There was
once a chocolate shop in a small town. The shop had various types of chocolate
and anyone who came in, rarely left empty handed. However, there was something
special about this shop- it was run by a wizard. The wizard was an old man. In
his prime, he had researched various spellcrafts and potions. Nowadays he didn’t
cast too many spells but he did keep his old book of potions.
One day, the
wizard had an idea. He decided to spike the chocolates he made with potions. A
shop that sold chocolate, catering to every need! A red chocolate would make
you fall in love, a green one cured colds and so on. Thus deciding on his
course of action, the wizard got out his grimoire and started brewing different
potions, enchanted with specific spells which he would then sell. The townsfolk
saw the wizard’s chimney smoking till late into the night and heard him
stirring his cauldrons as well.
After
developing a large batch of assorted magic chocolates, the wizard opened his
shop. He laid them out on the counter and he waited for his first customer of
the day. He did not have to wait very long because just then a handsome young
man of about 25 walked into the shop.
The wizard
smiled at the man and said, “Welcome to my shop. I have a confession to make to
you. The chocolates I sell are not ordinary ones. They each have cores where an
infusion of magic is stored. If you were to eat a red chocolate, you’d fall in
love with someone. A green chocolate could cure fever and cold. I have here
about twenty varieties of such magic chocolate.”
“Is that
so?” said the young man. “Well, I was looking to ask you for a favour actually.
There is this girl I am in love with. However, she doesn’t pay too much
attention to my courtship. I had come here in the hope that you could assist me
by casting some sort of spell on her. I did not know you had made chocolate
with love potion in the core. I think I’ll take five of those.”
“I must warn you that should this girl become
aware that the chocolate she ate was a magic one or if the spell performs its
function then the spell will be broken and cannot be cast again. Tread
carefully, son” said the wizard and he handed over 5 red chocolates to the man
whose name was Ralph.
It so
happened that Ralph told his mother about the wizard’s chocolates and his
mother told Mrs Lafette who told Miss Simona and soon enough the entire town
was flocking to the wizard’s shop.
“I’ll have
three black ones!”
“Give me two
whites and one pink!”
“Four blues
and two yellow ones”
The wizard
could not believe his luck. He would make chocolates in the night and by midday
they were all gone. The wizard smiled to himself and continued his trade very
successfully.
But we must
here pause and turn our attention to Ralph, who had bought five love potion
chocolates from the wizard.
Ralph’s
sweetheart was called Victoria. She lived just down the lane from the wizard’s
shop. Her father was the greengrocer of the town and Ralph taught at the local
school. He had seen Victoria on numerous occasions and had become infatuated
with her. Therefore he had started paying visits to her house trying to woo
her. Victoria enjoyed the attention, but was not ready to commit to him.
So it came
to be that Ralph paid another social call with the chocolates wrapped in a
small package which was kept in his pocket. He was met by Victoria at the gate
and she smiled at him, because she enjoyed chatting with him.
Ralph took
out the package and gave it to Victoria
“What’s
this?” she asked
“I got some
chocolates for you. Try one?” replied Ralph
Victoria undid
the wrapping and popped one into her mouth. Her teeth bit into it and something
warm came trickling out of the core of the chocolate. She suddenly found
herself attracted to Ralph, though she couldn’t understand why. She felt like
she was in a dream.
Ralph then
pledged his love to her once again, and this time due to the wizard’s potion,
Victoria said yes. And so it came to be that
Ralph began his courting with
Victoria anew.
However,
after a few days, the magic chocolates did not have an effect on Victoria and
sometimes she would be absent minded, sometimes refusing to recognize his
paying court to her altogether. Assuming the wizard had tricked him, Ralph
stormed off to his shop. It was closed, but the wizard’s hut was nearby. Ralph
went to the hut.
“Open up old
man!” he hollered, while banging on the door
The wizard
answered the door and asked who it was that disturbed him so late at night.
“I am Ralph.
You sold me chocolates laced with love potion and they do not work! You have
played false with me!”
“I told you
if the person becomes aware or if the spell performs its function completely,
then the chocolate won’t work. Maybe Victoria is in love with you already, but
acts strangely because she’s under the influence of the spell. Let it wear off,
which it should by tomorrow and try talking to her.”
“Why should
I believe you? You have tricked me!”
“Would you
doubt the wizard who made the spell you wanted to cast? There is no one better
than me who knows how his own spell works!”
“Very well,
but should you have played me false, I will not let you go”
So saying
Ralph stormed off and he met Victoria the next morning
“How are you
feeling?” he asked
“I feel like
I woke up from a strange dream, where you were by my side. We held hands, just
as we are now. I do not understand why we are holding hands now.”
“Victoria,
you know I love you. Do you not love me too?”
“No. I never
did. You were just a friend and you still are.”
Crestfallen,
Ralph said his goodbyes and left. He went back to the wizard and called him
villain and cheat and scoundrel.
“You told me
it would work! Everything you said to me was a lie. You dabble in falsehoods in
your mind. You are wicked. Wicked!”
Ralph said
his piece and the wizard could not placate him. He stormed off, breaking one of
the windows of the shop as he left.
Now, our
wizard was in a dilemma. He thought about his shop and the chocolates he sold.
He realised he was dabbling in falsehoods, because these chocolates hoodwinked
you and were not truly serving the purpose he had intended them to perform. He
became sad, and a strange feeling of disgust came over him. He flung his
chocolates here and there in fury and closed the shop.
The town did
not see or hear the wizard for the next three days. He had been busy with his
many grimoires , trying to perform magic that lasted. He had decided to stop dabbling
in lies, like he had done with his spiked chocolates. He wanted to do some good
for the town instead.
The next
night, the wizard started to cast a few spells. He cast one on the town’s
lights, which ensured that they glowed for a long time. He constructed a
fountain in the middle of the town square. He also met with the mayor of the
town and cured him of arthritis.
In this way,
bit by bit the wizard repented for his sin. He still makes his chocolate and
sells it in his little shop, but none of the chocolates are laced with
anything. The next time I go to the town, I shall bring you a bag of chocolate
from the wizard.
The Bilge Master
