The Princess and the Sandwich.

Our writing program is Classical Writing-Aesop. It is the beginning level of the Classical Writing program. I had been doing it last Spring with just my son. This fall, I've decided to fold my daughter into it as well. The format of the program is very simple. At the beginning of the week you read a folk tale or bit of anecdotal history and then the child re-tells the story in his or her own words in various ways (Like using mostly dialogue, or changing the characters, etc. Then one uses it to work on mechanics and word choice and writes a few drafts until the final copy.)

Today's story was the Princess and the Pea. An incident with my daughter tonight inspired this, my own re-telling.

A lowly chef toiled in a sandwich shop. He longed to be a personal chef, but he wouldn't work for just anyone. He had to work for someone discerning, someone who would appreciate his work with the most perspicacious palate.

One day, the most bedraggled customer came in. Her hair was lank. Her shirt was stained.

"I wonder," she said, in a high, haughty tone, "I wonder how good your sandwiches are to eat?"

Biting his tongue, the chef was most polite as he asked her how she would like him to prepare her sandwich.

"What would you like, Madam?"

"Ham and cheese on a bagel." she said. "With the cheese sliced thinly."

"Ok. A Bagel, toasted or not?"

"Butter or not?"

"No butter, then. Mustard?"

"No mustard but mayonnaise."

"So you want an untoasted bagel with just mayonnaise, ham and thinly sliced cheese. Is that it?"

And then came the imperious command: "Do not put the mayonnaise next to the cheese."

"Madam," he said, "Would you be looking for a chef?"

And she was.