Everyone, the Princess, all the Elves,
and you and I, breathe in the warm soft fragrance that always comes
from well-prepared bread and rolls baking in an oven.
'When the Princess thinks enough time has passed, she says, 'It is time
to take the trays and pans from the oven.'
'The Princess opens the oven door. A gasp and a shout rise from the
Elves standing on their toes and stretching to see. Before them are
dozens of loaves of bread and hundreds of rolls, all baked to a glorious
golden brown. It is a beautiful sight.
'Using long-handled scoops, the Elves draw the bread and rolls from the
oven and set them aside to cool. While the bread and rolls are cooling,
the Princess tells the Elves again how the dough should be prepared, and
how the oven made ready for baking.
'When the Princess is satisfied that her instructions are understood, she
says,
'Now, as all good people do, let us eat bread together.'
'We all stand silently, looking at the bread. The ancient Elf rises from
where he sits and, leaning on his cane, walks slowly to where the bread is
cooling.
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