The Candied Apple Tree
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, binging 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. One day, though, this little girl stumbled upon an apple tree. She had never before 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 try, and so she bit into the unknown fruit.
What beautiful delicacy! The little girl found this one apple more satisfying than any dessert she had ever tasted. It did not taste likes her cakes or confections, not coating her tongue in sweetness or showering her taste buds in sugar. But rather, the apple quenched her thirst, each bite bringing a new splash of freshness and newness, washing all other taste from her mouth and starting anew. Unlike her world’s desserts, after finishing the apple, the girls’ hunger was left satisfied and full.
And so the little girl’s diet changed. No longer did she crave her chocolates and caramels and sweets. Rather, everyday she would journey back to the apple tree and be 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 accepted and found themselves also in love with the apple tree but her many of her friends resisted for 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 and no longer did she partake of the sweets and desserts that they once had relished in together. Her newfound diet was peculiar to them and so, wary and uncertain of these apples she consumed, they 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 it its thickness and covering it with syrup so much so that when she was finished, you could barely tell it was an apple at all. Rather, it looked like some new sort of dessert, something which belonged on her’s world 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 differed. 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 came 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 reflect no differently than those who were eating only sweets- her weight regaining and her desire for desserts returning. Yet, she knew of what the true apple tree had to offer and so she refrained, remaining in a conflicted world 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 her dessert-infatuated world whom really only needed apples from the beautiful apple tree.