To Make a Good Sweet

The little girl had no interest in money. Most small children don't until a grownup makes a big deal out of a little coin. She did have an interest in sweets, though. And those cost money. 

    So she worked for the witch. Doing odd jobs, milking the goats, making cheeses. Gardening. Tending the hives.

    The witch paid in goods, and the little girl could sell them or eat them as she chose. Honey, she discovered, was sweet. Add the cream from the goat's milk over high heat, and it made a very good sweet indeed. 

    It was an interesting day when the girl discovered that she could make her own sweets without money. It was an even more interesting day when she realized she could exchange her sweets for a new pair of socks, or to the cobbler for patch on her boot, or to the shopkeeper for a new book.

    The little girl grew up, and found she cared very little for money. 

    But only, perhaps, because she could make a very good sweet. 

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