As any good baker knows, a good muffin must have tunnels. That's why we here at Framuel's Pan Jewels live and breath the muffin method. You may not remember it, but you've definitely heard of (and probably used) the muffin method. First you mix the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients, and finally add the wet to the dry all at once and fold together. It's that simple.
One day, I was just admiring my handiwork and checking out some of the deep and complicated tunnels inside my muffins, when I saw two ants. Obviously bugs in a restaurant can cause some real problems, but I wasn't worried about that at the time. I was just amazed that the tunnels that I created were solid enough to house two little insects!
Things got a little crazier when the larger of the two ants called out. He wasn't calling out to me, it seemed like he was praying or chanting or something. But I could hear him very clearly.
"I'm so grateful that we have been able to live within these wonderful tunnels for so many months, just by moving from muffin to muffin. However, it is becoming increasingly hard to leave a muffin tunnel once we feel that it is served to a human customer. I wish there was some way my student and I could enjoy the wonderful smells and tastes of these muffin tunnels without putting our lives and the reputation of this bakery in danger."
Once I got over the initial shock of hearing an ant pray, I thought about what my next action could be. I could tell the boss, Framuel, that there was an ant problem, but that seemed like an overstatement since there appeared to be only two ants. But I couldn't keep serving muffins that had previously served as ant habitats! It seemed like the ants really like the tunnels within the muffins, and who could blame them? Muffin tunnels are the most under appreciated art within the baking world, after all.
The ants just needed a place to live, and the place had to be a muffin. I decided to help the little guys out; we did seem to have at least one great common interest. I came up with a plan. Every day, with the first batch of muffins of the day, I would take out all of the muffins from the pan except one, which I would leave in the oven for a little extra time. Then, this slightly burnt muffin could become a home for the ants. Framuel's Pan Jewels would never serve a burnt muffin to a customer; we had a reputation to uphold! I would start by just setting their current muffin home next to the burnt one, and I would leave it up to the ants to move themselves into the new tunnel.
Luckily, my plan worked. So far, none of the other bakers have noticed the ants. And the burnt muffins go unnoticed because with so many muffins every day, and the sacred muffin method to keep up, all of us bakers keep pretty busy. I even heard a prayer of thanks from the big ant a few days ago!
Author's Note: I chose to change the setting of the story from the original, which was a small island described as being similar to a frosted cake with many tunnels and caves. As soon as I read the rich imagery about the island being a frosted cake, I knew exactly how I could incorporate that into my own story. The original story is about Saint Gudwall who lives with his pupil in a small cave. Eventually, there are major storms that threaten their cave, so fish answer the saint's prayers and build a sandbar to protect the cave. I liked how in the original story, the saint obviously wasn't praying to the fish, but they are the ones who saved him. In my story I wanted to have a similar situation where the prayer worked, but it wasn't necessarily answered by who the ants expected. The reason that I chose to name the bakery Framuel's Pan Jewels is because my brother, Samuel, and I always joked growing up that that's what we would name a bakery if we ever opened one since my nickname for him is Framuel. My biggest struggle with this story was making sure that the ants in the bakery were acknowledged as a possible problem because I wanted this story to seem realistic (even if the ants are talking).
Bibliography: The Fish Who Helped Saint Gudwall; source: The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts by Abbie Farwell Brown (1900).
I really enjoyed how you switched the roles in your story compared to the original. When I think of bakers, chefs, or cooks I think of them hating the insects and animals that enter into their kitchens. This story even reminded me of Ratatouille when the rat is the one that is the better cook than the cook himself. To think of a baker saving the lives of ants and giving them a place to live within the kitchen to me is funny. I also think it is funny how the man can even hear the ant's prayer for a home! What if in fact that the ants enjoy their time so much that more of their ant friends decided to stay for good. Then the baker would run into a huge problem. But that is the great things about tales, they are made to teach a lesson and show a new side of reality. I also find this story comforting as well though; to think that a person will go out of his way to save a few ants is very comforting. It makes me have admiration and hope for the futures of men.
ReplyDeleteThat was so creative! I would have never thought about using muffins but I am not much of a baker. It sounds like you know your stuff thought! I love how the baker was the one helping the ants out because typically bugs would be a huge problems and the baker would have to get rid of them. This was a good alternate solution.
ReplyDeleteYou are a really good storyteller! I thought it was a really creative story and I am always a fan of authors that make animals come to life. It makes the story so much more personable when you made the ant talk. I have never heard this rule for muffins but then again I don't think I am much of a baker. Do you like to bake? What is your favorite kind of muffin? I feel like this story should go up in a bakery somewhere for people to read on the wall. I always enjoy places that have things you can read on the wall and I think it gives a place more character. I think it could also be used as a good story to tell children at bedtime before they go to sleep so they can dream of a bakery and talking to ants. I really like the name of the bakery you came up with too for some reason. Funny names for characters and places seem to encourage imagination and the whimsical nature of the story.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who loves to bake, this story appeals to me. It was very creative. I like how the texture that naturally appears in some baking became a home for the ants. One thing that confused me was why the ants need to change muffins every day? Can't the girls just set aide one old muffin and give the ants a permanent home?
ReplyDeleteI’m hungry now. But that’s very nice of the ant to consider the reputation of the bakery. I really liked this story. It was cute and unique. I didn’t read the Saints and Animals. I was unfamiliar with the story you used so it was completely unique to me and I really enjoyed it. It was creative and interesting. I’m really interested in the ants though and their story. I would really like to know their full story.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a creative way to adapt the story and also an adorable way. It's very creative that you changed from humans living in an island in caves, to ants living in the muffins and making the tunnels. It was great that you made the ants quite considerate and did not expose themselves, which would have caused problems for the bakery. Another creative point of your story is that you used something that already exists, rather than make something up. It was cool to use the tunnels in a muffin, that does exist, and something small, like ants, that would be able to actually be in those tunnels and travel around. I wonder what would happen if these ants told the other ants, or word got out somehow. Would the bakery be flooded with ants? Maybe you (the main character) would have to intentionally burn more muffins to help them out.
ReplyDeleteHey there, Alexandra,
ReplyDeleteGreat story! Very interesting. You did a fantastic job of keeping your reader engaged in the narrative. It was very clever of you to turn the original story line into a story about two ants living inside of a muffin. The very first sentence showed me that you knew a thing or two about baking, and the photo made me want to read more to understand why there would be a picture of a muffin on your blog. Your author's note allowed me to get an understanding of the original story and why you chose to go this direction. Great job! I like how you have italicized the portion of the story within the story, it added layers to the overall story. Your title was pretty nifty, as well. I would love to read an update on the status of these two little ants. I wonder will they have any new friends living with them, I hope not for the owner's sake. Can't wait to read more!