Excellent A proud father realises his daughter's ability. (400 words) Appealing to Vanity by LisaMay ~ Family Fiction Story ~ writing prompt entry

“Danielle, get yourself out here and help your mother with some housework!” “I can’t right now, Dad, I have to finish this picture or my paint will dry out.” She knew her father would get grumpy, but Danielle was in the middle of putting the finishing touches to an artwork and was reluctant to leave it. “You lazy girl! Stop avoiding real work and come out here!” She kept painting a little longer, then before her father’s disapproval could escalate, Danielle cleaned her brush, put the picture aside, and left her bedroom. Her father peered past her into her room. “Look at that! It’s a wonder you can find anything, Dani. You’re the most untidy one in the family, always leaving your high-brow books and arty stuff lying around. With three younger kids in the house, you should be setting a good example. The least you could do is keep your mess under control.” Danielle sighed, but not loud enough to annoy her dad, then went obediently to the kitchen to help her mum, who was about to bake some biscuits. “Don’t mind your dad too much, sweetie. I know how important your art is to you. He’s always on the go and thinks everyone else should be too. Being ex-military he’s a bit of a stickler for tidiness as well. It would really help, though, if you could hang out the washing, please.” It was a sunny Saturday. Jimmy was mowing the lawn, and Holly and little Logan were sweeping leaves. Dad was by the fence, trimming some branches. While Danielle was busy with the clothes, he called out to her: “We’ll be going out for a picnic this afternoon, so let’s take the frisbee. Do you know where it is?” “It’s in my room on the second shelf by the window between my book on Frans Hals, the 17th-century Dutch painter, and the pot-plant,” replied Dani. “So you DO know where your things are. I’ll go and get it. Send in the Marines if I get lost.” When Danielle came back into the house from the clothesline, she noticed her new painting had been stuck on the fridge door. Her father was smiling with delight. “I didn’t know you were doing a portrait of me! You’ve captured a remarkable resemblance. You have real talent!” The painting was Danielle’s practice copy of Frans Hals’s famous portrait, “The Laughing Cavalier”.   Writing Prompt ~ Family Fiction Story ~ 'family' will be interpreted as follows ~ Grandparents may be included in the family as the adults in lieu of parents family ~a basic social unit consisting of parents or grandparents and their child(ren or grandchildren, considered as a group: no same sex couple ~~~~~~~ Write a fiction story with a Human family as the subject ~ 350 minimum /400 maximum word count/black font No vulgar words, sexual terms, time travel, profanity, references to political figures, parties/innuendos/references No Christmas or Valentine's Day or adoption/birth of children or stories about pets in the family No animation, music included with one picture allowed Recognized Author Notes Author Note: (Information from Internet) The accompanying illustration is a detail from an oil painting titled 'The Laughing Cavalier', by Frans Hals, painted in 1624. The identity of the man is unknown, but may be a military man, or at least an officer in one of the part-time militia companies that were often the subjects of group portraits, including Rembrandt's 'Night Watch' (1642). 'The Laughing Cavalier' was regularly reproduced as a print, and became among the best known old master paintings in Britain.

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