The Parable Of The Cake And Ice Cream
by Darren Stone

Once there was a little boy. The nice lady who took care of him served him cake every day. A big slice of cake, to be sure, but it was served plain, day after day. And although a big slice of plain cake seemed ok for a while, ultimately the boy wanted more.
A little more sugar, perhaps. Fancy toppings or a few nuts, sprinkles or frosting - any sign of improvement would be welcome. He asked for better cake, but the nice lady never changed the recipe.
The simple cake kept coming.

One day the little boy stood up from the table and said, "I have been eating your plain cake for a long time now, and I have wanted something better that you could not provide. So I am through eating plain cake."
And he packed his things and went on his way.

He had only walked a few short steps when a lonely pie salesman crossed his path.
"Now THIS is what I am looking for," the little boy said. "I love pies."
"Then perhaps you will join me for pie every day," said the pie-man. "I have many, many kinds of pies, and nobody to share them with."

The little boy was astounded.
Pie every day. Fancy pies. Fruit pies, custard pies, cream pies. "And all for me," he thought.
"I think I would like to join you for pie, sir. Every day."

Just then he heard a familiar voice behind him, "But how about some sweet cake with ice cream?"
It was the nice lady whose table he had recently left.
"No thanks, I'm having pie."
"But here is what you asked for - fancier cake with your favorite ice cream on top!"
The boy looked back at the pie-man with his cart full of delicious desserts and told the nice lady, "No. I'm sorry. I will be having pies every day."

The pie-man interrupted the boy, "No, you cannot have pie now. I can see that you prefer cake."
The little boy was confused. "But I don't want the cake. This new cake with ice cream looks good, and I'm certain that the nice lady will do just fine with her new recipe. I will surely have the pie now."

Again the pie-man said, "No, I think you still want cake. And now you cannot have pie for two weeks."
The nice lady said, "You can have cake and ice cream any time you want."
The little boy closed his eyes for a few moments. When he opened them, he looked at the pie-man and smiled. "I shall wait two weeks, then, and have your pies."

The pie-man said, "I'm sorry. There is no pie for you."
The little boy was sad and very much confused, but he realized that his earlier wishes, in some strange way, had come true.
He went back to the nice lady's table, and had fancy cake and ice cream every day.

The lonely pie-man stood outside and said to himself, "I was right. He didn't want my pies."