There were once three friends named Allie, Cali, and Sally. They had been living in different states since they graduated college, and now they were on
vacation together in a rental house in the Colorado mountains. One day, these friends decided to have a meal together.
Allie had a new recipe she was dying to try out, so she said, “Don’t worry, guys; I can stay home and cook today. You two can go shopping and enjoy your
day together; I will have dinner ready when you come back!”
Cali and Sally were grateful for Allie’s gesture of kindness, so they
thanked her and went to the mall for the day.
Allie began to cook a meatloaf, but she realized that she missed her
friends. However, she knew they would be having a great time shopping, so she
buckled down and finished cooking the meal for her friends.
When Cali and Sally returned, Sally said to Ali, “We had a lot of fun and bought a lot of new clothes, but I missed getting to talk and have fun with
you! What have you cooked for us?”
“Oh, I missed you as well, but I think my new meatloaf recipe is a great
one! I’m glad I could cook a meal for us to enjoy together,” Allie said.
Cali and Sally looked at each other. Cali said, “Oh, Allie, I forgot to
tell you that we no longer eat meat! You should still enjoy your meatloaf
though. Sally and I can eat cereal!”
The next day, Cali suggested that her two friends go to see a movie
while she stayed home and cooked. Allie and Sally saw the high school horror
rom-com that was sweeping the nation, and they were excited to tell Cali all
about it while eating the meal she had spent all day cooking for them.
When Cali saw her friends walking through the door she said, “Hey guys!
I had so much fun cooking macaroni and cheese for you today, and I can’t wait
to hear about the high school horror rom-com! I missed you guys while you were
gone!”
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Sally looked a little embarrassed and said, “Oh no, yesterday when I
told you that I don’t eat any animal products, I meant dairy and eggs as well;
I’m a vegan!”
That night, Allie and Cali ate their mac and cheese while Sally had
cereal. The next day was their last day together, and they wanted to
visit an art museum.
Technically, it was Sally’s turn to cook for the three of them for their
last day, but Allie and Cali didn’t really want to leave her alone all day for
their very last day.
“I’ve got an idea!” said Allie. “We can just all three stay home today
and cook together! That way we can be sure it’s something that we all want to
eat, and no one has to spend the day alone.”
Cali looked at her friends and said, “That’s the best idea I’ve ever
heard! Plus I never really understand the art in museums, but I always
understand food!”
On their final day together, Allie, Cali, and Sally made a vegetable
risotto that they all enjoyed. More importantly, they enjoyed their day
together and realized that there was strength in unity.
Author's note: I really liked reading The Three Friends: the Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao, a story from the Philippines. I wanted to keep some of the main aspects, like having three friends cooking for each other. In the original story, there is a monster-like creature, the Buñgisñgis, that tries to steal the food of a monkey, a dog, and a carabao, and the three friends try to outsmart him so they can keep their food. A carabao is a type of water buffalo that is the national animal of Philippines. In this story, each animal stays home in turn to cook, and eventually the Buñgisñgis steals all of their food. Finally, when it is the monkey's turn to cook, he traps the Buñgisñgis. Unfortunately, the dog and carabao are foolish and set the Buñgisñgis free and he attacks them. Eventually, the monkey is able to kill the Buñgisñgis with the help of a boa-constrictor.
I thought that it would be fun to add the twist of having vegetarians and vegans into the story because that perfectly fits my two best friends! One of the messages from the original story is that there is strength in unity, so I wanted to maintain that message. I think it’s really important for friends to spend time together, and cooking is always more fun with more people in the kitchen! When friends no longer live in the same place, some details about their everyday life, like eating habits, can fall through the cracks. That’s why I think it’s important to find strength in unity when you can be with your friends.
Bibliography: The Three Friends: the Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao from Filipino Popular Tales from Dean Fansler's monumental Filipino Popular Tales, published in 1921.
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