyahi (1oa)

Meaning of Life
Each night at the Marilyn

Monroe Cinema, Mary, the
usherette, leans against the
cinema wall during the film
show. She thinks about her
life and asks herself whether
this is really what she wanted
to achieve. Then she decides
to change her life, she would
begin on the next morning.
René Schley (1oa)

A Small Piece of Heaven
When she woke up, she

could look right into the blue
sky. It was a beautiful day,
and she felt ready for
anything. On a day like this,
she could make plans for the
future. She was still
daydreaming when she heard
the jailer’s voice saying,
‘Come on, it’s time.’
Kirsten Bell (1ob)

The Office
She looked at her boss

sitting at his desk, and
thought, ‘What a swine!’
Their affair was six months
old but he wouldn’t ask his
wife for a divorce. What if
she showed his wife the
nude pictures he had taken
of her? It wouldn’t last
another six months, then.
Roberto Gadaleta (1ob)

The Last Sunny Day
It was a sunny day. He was

sitting on the sidewalk in
front of his home. He was
old and he was soon going to
leave this place. He wanted
to sit there for one last time.
He looked into the sky and
smiled. Now he was ready to
leave.
Christopher Judt (1ob)

Soul Mates
Richard was a lonely man

who spent his nights at
‘Phillies’. One Friday night
he was sitting there as usual
when a beautiful woman
came in. Richard decided to
speak to her. They talked
through the night about
everything under the sun.
She promised him to return
the following night.
Bruno Mendes Prado de Sousa (1ob)

George and the Sea
George always wanted to live

by the sea. His first house
was only 150 feet away from
the water. Then he built a
new house, with its front
door on the beach, its back
door in the sea. It was found
with the back door open. He
was never found.
Michael Miketta (1ob)

Eyewitness
Mary was looking out of the

window waiting for her
husband when she heard a
shot. A woman in the street
fell down and there was a lot
of bloodshed. A man dressed
in black ran around the
corner. Was he the one who
had shot her? Mary kept
calm.
Denise Noske (1ob)

The Bed
Sue and Paul had been

relaxing on Sue’s bed after
making love. Then Paul had
told her that he wasn’t going
to come back because he still
loved his wife and couldn’t
leave her. Sue slid from the
bed, their bed, onto the floor
where she kept sitting all
night.
Sonja Rühlke (1ob)

Somewhere Down the Road
She was walking along a

lonesome country lane when
she started wondering what
it would be like to leave her
old life behind and start a
new one. How about
following this lane? ‘Your
time will come…’, she said
to herself, and without
hesitating she turned round
and went home.
Cornelia Sander (1ob)

Principal Only
Like every evening she

locked the filing cabinet. He
neither noticed her tight
dress nor her gaze. ‘Is there
anything else you want me to
do, Mr Winter?’ ‘Thank you,
Ms Hopkins, that’s all.’ He
was lost in his work. Like
every evening they said good
night. She could wait.
Felix-Florian Schulze (1ob)

Lonely without Wanting to
She’s sitting on the bedroom

floor. Now that he’s gone.
She threatened to leave him
if he didn’t stop seeing that
other woman. He wouldn’t
listen. Then he left. It’s not
what she wanted him to do.
She still loves him. But he
didn’t want to take one last
chance.
Anika Servos (1ob)

At the Seaside
They were very glad about

spending their first holidays
together. Just the two
women and their children.
Without their husbands. At
the seaside and in the sun.
The two friends needed to
forget what had happened.
They put on their summer
dresses and let the sea wash
away all sorrows.
Stephanie Wehn (1ob)

Train Ride to Happiness
She was sitting in a train

reading a book. A handsome
man came in and they
started to talk. Soon she had
to get off. The train pulled
away. She turned around,
and the stranger was
standing behind her. She
looked surprised. ‘My
destination has changed’, he
said. She smiled.
Saskia Fischer (1oc)

At the Station
A man is standing in the hall

of the train station, waiting
for a train to come. Another
man walks in. They share a
cigarette and have some
small talk. ‘I gave up smoking
yesterday’, says the first man.
‘Me too’, responds the
second. They both laugh and
inhale deeply.
Simon Hoffmann (1oc)

Every Year in Summer
Always on hot summer days

she steps out of her house,
stands on the stairs and
stares at the sky. She always
looks sad, and I wonder who
this beautiful young lady is
waiting for. She waits for me,
but I can't make up my mind
to cross the street.
Sindy Klecha (1oc)

The Letter
Mary and Richard were newly

wed. One day, Richard went
to the army. While Mary was
waiting for a sign of life, a
letter arrived. It was a letter
of condolence. Mary cried,
left the house and went to a
hotel. She re-read the letter,
but she couldn’t believe it.
Sarah Kratz (1oc)

First Kiss
It is late at night. The sky is

black. The only light is given
by the stars up high. He
looks at her. He smiles. He is
so happy with her. ‘Do you
remember our first kiss in
front of the white motel?’ he
asks. ‘I do. I love you.’
Walter-Valentin Markeli (1oc)

The End of Love
It was a warm summer

evening and Jane and Tom
were standing on the
veranda. They were talking
about the party, and Jane
was jealous of another girl.
Tom tried to calm her but
she ran away. Tom went into
the house. That was the last
day of their relationship.
Nadine Meurer (1oc)

Trapped in the Dark
She looks out of her

bedroom window, thinking
about her life. Why has all
this happened to her? She
prays to God, ‘Please, make it
stop! It needs to be over!’
She gets up, goes to the
window and jumps. During
the fall she thinks, ‘Now I am
finally free!’
Stefanie Müller (1oc)

