There once was a little girl. She lived in a world of pleasure where people sang and ate and danced according to their own desires, bingeing on desserts and sweets and whatever their mouths craved. For this particular world knew nothing of nutrition; in fact, they were ignorant of their unhealthiness. Rather, they thought their habits of indulgence to be the norm and were not unaccustomed to the illnesses that ravaged their bodies because of it. But one day, this little girl stumbled upon an apple tree. Never before had she considered eating an apple. Why would she? An apple was not decadently decorated in frosting or beautifully covered in sprinkles. Yet, the apple enticed her, beckoning her to taste it, and so she bit into the unknown fruit. What a beautiful delicacy! The little girl found this one apple more satisfying than any dessert she had ever tasted. The apple quenched her thirst, each bite bringing a new splash of freshness and newness, washing all other tastes from her mouth and starting new. Unlike her world’s desserts, the apple, when finished, completely satisfied and filled her. And so the little girl’s diet changed. No longer did she crave her chocolates and caramels and sweets. Rather, everyday she journeyed back to the apple tree and was satisfied by its fruit, relishing in its juices and delighting in its crunch. One day, while lounging underneath the apple tree, a realization came upon the little girl. She loved her family and friends dearly- why should she not share the apples on this apple tree? For the apple tree was grand in size and astounding in presence; there was more than enough to share. And so the little girl began to tell her friends of the apple tree, speaking of its satisfaction and inviting them to eat with her. Some of her friends tried the fruit and found themselves also in love with the apple tree, but many of the girl’s friends resisted her offer. Over time, the girl had become peculiar to them. Her diet of apples had slimmed her frame, making her look different than the rest of them. No longer did she partake of the sweets and desserts that they all had once had relished in together. Her newfound diet was peculiar to them, and so, wary and uncertain of these apples she consumed, many of the girl’s friends resisted her urgings. This saddened the little girl – she loved the people of her world and wanted all of them to know the satisfaction of the apple tree. She knew that if only they would try the apples, they would also fall in love. And so, the little girl concocted a plan to make all of the apples on the apple tree more attractive to her world. She would cover every apple on the apple tree with chocolate and caramel. Surely then, her world would find the apples desirable! So one by one, the little girl coated all of the apples on the tree with chocolate and caramel, dousing them in gooey thickness and covering them with syrup so much so that when she was finished, you could barely tell they were apples at all. Rather, they looked like some new sort of dessert, something which belonged on her world’s banquet tables and in their kitchens. Surely now, the little girl thought, my world will now eat these candied apples! Yet when she told people of the candied apple tree, they still deferred. Why would they eat candied apples when they had their pick between the finest brownies and most scrumptious cakes? Very few came to taste the apples and those that did failed to find the apples as appealing as they once had been, returning ever so slowly to their ornate desserts and chocolate delicacies which better appeased the taste buds they were slaves to. The little girl was saddened at her failed attempt to bring her world to the apple tree, yet she herself continued to partake. However, just like those who had come and tasted, the candied apples were not as satisfying to her as they had once been, leaving her always with a longing for more. The apple’s freshness and crispness was muffled by the chocolate’s overpowering sweet taste and the little girl found even the taste of the apple less appealing. Soon, the little girl’s diet seemed to effect her no differently than those who were eating only sweets- her weight regaining and her desire for desserts returning. Yet, she knew what the true apple tree had to offer and so she refrained, conflicted between the world of desserts and the potential of the apple tree she had once found. And so, in the end, the little girl was left eating a diet of candied-apples in a dessert-infatuated world which truly only needed apples from the beautiful apple tree.
