LAZY DAISY AND THE BAKER

      

      At the farthest end of the sweetest smelling town was Giacomo’s Pastry Shop.  It was so large and wonderful people came from across the world just to catch a whiff. Its fragrance was so profoundly strong that it actually painted the sky shades of pinks and purples. The town was always crowded now that this shop had sprung up; some people even decided to eat all three meals a day there. The shop only served the doughiest sugary treats, so everyone who ate there became very plump. The bakery was a success! Everyone loved the pastry shop, especially Lazy Daisy.

             Lazy Daisy lived near Giacomo’s Pastry Shop, whose hunger could only be satisfied by the sweetest delicacies. The problem was,  Lazy Daisy had no money to buy the world famous treats, and instead of working to get the money,  Lazy Daisy would stand outside the pastry shop every day waiting for someone, anyone, to spare a piece of bread or cake. Her desire, like her belly, only grew the more she ate. Soon handouts weren't enough. Lazy Daisy decided to leave her family and move into the alley behind the big pastry shop. The baker did everything he could to rid himself of the growing nuisance but still the girl remained begging the customers to share. The baker pleaded with the girl’s family, offering free treats, but no matter what arrangements were worked out, she refused to leave. 

             Finally the baker decided to permanently ban anyone who would feed Lazy Daisy.  All at once Lazy Daisy's supply of sweet snacks had run dry. The baker held his head up in joy, creating even better pastries than he ever had before. Now the sky was permanently painted an elegant gold by the royal delicacies.  But as the town grew fatter, Lazy Daisy began to wither. She refused to eat anything but the baker’s pastries, becoming weaker and more desperate with each passing day. It was when Lazy Daisy’s clothes began to fall from her body she knew he’d have to devise a plan. It was then that Lazy Daisy noticed the dumpster.

             You might think a Lazy Daisy with a hunger for special treats would have already raided the dumpster once or twice, and to be honest, Lazy Daisy considered it. Yet, the baker was so successful that he never had to throw away a single cupcake and no customer ever wasted a single bite. The dumpster was only full of empty bags of flour and sugar.  Lazy Daisy attempted to harvest what she could gather from each of the bags in the garbage, but the baker was even successful at not wasting more than a few grains of sugar. It was the cleanest dumpster the girl had ever seen, and the sight of it angered her.

             Lazy Daisy was becoming frustrated with each pound she lost.  "There must be some way to taste the blessed food once more" she wondered. So the girl thought and thought. Then it occurred to Lazy Daisy “When the baker leaves for the night, I can sneak in through the vents and steal whatever was left.”

So that night she waited and waited, but the baker never left. It was then that Lazy Daisy realized that she never saw the baker leave. The baker was always at the pastry shop.  So she waited until all the lights had gone out, and the noises stopped. "The baker must be asleep now."  The girl concluded.  Lazy Daisy climbed the brick wall, and slid down the smokestack, which luckily she had lost just enough fat to fit inside. The girl found herself within the baker’s kitchen. The walls were spotless, the floor a perfect mirror shining with black and red alternating tiles, like a giant checkerboard. She crept to the giant metal refrigerator. The door was heavy and the girl was weak with hunger  yet all the more determined. She pulled with all her strength and the door finally nudged open.

            Lazy Daisy looked inside and gasped. What she found nearly made her faint. It wasn't a cake, or a pie, or even a shelf full of cupcakes. There was one giant bag, just one... labeled "EFFORT". The girl was so stunned she nearly fainted. She grabbed the bag with both hands and tore it open, scraping the precious "EFFORT" with her bare hands.  The label "EFFORT" was no exaggeration. The thick substance was most difficult to carve through, though the scraps she could suck from under her fingernails tasted an amalgamation of sugar and what could only be described as joy.  She licked her fingers, then her whole hands, and before long her entire head had gone into the bag. It was the most satisfying and delectable treat to ever exist. Lazy Daisy ate for hours, as fast as she could, but the bag's enormous girth had hardly shrunk at all. Lazy Daisy, on the other hand, had grown considerably fat; much fatter than she'd ever been before.

            The girl lay exhausted on the floor still scooping what she could into her puffy mouth with her chubby hands, when the rustling sound of the baker waking was heard overhead. Lazy Daisy, attempted to sit up, but it was no use. There was no direction the girl could lean, crawl, or even roll to avoid the inevitable discovery. The baker's footsteps drew closer, so Lazy Daisy had one last decision to make; either keep eating, or pretend she didn't know what had happened. 

The baker opened the door to find a very fat Lazy Daisy, inflated in every direction, with clothes too small to fit on her body. The baker shook his head in disappointment.

"Why did you break into my pastry shop?" To steal from me?" asked the baker.

Lazy Daisy choked down another mouthful of the thick creamy treat before gasping for air to respond. "I couldn't help it."

            The baker grinned at the truthful yet unsatisfying response. "You know why I make everything so well?"  The baker asked, now poking the swollen belly of Lazy Daisy.

“EFFORT?” replied the girl.

 The baker took a deep breath and said "I am able to make something well because I spend my time creating, not consuming." 

            Lazy Daisy hung her head in shame. The baker sighed empathically then said, "I can teach you... if, when you learn, you share the gift and not use it selfishly." The girl nodded in agreement.  From that day forward Lazy Daisy took a job at the Giacomo’s Pastry Shop, the best in the world. She learned to bake, clean, and give other people happiness, through the “EFFORT” she shared, and without ever eating another treat, she was finally satisfied.