The Triple Crown. Three strikes, you're out. Three Fates; three Furies; three blind mice. Bad things happen in threes. The third time's the charm. The number three crops up a lot in Western culture, and to celebrate my third term on the Thunderdome throne, I'm giving it a place in this week's prompt: Write a prose story involving the tripartite integer.

This is a very open prompt. I don't care what subject or genre you choose as long as three plays an obvious, significant role. Triplet protagonists? Fine. A love triangle? Fantastic. Three-headed armadillos rampaging through Australia? Why not. That leaves you a lot of room to showcase your talent, but there are no excuses for messing this one up. Creativity and cleverness will serve you well. Anything less will earn you the judges' threefold wrath.

That said, you can ask for a flash rule if you're starved for inspiration; just don't count too heavily on liking what you get.

Remember Martello's challenge! As long as they follow the prompt, wedding stories are A-OK. But note Rhino's Flash Rule: No traditional white weddings allowed unless you can make it interesting. Caveat: no monkeycheese humor.