As a quick note to the uninitiated: A "captcha" is an image with distorted text in it. Your job is to take the distorted text, figure out what it says, then jot it down. Many websites use them to figure out if the "user" using them is a human or a programmer-created bot. See wikipedia's captcha entry for more info.

I came up with the idea for this story after battling the captcha system at Digg. Without further ado:

Jeff and the Captcha

Jeff went out abroad one day, dark deeds upon his mind.
He ventured to an unusual site, to see what he could find.
Shovel in hand, a curious plan, to Digg his very own site.

The deed, he thought, would be e'sly done,
and traffic would abound.
Until he finished of his work,
and heard that awful sound.

Captcha! Captcha! the hounds did bay,
filling his soul with dread.
Captcha! Captcha! His heart recoiled,
his feet were filled with lead.

The beast was fifty pixels high,
and more than that acros't.
Its challenge echoed through the air,
and Jeff was surely lost.

"REPEAT WHAT I WILL SAY TO YOU",
the Captcha roared in haste.
"ELSE FEAST UPON YOUR ENTRAILS I"
Jeff wondered how he'd taste.

"SQORK GA XNI SQUIB" the Captcha yelled,
Jeff shivered in his fright.
"TRY ONE OF THREE", it screamed in glee,
and Jeff knew that he must fight.

"Skr gna ze sqorb", called Jeff,
the Captcha merely laughed.
"GLARK HI HAAK CHI", it cried,
"TWO TRIES BEFORE THE SHAFT!"

Jeff paused and thought, for sooth,
he knew he musn't fail
His second guess would be better still,
it would be to much avail.

"GORK HI HACK CHE", he said too late,
the Timeout had occurred.
Hesitation has lost the day,
the Captcha never heard.

"GLARX KXI FI HIXB!",
the Captcha called in triumph.
"ONE CHANCE IS LEFT"
Jeff knew he musn't die-umph.

Jeff knew he had but one chance left,
and so firmly set his jaw.
"GLARX KXI FI HIXB!", He called and stared,
at The Captcha's yawning maw.

"THOU HAST ANSWERED TRUELY"
called the Captcha to Jeff's surprise
"SURELY THOU MUST BE HUMAN"
was the Captcha's great surmise.

Hurrah! Hurrah! The masses do sing,
at Jeff's most wondrous fight.
For o'er the Captcha he has won,
Jeff has Dugg his Digg tonight.

-Jeff