A tale....

A hungry boy wandered in front of a bakery. He smelled the bread, and after he caught the attention of the baker, he asked if he might have a loaf, as he had not eaten in several days.

The baker told him that he might be able to have a loaf, but because it was so early in the day, he did not want to give away something that might be sold. So the boy waited paitiently behind the bakery, passing the time by daydreaming of the delicious bread and the full belly it would yield, and by playing his pipe, at which he was quite nifty. Finally, the end of the day came, and the baker came out to the boy. He told the little boy that he had several loaves of bread left, but he needed to feed his family at home. He told the boy that if there were any bread left after he fed his family, it might be possible for the boy to get some of it. So, the boy waited outside the house, playing his pipe, and dreaming about his coming dinner. But after some time, the baker reappeared, and told the boy that he had to feed his pigs and his chickens. If there was any left after that, perhaps the boy could have a bite.

And the days passed this way, with the boy growing hungrier and hungrier, and the baker offering the possibility of food that never came. After a week, the boy began to suspect that the baker did not have his best interests at heart. Perhaps he was only keeping the boy interested in the bread, because he enjoyed hearing his nifty piping? The customers would often come outside to hear him play and would sometimes enter into such a splendid mood that they would buy a cupcake for their children. Whatever the baker's motives, the boy began to grow suspicious, and hungrier, and hungrier.

Finally, one morning, when the baker arrived for work, the boy hid behind a barrel of flour. Just as the baker was throwing his loaves into the oven, the boy jumped out and shoved him in, along with the day's goodies. While the baker and his bread baked in the oven, the boy set a beautiful table, with cloth napkins, fine plates, and a goblet of wine. And after he ate the baker, along with two whole loaves of bread, delicious hot bread, he strolled down the road with a full belly, playing his pipe niftily.