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The Best Day (short story)
Encyclopedia
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
. It appears in his short story collection Maps in a Mirror
Maps in a Mirror
Maps in a Mirror is a collection of short stories by Orson Scott Card. Like Card's novels, most of the stories have a science fiction or fantasy theme...
. Card originally published this story in his novel Saints
Saints (novel)
Saints is a historical fiction novel by Orson Scott Card. It tells the story of the fictional protagonist, Dinah Kirkham, a native of Manchester, England, who immigrates to the United States and becomes one of the plural wives of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.Saints was...
(1983) under the pen name Dinah Kirkham.
Plot summary
This story is about a woman who is happy but is afraid that the happiness in her life will come to an end. She prays for eternal happiness and the next day an old peddlerPeddler
A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a canvasser, cheapjack, monger, or solicitor , is a travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used for travellers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages; they might also be called tinkers or gypsies...
shows up selling plain things. When she asks him if he has anything for happiness he tries to explain that happiness is just a matter of taking joy in overcoming the difficulties in life. However, she doesn’t let him finish and sends him on his way. The next day a medicine man
Medicine man
"Medicine man" or "Medicine woman" are English terms used to describe traditional healers and spiritual leaders among Native American and other indigenous or aboriginal peoples...
from the east shows up selling potions and bright cheerful things. The woman asks him if he has anything to do with happiness. The medicine man sells her an elixir of happiness. He says that one drink of it and your best day will be with you forever. She buys the elixir and takes it. After that she spends every moment of the rest of her life reliving one happy day from her past. As a result she misses out on the rest of her life.
Dinah Kirkham
Dinah Kirkham is the main character of Orson Scott Card's novel SaintsSaints (novel)
Saints is a historical fiction novel by Orson Scott Card. It tells the story of the fictional protagonist, Dinah Kirkham, a native of Manchester, England, who immigrates to the United States and becomes one of the plural wives of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.Saints was...
. She is a fictional plural wife of Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
. In the novel she is supposed to have made up the short story "The Best Day".
See also
- List of works by Orson Scott Card
- Orson Scott CardOrson Scott CardOrson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
- LDS fictionLDS fictionLDS fiction is an American niche market of fiction novels featuring themes related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...