STORYTELLING: A Too-True-Fru

Once upon a time, there was a rather ordinary and average fru (pronounced froo) who wanted very much to flee from fru-dom once and for all; to discover life on the other side of the fence, in that greener land where the GURUS lived.

“Ah, the wonderful gurus!” she sighed. “THEY have their acts together. THEY know the secrets of happiness.” She often stared at the mountains, wet with dew, and convinced herself that leaving was the very thing she should do.

However, the opportunity to go never presented itself. Every morning, more and more impatient she grew – impatient with dusting pews (the benches used as chairs in fru-dom) and milking cows, whose bellows and “mooooos” only infuriated her. She went from much ado (about nothing) to being in a stew (over everything). “When will I EVER try something new?” she sobbed into her pillow at night. “My life is so dull – boo hoo hoo hoo hoo!”

As it was, the fru-dom mayor – who happened to be her father – lectured her till his face was blue. “You can’t leave fru-dom, my dear, you’re part of our gene pool! Nonsense! No running away! And besides, who would work in the kitchen,” (as if that was the most important thing one could do), “And concoct all that good-cinnamony-goo for our prunes?”

Chances for adventure seemed few - nil, in fact. If only she could take her magical cue (if there was such a thing) and vamoose: fall in love with a handsome guru, and live happily ever after as a transplanted, fru-gone-guru!

One cloudy night when the full moon peeked through, she put on her heavy traveling shoes and away she flew. The darkness pressed in, and with it, great fear. Still, she climbed the tall fence and trotted on, determined to shoo (like a fugitive fly) from the land of the fru. “I will be a guru! I can and I will! They can’t stop me! They don’t have a clue!”

To short-cut this story, I’ll tell you the end. Miss Fru found the gurus beyond the wild blue, but they turned all her dreams upside-down-and-askew. They weren’t grand, royal prince-types at all, no-siree. They were stuck-up and haughty – real losers and goons! Without any delay she said her adieus; did a u-turn, and went home to her diet of prunes. She was happy at last to just be who she was: a contented, real-for-sure-and-honest-to-goodness, too-true, fru.

I’m glad she figured this out – aren’t you?