Once upon a time in our small town there was a very special house. It looked different from the others. It was vanilla in color and instead of a roof there was a huge cherry tree. The whole house looked like one big muffin. Every day a beautiful smell came from its windows and slowly spread all over the town. It was the smell of various goodies. The good fairy cooks cooked in that house.
There were six of them. Renee, Judy, Sara, Valeria, Ruby and Danny. They were the best cooks in town. They had their work pretty well divided. Three of them cooked dumplings and potatoes, the other two made sauces and meats, and Danny made soups. People from all over the neighborhood came to their house to eat. Nobody cooked better than them, but no one knew how they did it. Nobody knew the secret of their kitchen. The only thing you could hear was the good fairies singing at work.
Little Mary also lived in the town. She was a little girl who loved food and wanted to learn as much as she could about it. Even though she was shy, every day she gathered courage and stood at the kitchen door and begged, “My sweet good fairies, show me how you do it. I want to learn everything from you and I won’t tell anyone the secret, I can assure you that I won’t.” The cooks took a long time to be persuaded, but finally they agreed. They opened the door to Mary and invited her into the kitchen with a smile. But they gave her a stern warning. “If you’re so eager to learn, we’ll teach you to cook, but you must deserve our secrets.” Mary was beside herself with happiness. She was given a white apron, the door closed behind her, and things began to happen. The good faries began to sing, all the pots began to dance. Judy, Renee and Sara started tossing potatoes in the air. Valeria and Ruby were cutting the meat with both hands at once and the meat jumped into the pan while Danny was dancing around the cauldron, throwing spices into the soup. Mary just watched with her mouth open. Soon she started humming with the cooks too. As soon as her apron heard the first words that Mary was singing, it started to move. The apron pulled her from table to table. From cauldron to cauldron. Her hands grabbed everything and her feet danced all over the kitchen. When it was all done, shy Mary dared to ask. “Is that it? The magic apron?” The good fairies smiled. “Mary, that’s only part of the secret. You’ll find out the rest as time goes.”
Little Mary was looking forward to every day in the kitchen. Every time she put on her apron and started cooking with the cooks, she stopped being shy. She sang and danced around the kitchen. She smelled everything, tried to identify all the flavors, and tried to learn everything she saw in the kitchen. It was like she was in a different world. After a while, her good fairies called her to stand by the big pot. Something delicious was bubbling in it. They surrounded her and told her to reach into the inside pocket of her apron. There she found a bag of powder. “This is the other half of the secret. It is the love powder. If you pour it into your food, it will taste best. Because when you cook with love, the food is the best. We’re so glad we found the love in you. As long as you love food, you’ll be the best cook in the world.” Mary hugged everyone. She was grateful for all they had taught her. She poured a few grains of magic powder into the pot and a lovely smell permeated the kitchen. “Now you won’t get rid of me.” Mary said with a smile. And so, from then on, Mary cooked every day with the cooks.
The muffin house is still in our town. And it still has the most beautiful smell. But who knows what secrets it still holds.
