A week goes by and, as promised, Mr. Pinbuckle returns to the woods. He goes straight to Larue’s kitchen and knocks on the door. There’s no answer. He waits impatiently for ten minutes before Larue, Marvin, Daffodil, Albert and Marla walk up.
Larue waves and says, “Sorry to keep you waiting Mr. Pinbuckle. We were playing and lost…”
Mr. Pinbuckle cuts her off by sternly saying, “In the future, please try to be on time. My time is money, and money’s the name of the game. But on to the business at hand. The Big City Pie Company has turned your recipe into a very marketable product. I think you’ll like it.”
Although they are put off by Mr. Pinbuckle’s harsh tone, they start smiling when he puts his briefcase on the table and opens it up. He reaches in and hands each of them a miniature bean pie. They’re neatly packaged and ready for supermarket shelves. The package says “Larue’s award winning bean pie” and has a picture of Larue. There’s also a list of ingredients on the back, many of which they’ve never heard of, like high fructose corn syrup, sodium nitrate, and autolyzed yeast extract.
“Congratulations!” they all say to Larue as Mr. Pinbuckle looks on with a smile.
Larue quickly notes, “The package looks really great Mr. Pinbuckle, but I thought they were going to be called Mama Grazie’s bean pies.”
Mr. Pinbuckle replies, “Well Larue, these are not your mother’s bean pies. They’re Larue and Big City Pie Company bean pies! So how about everyone opens up their package and gives the pie a taste.”
They begin opening them up as Mr. Pinbuckle explains, “As you bite into it, you’ll notice it tastes a little different than the pie you made me last week. It will be delicious, just different. This is because some ingredients needed to be changed. These pies will sometimes sit on shelves for months. When they’re finally eaten they still need to taste the same as one that was made today. Ingredients were also changed to lower costs. Keep that in mind.”
Mr. Pinbuckle smiles as they sample the pies. At first, they smile too, but that quickly changes. As they bite into their pies, they realize how different the taste is from the original. They give each other puzzled look as they slowly chew.
“I told you it would taste different, but still delicious,” says Mr. Pinbuckle, “What do you think?”
Delicious is not at all how they would describe it. How he made these bean pies from Mama Grazie’s recipe is a mystery. They’re afraid to tell him what they really think. Everyone looks at Larue.
After a long pause, she finally says, “Mr. Pinbuckle, I’m not sure if there’s been some sort of mistake, but these don’t taste at all like Mama Grazie’s bean pies.”
He replies, “Again, they’re not Mama Grazie’s bean pies. They’re Larue and Big City Pie Company bean pies. As I explained earlier, we had to change some ingredients. It’s never going to taste exactly the same as an original home baked pie. That’s just part of the business of selling pies in stores.”
“But this tastes totally different,” says Larue.
“You just need to be more open minded,” says Mr. Pinbuckle, “And have a better business sense. Once you’re rich and famous, taste won’t matter.”
“But I don’t like it,” says Larue, “And neither do my friends.”
“You need to think about cost and shelf life, not taste and ingredients,” says Mr. Pinbuckle, “This is all about making money. When you’re rich and famous, you can find new friends who do like how your pies taste.”
“I don’t want new friends,” answers Larue, “I love the friends I have now. Friendship and love are the two most important ingredients in a bean pie.”
“Larue, let’s not be silly,” says Mr. Pinbuckle, “There’s no room for those two ingredients. These bean pies are made in a big factory. Cost is the most important ingredient here. I’ll get out the paperwork for you to sign. And once that’s done, the Big City Pie Company will make all your dreams come true.”
As he prepares the paperwork, Larue huddles with her friends to find out what they think.
Marvin says, “I don’t know about costs and shelf-life, but I do know these bean pies taste terrible.”
Daffodil adds, “I don’t trust Mr. Pinbuckle. He scares me.”
Albert agrees, “I haven’t liked him since the minute I met him.”
Larue looks at them and knows they’re right. She doesn’t want to move to the city and she especially doesn’t want to leave her friends. She approaches Mr. Pinbuckle and says, “I’m sorry, but I think these bean pies taste awful. Mama Grazie wouldn’t be proud of these at all. I don’t trust you or the Big City Pie Company. So, no thank you, I won’t sign your papers.”
Astonished by Larue’s statement, Mr. Pinbuckle suggests, “You should reconsider. This is business and there’s lots of money to be made. You’re making a big mistake.”
Larue replies, “No. Mama Grazie made them the right way for a reason!”
“Well then,” huffs Mr. Pinbuckle, “I’ll pack up my things and be on my way. To me, this is all business. If I don’t do business with you, I’ll find someone else. Someone who can make better decisions. Good day.”
Larue thinks for a second before saying, “Mr. Pinbuckle, there’s a woman in town named Ms. Beatrice Bitterkins. She’s a great pie maker. And she wants to be famous. And she would love to move to the city and never come back. Plus, she doesn’t have any friends.”
Mr. Pinbuckle says, “Then I’ll find this Ms. Bitterkins and do business with her. I’ll take her to the city and she’ll never have to see anyone from this town again. She’ll be rich and famous, and everyone will be jealous of her. Tell me where to find her and I’ll be on my way.”
So that’s what she does, and off he goes. They watch him walk away, and once he’s out of sight they all cheer for Larue.
Marvin says, “You sure did tell him.”
Daffodil exclaims, “You did the right thing Larue.”
Albert adds, “Way to go Larue! You got rid of him and he might even take that mean Ms. Bitterkins with him.”
“Thanks everybody,” says Larue, “You’re my best friends.”
Marla says, “Meep meep meep meep.”
“Good idea Marla!” agrees Marvin, “Let’s make a real bean pie right now.”
They get to work right away, and when they’re finished, they all have a big slice.
“I think this is the best bean pie we’ve ever made,” remarks Marvin.
“That’s because it’s made with the two most important ingredients… friendship and love,” adds Daffodil, “Mama Grazie would be proud.”
That makes everyone happy… especially Larue.
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https://www.VeryBoringPlace.com
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