
It is said that someone challenged El Colonel Ernesto once in writing, criticising him that all his stories were always so short. HAH. Ernesto downed his whiskey (the challenger’s first mistake; never challenge the boss once on fire). Mr Hemingway looked this punk straight in the eye, or a bit off perhaps depending on how many whiskys he’d had, and said: “Luckily enough for you, your shrimp, it ain’t about length”.
The bar broke out in wild applause and two ladies threw their bras at him (needs fact checking). The punk feeling the heat of the Dragon, tried to uno reverse this statement: “Well then, since you’re so sure, give the shortest story you can then you drunk.”
Misstake number two; Ernest was not a drunk. He was a top-tier professional alcoholic. He asked the shrimp to pick a number between 1-10. The challenger spat out: 6.
Ernest sucked out the last drop of whiskey from his glass, cleared his throat and spoke:
For sale:
baby shoes,
never worn.
The bar erupted in ecstasy, one girl orgasmed right there on the spot and the art of the Six Word Poem was born.
Source: Mostly stories and a vague Wikipedia source we’d rather not reference.