Nothing in the Cookie Jar

Mom always let the kids help bake the cookies. That way, everyone earned their cookies, and everyone had a stake in the cookie supply. Everyone had a job: gathering ingredients, mixing, rolling, cutting, baking, and so forth.

Georgie's job was to look after the cookie jar.

One day, Georgie came rushing into the living room in a panic.

"Cookie crisis! Cookie crisis!" he cried. "The cookie jar is empty!"

"What do you mean, the cookie jar is empty?" asked Mary suspiciously.

"I mean, there are no cookies in the jar!" gasped Georgie.

"That's impossible," said Mary. "We just baked a great big batch. Mom said there would be enough for a month."

"But there's more demand for cookies than there are cookies!" insisted Georgie. "But don't worry! I have a plan! All of you will give me all your money, and I'll buy you private -- I mean, personal -- cookies. Then you can do whatever you want with your personal cookies. You won't have to ask Mom, or anything! Before you know it, you'll have more cookies than you know what to do with!"

"Mom! Are we out of cookies?"

"Of course not, dear," answered Mom from another room. "We have plenty for days and days."

"The cookie jar is empty!" cried Georgie again.

"Hey, I've got an idea," said Denny. "Why don't we just take a look in the cookie jar and see what's there?"

"What? Don't you trust me?" pouted Georgie.

"Actually, no," said Denny. "Let's have a look."

"No way!" bristled Georgie. "I'm in charge of the cookie jar!"

Most of the other children nodded somberly. "He's the cookie jar monitor," they said. "If you can't trust the cookie jar monitor, who can you trust? Besides, if we looked in the cookie jar, we'd see what a big liar he is, and then we might have to do something. "

"Say," observed Denny, "what's that leaking out of the corners of Georgie's mouth?"

"Looks like chocolate to me," said Mary. "Like the chocolate chips in the cookies." And indeed, a brown liquid dribbled from the corners of Georgie's mouth down onto his shirt.

"No, it isn't!" snapped Georgie. "You're changing the subject! There's a cookie crisis! You have to give me your money!"

"But what's that all over Georgie's shirt?" asked Denny.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say, cookie crumbs," said Mary.

"Cookie crisis!" replied Georgie quickly. "Personal cookie accounts! That's what we need!"

"And what are those round things stuffing Georgie's pockets?" asked Denny.

"And falling out on the carpet!" added Mary. "They look a lot like cookies to me."

"Nonsense!" shouted Georgie. "These aren't ... those cookies ... They're, uh, ... my own personal cookies! Yeah, that's it! Like I was telling you! See how well my plan works?"

"Hey, what happened to Georgie's right hand?" asked Denny. "Why's he holding it behind his back?"

"Oh, I see!" said Mary. "The cookie jar is hanging from it!"

"Is not! Is not!" retorted Georgie. "That's just a ... weight! Yeah. I'm working out!"

"But why can't he get his hand out?" wondered Denny. "I've never gotten my hand stuck."

"Ah," said Mary. "He's holding so many cookies, he can't get his hand out without letting go, and he's too greedy to do that."

"Personal cookies!" howled Georgie. "That's the answer to the cookie crisis!"

"Funny thing," observed Mary. "Doesn't seem like there was a cookie crisis until you started sticking your hands in the cookie jar."