Add the Eggs
“Erm…” you begin to say before gathering your wits. “Well,” you begin, trying to figure out what to do, then remember the words of who must be this Mr. Hugo. “You know what,” you say with a smile, “I’d love to. I also have eggs and herbs if your family would like to add them to the trade? I have too many eggs to eat on my own.”
The girl’s smile grows even brighter, her eyes shining. “Thank you! Mum will be so happy!” she practically screams, then looks down at the ground and mumbles an apology. Suddenly she looks up. “Oh, I forgot to mention that you can find out if the bakeries or shops need anything like eggs and herbs. They’ll gladly buy extra off you to sell, and to add to the baked goods.”
With that the girl bobbed a curtsey and hurried off. You close the door and return to finish your rapidly cooling French toast, though you eat with renewed vigor. After your big meal you set out to enquire at the bakeries if they need eggs or herbs for their goods. You name which herbs you grow and you discover that they would be more than happy to buy whatever extra you have every week so that they can make larger quantities of herb bread and cakes.
After a promise to check how much you can take off to supply them tomorrow, you head back up to your home to collect the eggs and make bushels of herbs to take back in the morning.
Over the next few days you take eggs to your favourite bakery every morning and herbs every third, bringing in some spare money which you use to treat yourself to some pretty new clothes at a small market that opens up every five days in the town square. Since you didn’t have one, you buy yourself a light head scarf and a parasol. Also at the market your looks catch the eye of an admirer who offered to buy you the scarf and parasol but you decline his offer. He affects dejection but you brush it off and ignore the other three attempts he makes over the course of your perusal of the market.
After the market you see a poster advertising that the theater at the top of the hill is advertising a play and that actors are needed as soon as possible. You stare at it for a while before turning up towards the top of the hill, walking up instead of back home to deposit your purchases.
Written by green-eyedtiger on 10 August 2017
