A – It begins to rain the alphabet
Aardvark – An aardvark and a nosy ant
Aardwolf – Running for asylum in Africa
Aba – What was under the aba of Taj Hafez?
Aback – Kid sister invents a Gucci time machine
Abacus – The endless reader
Abaddon – A man and his cat go to Hell
Abaft – An old whaler is haunted
Abalone – Otters playing poker
Abandon – Dear sir…
À bas – Harold disagrees with the 5-year-plan
Abase – The king of the jungle consults a crow
Abash – The tale of the Wendigo
Abate – Can’t sleep, can’t write
Abatis – Rome at its barricade
Abattoir – The mundane life of a slaughterhouse foreman
Abaxial – A badger meets a cobra
Abbey – Former alcoholic makes a poor monk
Abbreviate – Two men were sitting outside a hospital…
Abdicate – A king steps down from his throne
Abdomen – An ordinary examination
Abduct – Aliens, once, abducted me
Abeam – Mermaid by her lonesome
Abecedarian – An abecedarian unleashes an alphabet rain
Aberrant – An aberrant thing in Nicole’s mind
Abet – “Have you ever done anything criminal?”
Abeyance – Monster arrives to settle a debt with Olaf Erikson
Abhor – Caught fish offers rube wish
Abide – It’s a dog’s life
Ability – Rose foretells the fate of a kingdom
Abiogenesis – How we come to Once Upon a Time
Abirritant – Crow fools Johnny
Abject – Gray island is a gray paradise
Abjure – “I abjure writing!” the ragman said
Ablactation – Piglet debates a dog
Ablation – Johann Strauss, the glacier
Ablaze – I would tell you of the night the stars…
Able – Portnoy climbs his mountain
Ablegate – Pope’s envoy considers his fate in the Far East
Abloom – Eagle and fox share an unrequited love
Abluent – An old man waxes poetic in Coopersville
Ablution – Pigeons leave for New York and salvation
Abnegate – Bob’s agent wants a better book
Abnormal – Captain Mallory observes Robin Smith and a tiger
Aboard – A secret place on the Pacific Coast Highway
Abode – The abode of Leonard Ephraim is deceptive
Abolish – There were too many broken hearts in Sacksville
Abomasum – Farm goes fallow as farmer cares for his cow
Abominable – A tale of yeti
Aboriginal – My father hunted the old people of this desert
Abort – Strange phenomena at NASA
Abound – Carmenita…
About – “What is this about?”
Aboutface – The Pony Express is retired
Aboutship – Man falls from the mast
Above – Space circus robs a stingy monarch
Aboveboard – Poker game takes dramatic turn
Ab ovo – The birth of Helen of Troy
Abracadabra – Very old wizard’s hobby
Abradant – Talking shark storms the deck and leaves a mess
Abranchiate – Go down, abranchiate…
Abrasion – The story of the Colossus
Abreact – A drunkard in a ghost house
Abreast – Forest creatures assemble for war
Abridge – My grandfather was a conman of Biblical proportions
Abroach – The end of a speakeasy
Abroad – Nostalgic love lost and found in Milan
Abrogate – Dear New York…
Abrupt – A rude attempt to eat a sleeping man
Abscess – Treating a sick dog
Abscission – Words carved in a cold cave
Abscond – The brief, unhappy life of Maurice the Snail
Absence – A free turtle, briefly
Absinthe – A strong drink in a fantastical place
Absolute – Why the lion is the king of the jungle
Absolution – Karen Kelly Kieran got married on a Monday
Absorb – A final message from some rebellious towels
Abstain – Russian cousins remove themselves
Abstemious – Reverend Placid could not resist this one sin
Absterge – Kitten opens its eyes for the first time
Abstinence – That torrid love affair is over, they said…
Abstract – Abstract paintings inspire concrete criticsm
Abstruse – Margot…
Absurd – I was absurd today. I must regret it not…
Abulia – Rodent makes a lethal deal with a snake
Abundance – Little rabbit, where are you going?
Abuse – A fearsome captain’s final order
Abut – Poet woos his married neighbor
Abutment – The natives of Tiki-Free hit an architectural snag
Abuzz – An engineer and his small mechanical man
Aby – Prisoner of war meets some mice
Abysmal – Our roadtrip was not so long ago
Abyss – A tale from when the Universe was young
Academy – A silly academy is founded in the age of Victoria
Acanthoid – Beset by bandits and left for dead
A cappella – As the last licks of summer…
A capriccio – The sonata no. 5, the Baldacci Suite
Acariasis – The infestation started on the Winslow farm
Acarpous – Ino’s Plant – Part I
Acatalectic – Dear Nathaniel…