The Sweet Touch

Long ago, there lived a king who loved chocolate more than anything else in the world. He had statues carved out of chocolate. He had a pantry in his kitchen filled with nothing but chocolate. He even had a fountain in his garden that ran with pure chocolate.

One day, a visitor came to the castle and begged shelter from the king. The king was a kind man and immediately offered the traveler his hospitality. Unbeknownst to the king, the traveler was, in fact, a fairy creature. When she revealed her true form to the king, he was amazed. Because he had been so kind, she told him she would give him all the chocolate he could ever want. The king, overwhelmed with the idea of such a gift, asked if she could make everything he touched turn to chocolate. She tried to warn him that his gift would have unusual consequences, but he could not be deterred. Wanting only to help the kind king, the fairy left with a heavy heart knowing what would happen next.

The next morning, the king’s little dog came running up to jump into the king’s outstretched arms, as he did every morning. The minute the king’s hands touched his dog, the faithful pet turned to chocolate. The king was horrified! He grabbed a nearby servant to try and get help, and the servant immediately turned to chocolate. Everything he touched was quickly changing to chocolate. He sank to his knees and called out for the fairy to help him. Without hesitating, the fairy took away the king’s first wish and changed everything back.

The grateful king thanked the fairy and invited her to dinner. At the end of the meal, the king exchanged smiles with the fairy as he offered her dessert . . . vanilla ice cream and peach cobbler. Both the fairy and the king agreed that dessert that night was delicious!