Fairy Tale

Once upon a time I was having a bad day. I decided to take a walk and get some fresh air. Surely a walk in the brisk afternoon cool could do me nothing but good.
The first half of the walk was nice, in spite of my efforts making me realize how miserably out of shape I have gotten.
On my way back, for no reason at all, I decided to take an unnecessary short cut. Instead of walking around to the road side I figured I would hop down the gentle slope below that led to the road.
The hillside was covered in snow except for one small opening where many had clearly trodden before.
Step one: foot successfully planted on the hill.
Step two: left foot also successfully planted.
Step three: disaster.
Before I even realized what had happened my pelvis made contact with the wet ground throwing my head back with a force I was not anticipating.
Bounce, went my head off the soggy grass.
I quickly recovered and as subtly as I could I scanned the area for spectators. That was a negatory.
Without slackening my pace I made my way back to the office. After a moment it occurred to me that the entire back and right sides of my body were muddy and soaked. For a moment I considered walking past the building, getting right in my car and driving home. I remembered that I have very little shame and decided this was not a good enough reason to go home.
I made it back to my desk entirely unnoticed; a testament to my notoriety in the workplace. After having a candid discussion about what had just occurred with my trusted office mates I realized a dull pain growing on my back, neck and head.
This was a good reason to leave work early. (That and the fact that I had become keenly aware of a swamp-like odor building up from the damp mud covering my pants and jacket.)
So I headed home, took a shower and called it a day.
If I end up going to work tomorrow I think I'll just stay at my desk, because now I know for sure the answer to the question, "how could a walk possibly make my day any worse?"
The end.