Allen bowed low to the beautiful girl. Straightening, he took her hand and called over the music, “May I have the next dance?”

She burst out laughing.

Dejected, Allen returned to his group. His friends patted him consolingly on the back. “Allen, Pride and Prejudice is not an instruction manual.”

Mark Farley was raised in Zimbabwe where he survived two dog maulings, a swarm of killer bees, and being run over by a horse. You can find a video of his 23-word twitter story here.