LITTLE CHEF WILLIAM AND THE SICK PRINCESS
JOEL ROBINSON & MARIA ROSA SANCHEZ-SALMERON
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Little Chef William and the Sick Princess Copyright Š 2012 by Joel M. Robinson All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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For: Kaleb and Giselli
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Princess Elan lived in the Kingdom of Grange in a big castle. Her parents the King and Queen were worried about her because she had been getting sick. Princess Elan would yell at the cooks “This food is yucky! Give me sweet cakes!”
The doctors would say “You cannot eat only sweet cakes Princess; it is why you are getting sick!” The Princess replied “Then I will not eat!” For days the Princess did not eat and became very weak lying in her bed. The King and Queen were very worried! So they sent a decree throughout the Kingdom which said “Anyone who can get Princess Elan to eat healthy food would be granted a royal title and land.”
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Every chef, cook and housemaid in the land took the King and Queen up on their offer. For thirty straight days a special dish was prepared the Princess three times a day and three times a day the Princess would scream “Take this food away! Give me sweet cakes! After the last special dish was rejected, Princess Elan became very ill, too ill to even eat sweet cakes! The King and Queen were very sad when a young boy came to the castle with a little black pot and a bagful of vegetables.
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He was brought before the King and Queen. The King looked at him and sighed. The Queen quietly said “Little boy, what is your name?” “William”. “Little... William, all the cooks and chefs in the land have tried to get Princess Elan to eat why do you think your food will be any different?” “I was born with a gift your Highness; no one seems to ever dislike the food I prepare.” “Really? We don’t have much time, cook something for the Royal Taster and if he approves then we will see if the Princess will eat it.” “Your highness, may I cook before the Princess?” Why would you want to do that? The Queen replied. Your highness, eating food should be a pleasure, in my house the eating starts in the Kitchen. Seeing and smelling the food being cooked is a part of eating.
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The King spoke “Silly, child!” But the Queen said “My King, what do we have to lose, our child is sick from not eating and our pantry is full of food!” The King frowned and said “If it pleases the Queen, let this Little William try his hand at it.” So William was escorted to the Princes Elan’s chambers.
William was provided with a table, a chopping board and a cooking hook in the fireplace on the far side of the princess’s room. William pulled out a chicken bone, herbs, spices, salt and vegetables from his sack, poured water into his black pot and put it on the fire. Soon he was cutting vegetables, singing and humming one of his silly cooking songs. As the soup simmered the smell of it began to fill the room. “A carrot, yum, a carrot! A potato, yum, a potato! Shall I sneak in a Leek? Only if you do not peak!”
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The Princess woke from her sleep. “Who are you?” she said weakly. “I’m William, I’m here to make you soup that will help you get better, your Highness” “Soup? I don’t like soup, but whatever you are cooking smells...interesting” the Princess said slowly sitting up in her bed. “Don’t you worry your Highness, I’m a kid like you, and I know what kids like to eat!”
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The Princess had never actually seen anyone cook the food she was to eat and she was quite sure young boys didn’t usually cook. The soup was nearly done, and then William pulled out a tin of bread dough he had prepared earlier that morning and put it over the fire to bake. “What is that” said the Princess, who was now watching everything William did. William said “This is my daily bread; today I will bake it for you.” As the bread baked the Princess began to imagine what the soup and bread would taste like, and strangely she could barely wait. Finally, William said “Your Highness, My daily bread and your special soup is ready” The Royal taster stepped forward with a silver spoon to taste the soup first but the Princess said “Stop! You will not taste my special soup or William’s daily bread!” The Royal taster didn’t know what to do.
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William brought the soup and the bread on the Princess’s golden tray and spoon. But before the Princess started to eat William said “No, Princess. Your Highness, before you eat, you must first give thanks for it” “Thanks? Why should I do that?” said the Princess. So William told the story of all the special care and work by that had to happen for him to be able to prepare the soup and the daily bread for the Princess to eat. William also explained that many children in the land of Grange barely had enough to eat. At the end of William’s story the Princess looked down at the bread and soup as if it were a miracle, as she had certainly heard, but never really considered such things. So she stopped and said “God, thank you for this food that William has kindly prepared for me. I’m sorry I wasted so much food when other kids like me do not have enough to eat.”
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By this time the soup had cooled to the perfect temperature. The Princess took her golden spoon and tastes the delicious soup and the warm crusty bread. The Princess ate the entire pot of soup and fell back to sleep feeling much better! The Royal taster and the servants quickly reported to the King and Queen that the Princess ate an entire pot of Vegetable Soup and a loaf of bread! The King and Queen were overjoyed! The King shouted “Hail to our Royal Little Chef William!!” From that day on “Little Chef William” nursed the Princess back to health while showing her how to cook her own food using special recipes he made just for her. To this day the Princess loves to cook her own healthy food and is careful to stop and give thanks for it.
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Little Chef William returned to his village where he was granted a plot of land on the main road. The King built his parents a storefront and a house behind it with a full kitchen surrounded by a full garden tended by several of the King's servants. The legend of Little Chef William would soon grow‌ but that’s another tale to be told!
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Scripture Readings: Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Proverbs 22:29 Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve kings; He won't serve obscure men.
Look out for the next tale: Little Chef William and the Sad Lord
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