Loaves: A Short Short Story

This short short story contains mild potty humor, but nothing that I would consider inappropriate or non-child-friendly. Please enjoy.

There once was a young lady named Sarah Sweet who lived with her mother in the town of Bakersville. They were famous for their fresh baked loaves of bread. Whenever they heard someone in town was sick, they, being a good and generous women, would bake some up and deliver it in person. It brought them so much joy to see a sick person's eyes light up at the sight of one of their soft, warm loaves. The whole town loved the Sweets' bread.

After a while, the people of Bakersville came to love the bread too much. Some of them began to take advantage of the Sweets' good nature. Day after day, people began pretending to be sick so that Sarah and her would bring them some delicious bread. It didn't take long before the Sweets were overwhelmed with requests.

One day, in the middle of a baking frenzy, Sarah's mother passed out right on the kitchen floor. Sarah rushed to her side.

"You shouldn't even think of baking anymore today, mother," said Sarah.

"You're right," said Mother Sweet. "My head is in terrible pain. Would you go to the store and get me some medicine?"

"Certainly, mother," said Sarah with a warm smile.

"You're such a good girl, Sarah," said Mother Sweet. "A very good girl."

When Sarah arrived at the drugstore, behind the counter was her friend, Perky Johnson.

"Hello, Sarah," he said. "How can I help you?"

"My mother's got an awful headache," said Sarah. "I'm here to get her some medicine."

Perky was happy to fetch it. "Gee, Sarah, I'm sorry to hear about your mom," he said, upon returning. "She's such a nice lady. Why, just last week, she made my dad a loaf of fresh bread and he wasn't even sick!"

"He wasn't?" Sarah asked. "But he told us he had the flu."

"You must have heard him wrong," said Perky.

"But, when we came to bring him the bread, he was sick in bed with an ice pack and everything," said Sarah.

Perky looked confused. "Maybe he only thought he had the flu."

Sarah became angry. "Perky, your father is a doctor! He should know if he has the flu or not!"

Sarah turned and began to storm out. Suddenly she remembered her mother's medicine. She went back to the counter and paid for it in silence. While Perky was counting out her change, something caught her eye. It was a little bottle, standing all alone on a little shelf. It gave her an idea.

"Will that be all, Sarah," Perky asked.

"Actually, I'd like one more thing." Sarah smiled. "May I please have that bottle over there?"

When Sarah came home, she found her mother up and baking. "Mother! You should be resting!" she exclaimed.

"I know," said Mother, "But Dr. Johnson just called. He wife's come down with a nasty fever."

Sarah was sure that Dr. Johnson was lying again. She wanted to make sure it never happened again.

"You go rest, mother. I'll bake them some bread."

"You're a good girl, Sarah," said Mother Sweet. "A very good girl."

Once her mother had gone to bed, Sarah started mixing the batter for the bread. In went the eggs, the flour, and the sugar. This was going to be a wonderfully tasty bread, Sarah was sure. At last, it was time to add the final ingredient. She took out the bottle she had purchased at the drugstore and emptied its contents into the batter. As she mixed it in, she thought of how perfect this loaf would be.

Sarah found Mrs. Johnson at home on the sofa, moaning and writhing, with an ice pack on her forehead. The poor woman was delighted to recieve the loaf.

"Oh, Sarah," she said. "I'm so moved by this gift."

"You certainly will be," said Sarah, but Mrs. Johnson was too busy scarfing down her present to hear her.

The next day, there were no new requests for bread. The Sweets spent their free time doing all the household duties they had neglected while baking. As she was emptying the trash bin, Mother Sweet made a puzzling discovery.

"Sarah," she asked. "What is this empty bottle of laxative doing here?"

Sarah smiled. "It's nothing, mother. I just had to get rid of a little problem."