Peppermint

Once upon a very long time ago, a man lived in the city with his wife. His name was Mr. Brown and he owned a little candy shop that he ran from his home. Mrs. Brown was expecting a baby any day, now.

“Hurry Ethel,” said Mr. Brown. “Come quick!”

“What is it dear?” asked Ethel, as she slowly and carefully made her way downstairs.

“I’ve discovered a new flavour for my candy,” said Mr. Brown, excitedly. “Try this.”

Mr. Brown handed his wife a spoon that contained a sample of the new flavour.

“Um!” exclaimed Ethel. “This is very good. What is it?”

“It’s peppermint,” said Mr. Brown.

“Peppermint,” said Ethel. “I’ve never heard of it before.”

“Me either,” said Mr. Brown. “Until the other day. I was out walking in the bush and I had accidentally stepped on a plant. A very nice aroma hit me. I bent down and discovered that the smell was coming from the plant. I looked around and saw that there were thousands of these little plants growing everywhere. I picked a bunch and brought them home.”

“Well,” said Ethel. “This new flavour is very good.”

Just then, the shop door opened and several towns people entered.

“You not have that baby yet,” one of the customers said.

“No, Mrs. Wilson,” said Ethel. “Not yet. The doctor says that the baby should be here any day, now.”

“Um!” exclaimed Mrs. Wilson. “What is that wonderful smell?”

“Why it’s a new flavour of candy!” exclaimed Mr. Brown, happily. “Would you like to sample one?”

“Yes,” said Mrs. Wilson.

Mr. Brown handed Mrs. Wilson a sample of the new candy.

“This is the best candy that I have ever eaten,” said Mrs. Wilson.

Soon, the tiny shop was flooded with people trying out Mr. Brown’s new candy. Mr. Brown was very busy and did not notice that Ethel had gone into labour. She slipped upstairs, to their apartment, where it was relatively quiet, and had the baby.

Meanwhile, Mr. Brown was still very busy downstairs. Close to two hundred customers were crammed into his tiny shop. The telephone rang.

“Hello,” said Mr. Brown.

“Hello,” said Ethel, on the other end of the receiver.

“Peppermint, peppermint,” the customers roared in the background. “We want more peppermint!”

“Honey,” said Mr. Brown. “Where are you?”

“I’m upstairs,” said Ethel.

“I’ve been so busy here that I didn’t even know that you had left,” said Mr. Brown.

“Well,” said Ethel. “That’s okay. The reason that I am calling you is to tell you that you are the proud father of a sweet baby girl.”

“What!” exclaimed Mr. Brown. “You had the baby.”

“Yes,” said Ethel. “She is gorgeous.”

“Well,” said Mr. Brown. “As soon as I can get away, I’ll be right up to see her.”

“Alright,” said Ethel. “We do have one slight problem, though.”

“What is that?” asked Mr. Brown.

“The baby needs a name,” said Ethel.

“Peppermint,” the crowd roared louder. “We want more peppermint.”

“Peppermint,” said Mr. Brown, into the receiver. “We should name our little baby, Peppermint.”

“Peppermint,” repeated Ethel. “Yes, that is a perfect name. She suits it, too.”

“I bet she does,” said Mr. Brown.

“Peppermint, peppermint,” the crowd roared. “We want more peppermint!”