I Am a Butcher
I am sure; I saw him coming

into the house. When he left,
he stretched and lit a
cigarette, smiling. He
screamed when he saw the
knife. What will my wife say
if she finds out what has
happened? She looked at me
and washed my filthy clothes
– as usual.
Julia Reich (1oc)

Flowers for a Stranger
I came to her door with

flowers. But she said that she
didn't need me and sent me
away. When I wanted to
throw away the flowers, I
saw a sad girl on the other
side of the street. I gave her
the flowers. She smiled, and I
went on.
Ina Schwarz (1oc)

The Man with the Cigar
He was sitting and waiting

on the sidewalk in front of
the green house. It was
Sunday. He was very tired.
There were no people,.
There was nothing to do. But
he was not alone. His friend
was a cigar he was smoking.
He had bought it the day
before.
Julia Seepold (1oc)

One Day in the Café
They were sitting in the café.

It had been a good year for
Diana. Her hard work had
paid off but with sacrifices
on the family side. She told
her friend she had so many
reasons to be happy. Sandra
asked, ‘Why do you need a
reason to be happy?’
Paul Wilczek (1oc)

Summertime
‘It’s done’, she told herself

when she went outside the
house to take a breath. Last
night’s rain was gone and it
seemed as if sunlight finally
rewarded her for her
patience. She hid the kitchen
knife behind her because she
didn’t want people to
become suspicious before
she left.
Angelos Antoniadis (1c)

Morning Sun
It was a nearly perfect

sunrise in autumn. While she
was sitting almost naked on
the bed of her upper-class
apartment, she was looking
out of the open window,
down on the ordinary
people. She was thinking
about her life, drugs, alcohol,
promiscuity… ‘Should I jump
to become normal?’
Ron Boettner (1c)

The Chance of Health
He asked for fire for his

cigarette. 'Sorry, I do not
smoke, so I have no fire', she
said. The man did not want
to ask any longer, he sat
down on the sidewalk and
put the cigarette into his
mouth. It was on that day
when he stopped smoking.
Osman Dogan (1c)

Waiting
Her head sank to her

shoulder while she sighed
deeply. She was waiting for
more than five hours now. 'I
will be back in an instant‘,
was all he said when his
phone rang and he suddenly
left the room. 'Something
might have happened to
him', she thought,
'something unexpected'.
Bianca Gossen (1c)

Abandoned
He will come. He said he

would. 'I‘ll tell my wife,
abandon her. We'll meet at
six. We‘ll start a new life.
You, me and the baby.' That's
what he said. That's what he
wants. He proposed. She's
waiting. Her life in three big
bags. In vain. He won't come.
Julia Grass (1c)

A Generous Tip
A man shuts down his

business which wasn’t
profitable and becomes a
taxi driver. One day a
customer forgets his suitcase
in his taxi. He shouts after
the customer but he
disappeared. Suddenly a
voice from nowhere shouts,
‘Keep it!’ He opens the
suitcase and finds a lot of
money.
Ismail Haciömeroglu (1c)

Losing
She came home, but too late

for him and he knew where
she had been the whole time.
There was a brawl about it,
he asked her, ‘Why did you
do it? I do not understand it.’
Then he ran down the stairs,
opened the door, and never
came back.
Fong La (1c)

Another Day
I am waiting for my time.

Yesterday I did not do
anything but sitting here,
watching the day passing by.
Today I could change the
world, begin a new life, take
a new challenge, or realize
my dreams. No, not today,
again it is not the right time.
Another day.
Hans Ruschinski (1c)

Office at Night
They were talking to each

other about what would
happen if someone came in
through the window. The
woman said, ‘Why should
anyone come in?’ The man
answered, ‘Maybe to break
into the office and search for
some valuables.’ Suddenly a
cat came in – wow, we were
lucky this time.
Lamine Seid (1c)

Nighthawks
After five years I am back

here where I met her for the
first time. ‘Why are you
alone, Jack? Where is Alice?’
asked the owner. ‘Alice left
me, Jim!’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because I
showed how much I love
her.’ They both nodded, then
looked at the couple at the
bar.
Georgios Sidiropoulos (1c)

Mini Saga Competition
The students of class 1oa,

1ob, 1oc and 1c and their
English teachers Gabi Kempf-
Allié, Klaus Baumgarten and
Monika Jaeger thank you
very much for your attention.
The names of the three

winners will be published at
the end of January 2011.

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Mini Saga Competition

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

The first mini sagas appeared in 1982 in ‘The Sunday Telegraph’, an

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

In the urban and rural scenes he painted he paid

loneliness, regret, boredom, and resignation.

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

Every Sunday the old man is

Menderes Bagci (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

The kids in Africa wondered

Lutz Burkardt (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

A young woman was going to

Claudia Christophel (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

She is sitting by the window

Susanne Dinger (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

I can hear my mother calling

Claudia Eddari (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

A young woman is sitting

Nadja Elsing (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

He is sitting in his favourite

Natalia Fahnenstich (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

‘I’ll quit’, he said but didn’t

Alexander Fuhs (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

In the early evening, two

Nadine Hess (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

I was living my life when he

Holger Kersting (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

Every night the lady with the

Stephanie Koch (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

It’s Sunday evening. I’m

Paulina Machleit (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

Sue was sewing a wedding-

Tanja Martini (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

She was sitting at a table, her

Verena Mumm (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

Once I saw a picture with a

Jennifer Pils (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

She was sitting on the floor

Nadine Reiners (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

On a summer evening Jason

Tanja Riyahi (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

Each night at the Marilyn

René Schley (1oa)

Mini Saga Competition • Abendgymnasium Koeln • January 2011

When she woke up, she