Little Liza's Little Lesson

A Hans Christian Andersen Inspired Fairy Tale, By Me for my Hans Christian Andersen class. Not my best work, but it was a nice distraction from some current personal trauma.


“Clang,” the clock at the corner church chimed, informing little Liza that it was a quarter to nine and almost time for breakfast. As she threw on her finest spring dress and ran downstairs her mood was elevated by the smell of new roses blooming outside making her giddy, until she arrived at the morning meal table and saw that for breakfast she was given a bowl of plain oats while her brothers received chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon. It had been this way since poor little Liza’s father had remarried. She had come to accept this treatment at mealtime, because you see, Liza could not taste. Everything put it her mouth was like chewing cotton in taste and texture. Liza’s new stepmother did not think that it was worth the money to buy the same fine things for Liza to eat as the rest of the family. She thought it was bad enough to have to feed a flawed child, and had convinced Liza’s father long ago that the child could survive just fine on oats and oats alone.
Liza lived day after day tormented by the smells of her family meals, longing to experience what it would be like to have the ability to savor a morsel food.
After breakfast, Liza returned to her room to have a tea party with her toys. The only play sets that little Liza’s stepmother would buy her were tea sets, play kitchens, and other toys aimed to mock the child. The newest addition to Liza’s toy collection was a magnificently hand painted chef doll. She smiled with perfect pink lips and wore an apron and tall white hat; she was the most beautiful thing Liza had ever seen. Liza set her new Chef Doll at the head of her table, and the party started.
“May I offer you some more tea Miss. Chef Doll?” Liza asked as she poured plain water into a dainty teacup placed in front of her newest party member.
“Oh yuck! Why do I only get water? At my old home we always had Earl Grey at our parties! And what is that? Oats! Where are the finger sandwiches?” Complained the Chef Doll. Liza’s eyes started to fill with tears, but an old tired stuffed rabbit that had been with Liza since birth as a present from her real mother explained the situation to the Chef.
“I am so very sorry Liza, I did not mean to offend. What a terrible life to go without taste! There must be some way to fix you. Have you tried going to the berry bush? At my old home all the Chef dolls dreamt of one day being able to cook with a berry from the Berry Bush. It is said that they are so sweet, a single berry will satisfy you for a year!”
Liza had never heard of such a thing. With support from the Chef Doll she decided that if anything could make her taste again, it would be a berry from the Berry Bush. The Chef Doll did not know where the Berry Bush was located, but assumed it would be outside since that is typically where bushes grow. Leaving the Chef Doll at home, as not to get dirt on her perfect face, Liza set off away from her home of oats and started her search for a new life of tasting.
She did not make it very far away from home before she was distracted by the scent of the rosebush from the morning. She approached the roses and inhaled deeply. Her nose brushed up against a rose petal and the rosebush burst out in giggles, “that tickles!”
“Oh goodness!” shrieked Liza, surprised by the bush’s outburst. She was used to rosebushes being much more demure, but since the ice was already broken she continued, “Rosebush, do you happen to know where I may find the Berry Bush?”
The rosebush replied, “The Berry Bush is a very dear friend of mine, but why would you need to find her? Are you going to try to gain the sense of taste? I have been meaning to suggest that to you for years, but you have never talked to me before. Oh I am so glad that you are going to be able to taste! She lives right down the path a little ways through the forest into the meadow.”
Liza thanked the Rosebush and followed the path as per directions, but suddenly there was a large commotion a few feet ahead of her. A large tree had fallen completely blocking her view of the path. She heard a sweet song soaring above her and saw a blue bird flying high above. She called out to the bird “Excuse me! Excuse me! Can you help me? I could not help but notice your song and cannot believe that a song so lovely could come from an unhelpful creature. I cannot see the path, but you are so high above you can see for miles in all directions!”
The bird was ever so helpful in leading Liza the right way, and she soon made it to the Berry Bush. The Berry Bush had heard through the grape vine that she was coming and greeted her as an old friend, ready to offer her assistance.
It was the moment of truth, and Liza reached out to pick a bright red berry and placed it on her tongue. The smooth texture was unlike anything she had ever experienced, and as she bit down juice filled her mouth. For the first time she tasted. Her mouth awakened as a sense and she felt complete and perfectly satisfied. The Berry Bush told her that now that she was satisfied she could walk away and live a new life of experiencing food. She knew that she should walk away, but the berry was so good she reached for another. The Berry Bush begged her to stop, but Liza was out of control. Liza ate all the berries.
When all the berries were gone Liza frantically put everything in her mouth she could find, eating everything, all while running back home to show her step-mother her new ability to taste and boast about finding a solution. Just before arriving home, she stopped at her last bush and popped a mysterious grey berry into her mouth. The berry tasted like copper and soot, and filled her mouth and nose with a putrid smell. Liza ran for water and tried to flush the taste away, and she did just that, but it did not stop at her taste. Liza had stripped both her taste and her sense of smell away!
Her stepmother appeared just in time to see Liza weeping by the Rosebush, desperately holding rosebuds against her nose inhaling, then wailing loudly. She walked away ignoring the little girl’s foolishness.
Liza collapsed by the Rosebush, who turned to her and said, “You poor dear, but that is what happens when we can never feel content. You were so happy after just one berry, why continue on to more? After tasting the sweetest berry what made you so anxious to taste everything? You already knew that nothing could be sweeter; you should have trusted the ones who loved you. Was it not enough to look at your new Chef Doll’s sweet face, or smell my sweet fragrance? What about the helpful bird’s sweet song? These sweets you already had, yet we wanted you to be able to see that you are not flawed so we helped lead you to the gift of taste.”
Liza realized what the Rosebush said was true. Her only flaw the entire time had been her yearning to be something she was not. The joy she had felt every morning smelling the roses meant more to her than the hour of gluttonous tasting. Liza determined herself to spend every day enjoying those things that she could with her site, touch, and hearing. The next time her stepmother complained about the stench coming from her brothers after their refusal to shower, Liza just sat back and smiled looking at the beauty of the rosebush through the window and eating her oats.