"Middle Woman" is a short story by American writer
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...
,
originally published in the ''
Dragons of Darkness'', edited by Card himself, under the name
Byron Walley. It also appears in his short story collections ''
Cardography'' and ''
Maps in a Mirror
''Maps in a Mirror'' (1990) is a collection of short stories by American writer Orson Scott Card. Like Card's novels, most of the stories have a science fiction or fantasy theme. Some of the stories, such as "Ender's Game", " Lost Boys", and ...
''.
Plot summary
"Middle Woman" is the story of woman who at first seems very average. She is neither rich nor poor but somewhere in the middle. She is the middle child in her family and lives between her two sisters who live thirty
leagues to the north and to south of her. One day while traveling to see one of her sisters she meets a
dragon on the road. He tells her that he will either eat her or grant her three wishes. She decides to take the three wishes and then wishes that her husband’s farm will produce enough food to support her family forever. The dragon flies to her house and eats her family so that no matter how much food the farm produces it will always be enough. Realizing that the dragon only wants to trick her, the woman wishes that everything in the world would go back to the way it was before she left her house that morning. Instantly she is back in her home and decides not to go see her sister so that she will not meet the dragon again. Although she is now safe, it occurs to the woman that she still has one wish. However, she wisely decides not to use it. Instead she saves it for a day when she needs it. When she is old and about to die the dragon comes to her and tells her that if she doesn’t use the wish before she dies that he will die as well. The woman wishes that the dragon and everyone he meets will be happy and dies.
Byron Walley
Byron Walley is one of Orson Scott Card's
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
s. Card chose to publish "Middle Woman" under the name Byron Walley because his short story "
A Plague of Butterflies
"A Plague of Butterflies" is a short story by American writer Orson Scott Card. It was originally published in Amazing, in 1981, and shortly afterwards in an anthology, edited by Card, entitled '' Dragons of Darkness''. His short story " ...
" was also appearing in the book ''
Dragons of Darkness'' under his real name.
Audio
In addition to the text versions of the story, "Middle Woman" is also available as an audio download in the March 2006 issue of Orson Scott Card's ''
InterGalactic Medicine Show
''InterGalactic Medicine Show'' (sometimes shortened to ''IGMS'') was an American online fantasy and science fiction magazine. It was founded in 2005 by multiple award-winning author Orson Scott Card and was edited by Edmund R. Schubert from 20 ...
''. The story was read by Mary Robinette Kowal and recorded at Willamette Radio Workshop.
See also
*
List of works by Orson Scott Card
The Orson Scott Card bibliography contains a list of works published by Orson Scott Card.
Ender's Game
The Tales of Alvin Maker
The Homecoming Saga
Women of Genesis
Pastwatch series
Mithermages series
Mayflower
''Mayflower ...
References
External links
Official Orson Scott Card website"Middle Woman" audio download
Short stories by Orson Scott Card
1981 short stories
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