A Fable

Once upon a time there was a little girl who lived in a small village in the dales of the Land of Nod. She was a good girl, for the most part, and she had many interests, one of which was playing the licorice horn.

She had played her horn for many years and with many people, and loved music of many kinds. But one fateful day, she went to a special happening. She went up the Big Green Hill, to have dinner in the Magic Stable and listen to the Red Cabbage Orchestra.

The little girl was amazed. She sat, feasted on treats, drank the Magic Elixir, and listened to the orchestra. "That must be so much fun!" she exclaimed, wide-eyed. "That must be the most fun thing in the great wide world!"

And so every single year, the little girl would travel up the Big Green Hill and visit the Magic Stable. And listen to the Red Cabbage Orchestra. She would eat treats, and drink the Magic Elixir, and laugh and sing. And it would fill her will enough glee to last her till the next year.

And then one day, something wonderful happened. See, the little girl had a friend, Grinchmond, who was a troll, but an affable sort of troll, and he had recently become a member of the Red Cabbage Orchestra. He had set about to have the little girl become a member of the orchestra, and he finally became successful. The little girl was asked to join the Red Cabbagers as a member and play in the Magic Stable.

While over the moon with excitement, the little girl was very nervous. Could she do it? Could she play her licorice horn well enough? Would the other members of the orchestra like her?

After the first night in the Magic Stable, all fears were put to rest. The other Red Cabbagers were extremely welcoming, she played her licorice horn well enough, and everything fell into place.

And the little girl had realized happiness beyond her wildest dreams.

And so for years, the little girl went up the Big Green Hill, ate treats and drank the Magic Elixir, played in the Magic Stable, and was a full-fledged member of the Red Cabbage Orchestra. She went to other places, too, traveled all over the Land of Nod to play her licorice horn with the Red Cabbage Orchestra. She came to regard the Red Cabbagers as her best friends ever.

Of course, in the Magic Stable, as with all other places over this great wide world, it was not all sweetness and light. Sometimes the golden blarehorn players could be very obnoxious, and the little girl had to travel many, many miles up the Big Green Hill to the Magic Stable, and the little girl also had to balance playing with the Red Cabbagers with her real job, making yummy cupcakes in the little village for some very demanding villagers.

But when things got obnoxious or tough, the little girl would simply roll her eyes and shake her head and accept it as part of the wonderfulness that was being a member of the Red Cabbage Orchestra.

But alas, the little girl started to become tired. Making cupcakes for demanding villagers and dealing with obnoxious blarehorn players started to take its toll upon her. She still truly loved the Red Cabbage Orchestra players and being in the Magic Stable, but she often became of a foul demeanor, and often swore that a monster, a mean monster that looked like a tornado wearing a diaper, would visit her once a year and make her very, very sad.

And still, she loved the Magic Stable and the Red Cabbage Orchestra and kept traveling up the Big Green Hill.

But, sadly, the day finally came when the little girl realized that it was all becoming too much. The blarehorn players were still obnoxious, and the cupcake-wanting villagers were still demanding, but now the little girl had ugliness in her knees and had grown old, and found she had to have the Magic Elixir to now enjoy her nights in the Magic Stable. She also had duties to perform for her mother and father, who were quite old and needed her help.

It was a very troubling time for the little girl, but she finally made a decision. It was her time to leave the Red Cabbage Orchestra and stop playing in the Magic Stable.

The last night of the Magic Stable season ended, and she knew what she must do. She gave hugs and kisses to all the members of the Red Cabbage Orchestra, tears starting when she hugged and kissed her fellow licorice horn player, then went to the conductor of the Red Cabbage Orchestra and told him this was her last season there.

When the little girl told him of her decision, the conductor hugged her, grabbed her tightly, then threw her in the Magic Stable oven and baked her till she was done. He then fed her to the Magic Stable kitchen staff, all great people who work for too little money, and they enjoyed her greatly as a feast that night.

Actually, this is not true, of course, for the Red Cabbage Orchestra would never cook the little girl, and the underpaid kitchen staff would never get such a feast. Instead, the conductor said this could not be true, and made the little girl promise to think about her decision down in the dell in her little village during the off-season. And the little girl said she would. Because the little girl was a good girl, for the most part, and didn't want to hurt the feelings of the conductor of the Red Cabbage Orchestra.

The moral of this fable?

Do not continue to do something you love if it wears on you so much it becomes something you hate. Unless you are like the little girl, a good girl for the most part, but a bit of a wimp, and promise to at least think about it during the off-season from the Magic Stable.

But unless things change a lot in the Land of Nod, the little girl has already made up her mind.