"The Mushroom Man" a short story by Craig Zimerman

The mushroom started out like many others in the backyard of homeowner Tom Nicholson, and he didn't even notice it until the fungi became much larger than its fellows. In time this particular mushroom grew to be two feet high and about a foot across the top.

Tom wasn't quite sure what to do with the monster mushroom, so he left it alone for the time being. One night while he was watching TV, he heard odd sounds coming from the backyard and went to investigate. The sounds seemed to be coming from the mutant mushroom, and he directed his flashlight towards it.

An opening in the shape of a door was noticeable at the base of the stalk. Tom went up to the mushroom and looked closely at the "door." Feeling slightly foolish, he tapped on the opening with his knuckle. To his great surprise, a little man opened the door and looked at Tom in annoyance. "What do you want?" the tiny man asked.

Tom was so shaken that he ran back into the house. The next morning, he once again went into the backyard to make sure that he hadn't imagined the whole thing. Tom rapped on the miniature door and after a slight delay the little man opened it. "You again?" he said with irritation. "Yes, me again. This is my property and you can't just park your mushroom here and move in."

The little man crossed his arms in defiance. "Go ahead and try to evict me." Tom went back to his house to think. If he called the police, they would think he was a crazy, so he would just have to do the job himself. Gathering some garden tools and a wheelbarrow, Tom went out to the mushroom house. He spent most of the afternoon trying to move the thing, but it was no use.

Tom's next step was to call a lawn maintenance outfit. The workers showed up on time, but they all ran off in terror when the little man came out of his house and yelled at them. Tom was sitting on his back porch considering what else he could do when his unique problem approached. "Can I talk to you?" the little man asked. Tom nodded.

"I'm sorry to cause you so much grief, but I'm just looking for a place to live and by the way, my name is Harry." The little man held out his hand and Tom shook it. Having Harry as a tenant took some getting used to but eventually, they became friends and Tom was thrilled to learn that Harry was a skilled carpenter and could do all kinds of jobs around the house.