Writing Close to the Bone

Hemingway in Milan, circa 1918, 

This
is a story I’ve read and heard about for years (you probably have too),
but not even Snopes can really confirm it. It doesn’t matter; it’s
still a great story. In a discussion about brevity, someone bet Ernest
Hemingway he couldn’t write a story in six words. He took the bet. This
is the story attributed to him.

For sale, baby shoes, never used.