Photo by Food Photographer | Jennifer Pallian on Unsplash
Tabitha licked the sweet gooey batter that dripped from her finger. Yum.
The idea of baking chocolate chip cookies had popped in her head during suppertime with her family. Now she had the kitchen to herself with no one around to warn her against eating raw dough.
She smiled and dipped her finger back into the bowl. Satisfied that her sweet-tooth was appeased (for now), she popped the first tray of cookies into the oven. Her chest puffed with pride as she went in search of her cat.
Eight minutes later the timer sounded. Tabitha reluctantly slipped away from her kitty, fully aware that any delay could burn her lovely goodies.
She slipped on her trusty oven mitts, pulled open the oven door and–
Her jaw dropped.
The cookie tray was empty.
Tabitha blinked twice before pulling the tray out and setting it on the stove. Where did the cookies go? Had she been so busy eating the raw dough that she forgot to fill the tray?
How silly.
The young girl shrugged and giggled. She hummed a tune as she filled the cookie tray. A few minutes later, she had it back in the oven.
Once more, she snuggled her kitty, thoughts of warm chocolate chip cookies tumbling through her mind.
Ding!
This time she didn’t hesitate to hop up and run to the kitchen. She pulled the tray out of the oven and–
The cookies were burned to a crisp!
She gasped. Had she set the timer correctly?
Tabitha wore a pouty-face as she dumped the cookies into the trash.
One more time, she took care to fill the cookie tray with a dozen plops of raw dough. Tray in oven. Timer set…to the correct time.
She didn’t visit her cat. Instead, she sat in a chair at the kitchen table. A stray hair fell across her eye but she didn’t bother to brush it aside. Her belly rumbled. A pleasant scent of sweetness circled around her.
This batch would be perfect.
Before the timer could ring, Tabitha skipped to the oven and shoved her hands into the oven mitts. As soon as the bell rang, she yanked open the oven.
A dozen piping hot cookies–complete with arms and legs–jumped onto her chest knocking her onto her back!
She squealed and scrambled to her feet. The cookie men ran through the kitchen and into her living room.
Tabitha screamed in horror as she opened the back door and raced into the chilly night.
****
The young girl ran screaming like a banshee and disappeared around the corner of the house.
Malek sighed. “Now look what you’ve done.” The leprechaun peeked through the window into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry, sir.” Finley, the apprentice-leprechaun, worried the edge of his cloak.
“First you make the cookies disappear, then you set them on fire. And now this? You’ll never earn your Top Level Magical badge!” Malek planted his hands on his hips. “Come on. Let’s go next door. I’ve got enough energy left to persuade one more fool into doing a little late-night baking.”
©Laura L. Zimmerman 2020