The Tales of Callah

Little Helper

Mrs. Elderberry hated doing chores. She would wait and wait until noon. When noon arrived each day she would smile and think to herself, “Its lunch time. I can’t do chores now.”, and she would plop her plump body at the kitchen table and begin her lunch.

Each after noon she would haul out the vacuum and, grudgingly begin, grumbling throughout the entire afternoon. Almost every day she would hear that her neighbors were getting visits from brownies who were doing their chores for them and other nice things. Mrs. Elderberry thought it would be very nice to have a little helper, but brownies came on their own to deserving people. Mrs. Elderberry wondered if she would ever be deserving enough. Brownies could not be persuaded, but she wondered if they would take a gift.

Brownies have a particular love of sweet things. Mrs. Elderberry decided to find out if that would attract a little brownie to help her out. Then she could spend her mornings and afternoons just sitting and reading or getting some sun on her porch. So, one night she left a small pot of honey on her windowsill and went to bed. She went to sleep confident that her brownie would be there the next day.

But when she woke up her home was empty, and she labored at her chores that afternoon.

Each day for the next week she left the small pot of honey on her windowsill, and each morning she woke up to find she alone.

Mrs. Elderberry decided to try one more time, one night. She put the pot of honey on the windowsill and went to bed. She woke with a start a while later and wondered what had awakened her. She listened and peered through the darkness. A small rustling and swishing sound was coming from the direction of her kitchen. She reached for her house coat and slippers. Without turning on the light, Mrs. Elderberry made her way to the kitchen and the noise. She didn’t want to scare her brownie away if that’s what was making the noise.

Mrs. Elderberry smiled as she entered her kitchen. A small brownie watched as her mop magically cleaned her floor. Here dishes had been cleaned and stacked neatly in the drain board.

The brownie’s small, wrinkled face stretched with a smile when he saw Mrs. Elderberry. “The honey was delicious. The kitchen is almost done. I will start on the vacuuming soon,” he said.

Mrs. Elderberry folded her hands on her stomach and smiled in satisfaction. “There will be more honey for you, a pot everyday if you like, if you stay with me and do my chores all the time.”

Suddenly the brownie wiggled his little nose and Mrs. Elderberry was thrown into one of the kitchen chairs. Try as she might she could not get up. Mrs. Elderberry was stuck fast.

The little nose wrinkled again, and the pail of mopping water fell over and onto the previously clean floor. The table cloth flew off the kitchen table and ended up in a crumple on the floor. With wrinkle after wrinkle of his nose the brownie created the biggest mess that Mrs. Elderberry had ever seen.

“Never try to bribe a brownie, Mrs. Elderberry. It can only turn out bad for you. You are not worthy of a brownie’s help,” the brownie said and disappeared, leaving Mrs. Elderberry in her thoroughly messed up house.

All the next day, Mrs. Elderberry cleaned up the mess the brownie had left.

She wondered what other magical creatures would help her. She vowed to find out.