With the beast on the floor in front of her,

With the beast on the floor in front of her, she crawled toward the hot oven. As she tried to stand

up she noticed the beast could smell some bread cooking. He stopped and said

"A bun on the floor is worth two in the oven!" and tossed it on the ground. He'd never been especially good with

recipes, particularly anything with yeast. It was just too hard to get the temperature right consistently. So much

salt or so much flour and the dough would never do. The cool Vermont air breathed into the room and Sharon knew

with a pang of regret that she would never be much of a baker, that grilling was really her passion. So Sharon took

up the spatula, the tongs, and a hunk of hamburger patties. Never had she felt

such excitment being crowned Burger Queen of the month. What next? Her aspirations of perhaps acheiving the next

overwhelmed so much she passed out

but then awoke to find her mother standing over her. She knelt by her side, holding a cup of sugar and an olive loaf.