The Ballad of the Mr. Chung and the orange babies

The Ballad of the Oranges

Mr. Chung was a happy, single father orange who had five children. They lived a simple life on a pantry shelf belonging to a kind Japanese chef. His wife died when giving birth to the tiny orange babies. But he did not mope around about it. Instead, he just told stories to his children all day. They loved their life until the day of the annual Japanese festival.

The Japanese festivals were beautiful and bright. All the dragon kite makers made a whole bunch of sparkling kites along with the little families cooking homemade meals. But to make the festivals complete, they needed the fat chefs to bake some delicious treats. Everyone knew what amazing things the village chef could create. He made thick coconut cream pie with sweet crust, the most amazing cookies, and of course, his orange cream meringue pie. He refused to sell it and only made one pie a year, for he loved oranges. He knew he would have to use the orange family, which saddened him deeply. He had to tell them, soon.

"You will never guess what happened next. He-" Mr. Chung was interrupted when he heard the chef open the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have sad news. I have to make you into my pie for the festival. I have to do it tonight. I am terribly sorry, but it's my duty," the kind chef left the oranges to mourn.

"NOOOO! EEEYYYEEEYYI! WAAAHHAA!" Mr. Chung and his children cried. They did not want to be eaten and wasted. They cried their citrus tears, and sniffed. "Wait," Mr. Chung stopped crying,"This is a good thing. We get to be made into a beautiful pie and be loved by the people. We shall be heroes! Come on, cheer up. It will be okay. It always gets ugly before it gets pretty," Mr. Chung said. A couple hours later, the chef came back with a bowl and other ingredients. He started by gently peeling the oranges. Next, he mixed the blended juicy orange with cream and vanilla. Lastly, he put the beautiful pie in the oven. At first, Mr. Chung and his children enjoyed the warm oven but then, it got really hot. The top of the pie turned golden and the inside got nice and soft. It hurt a little, but afterward, that pie was extraordinary. The chef carried the fresh baked pie to his stand at the festival. It was almost midnight and the fireworks lit up the rich, dark sky. Slice, after slice, the pie was gone. But it was his choice, Mr. Chung wanted to make a sacrifice to make others happy. Besides, the liked the new view of the inside of a tummy and made some nice friends in there.