Once upon a time in the castle of King Ofital there was a Cook by the name of Alwaise Alwaise Rises. She was not always a cook.

Alwaise Rises started as a delivery girl bringing sacks of flour and sugar to the castle. Always on time, always courteous, and always bringing the best flour and sugar in the land, the delivery girl received little recognition from the king's Royal Cook.

One day, the delivery girl brought her flour and sugar and banged on the castle's back door, but the Royal Cook did not answer. So the delivery girl let herself in. As she set down a sack of flour, King Ofital suddenly appeared demanding that the Royal Cook bake him a Flobensnoben Cake immediately. Recognizing an opportunity, the delivery girl curtsied and smiled and told the King that she would deliver a Flobensnoben Cake by the noon hour.

Not one to panic, the delivery girl went into the pantry, found the ingredients for Flobensnoben Cake, baked the cake, and before noon she delivered it to the King.

King Ofital was so happy to have his cake and eat it too that he fired the Royal Cook and hired the delivery girl in her stead. He dubbed her Cook Alwaise Rises.

Cook Alwaise Rises became famous for her Flobensnoben Cake and for years and years King Ofital ordered the same cake for every special occasion. Late one evening, King Ofital burst into the kitchen and told Cook Alwaise Rises that he had a Change of Plan. Important People would arrive at the castle the next day and he did not want FlobenSnobben Cake. He wanted a Newmeal Tart and he wanted it baked by morning.

Not one to panic, Cook Alwaise Rises went to the pantry to look for ingredients for Newmeal Tart. On the first shelf she saw all of the ingredients for Flobbensnobben Cake. On the second shelf she saw all of the ingredients for Every Breakfast, on the third shelf she saw all of the ingredients for Every Noon meal, and on the Top shelf she saw all of the ingredients for Every Dinner. Now she panicked, she didn't see ingredients for Newmeal Tart. Surely the King would be angry and fire her if he could not have his Newmeal Tart by morning.

She pulled up a stool to the pantry shelves and eyed each ingredient on each shelf. Up on her tippy-toes she peered into every tin, basket, bag, and bin. Finally, she saw some things she could use and she climbed down from the stool with an armload of ingredients and set out to make her first Newmeal Tart.

At dawn the King arrived in the kitchen to taste the Newmeal Tart. After his first bite, he smiled and smacked his lips and said to cook, “I knew you could make this tasty treat -- I dub you Royal Cook Alwaise Alwaise Rises.” And the Cook curtsied and smiled back.

The moral of this fable is:

The pantry often has the ingredients that you need.

(This fable is brought to you by Gail Toft-Vizzini.)