Brian Staveley has a way with words, and getting unique points across. Such is the case with The Log Goblin, a short story published through Tor.com’s imprint.

It’s a short work, nary even 3000 words, but it paints pictures for the lives of the characters within, although we only have this one moment in time to represent them. The main character, an unnamed human, collects logs from an old beech tree to burn over winter. He discovers that someone is stealing his logs – this person being a goblin.

In so few words, Staveley shows us the strange mentality and priorities of a goblin, and how they differ from the man’s. More importantly, we learn why these logs mean so much to the goblin.

I wish it were longer, as the brevity of this piece isn’t even enough to carry over a mug of coffee with. That said, it’s a charming tale. And feels oddly enough like a bedtime story, or a fairy tale. You can find this story included within the pages of Some of the Best from Tor.com: 2015 Edition, which you can download for free here.