Chocolate Cake With Peanut Butter Icing

Fifty years ago, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful princess. She was the most beautiful little girl in the entire kingdom, with pretty dark curls and eyes as blue as the bluest blueberries. The King and Queen were delighted with her. But the wee princess had a problem; she refused to drink her milk.

She never gave a reason. She just didn't drink it. Everytime the royal servants poured her a glass, she shook her head, wrinkled her tiny button nose and said, "yuck!"

"But you need milk to grow big and strong," they'd tell her, but she still refused.

The King and Queen were very worried. They didn't know what to do. The King called on his Army for help and they answered the call. Young soldiers, strong and handsome, came from all over the land, bringing the Princess special treats and gifts, all hers for the taking, if only she'd drink the milk. One sip is all they asked. She couldn't be persuaded.

Desperate, the King issued a Royal Proclimation throughout the land, offering a large reward for anyone who could give him a way to convince the Princess to drink her milk. Everyone in the village came forth with suggestions. Some said he should be more stern and make her sit at the table untle she drank it, but he didn't want to do that. Others offered special potions to turn the milk fun colours. None of it worked. The King and Queen were beginning to loose hope.

One day, after everyone had given their suggestions, an old lady came to the Palace. She was weak and tired. She asked to speak to the King. The guard refused, telling her that the King was very busy with important business. She insisted. The guard looked back at the Queen, who was sitting in the living room. She nodded, allowing the woman to come in.

She bowed to the Queen and looked around the grand room. It was so beautiful, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. She saw a picture on the table in the corner and asked the Queen about it.

"That's the King and his grandmother," she said.

The old lady nodded, "please tell his majesty that the answer is in that photo," she turned to walk out, "I'll not take any more of your time."

The Queen called to her, "wait!" she commanded, "what do you mean?"

The old lady turned to face her, briefly, "I mean what I say," she replied, "the answer you seek is in the picture."

The Queen had no idea what the woman was talking about, but she told the King at once. He stared at the photo of him and his grandmother. He had loved her very much. She made the very best chocolate cake ever, chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. He ran to the kitchen and started furiously throwing things into a bowl and commanded, "find me that woman, bring her to me immediately!"

The staff scrambled to do as they were told while the King continued tossing this and that into his mixing bowl.

A while later, the woman was brought before the King. He smiled at her and invited her to sit at the Royal dining table. She graciously accepted. He then called for the Princess, "Princess Misty," he sang, "I have a surprise."

The young girl skipped out to the dining room as quick as her tiny legs could carry her, she loved surprises. The King turned around, went to the kitchen and returned with a cake and a glass of milk. He placed the milk in front of the child, looking knowingly at the old woman.

"Yuck," she said.

He cut a slice of cake and placed it beside the milk, "try this," he said.

The Princess' eyes were as wide as saucers. The cake looked so delicious, moist and tall! She took her fork and tried a piece. It was as good as it looked, the chocolate of the cake mixed with the light peanut butter of the icing made a wonderfully sweet combination. Before she even thought about it, she had gulped down all her milk along with the cake. She realized suddenly that she liked cake and she liked milk.

The King and Queen were very pleased and the old lady was given a very valuable reward for helping. She and the King and Queen became the best of friends. And the Princess continued to drink her milk and grew up to be strong and beautiful indeed.