A Story for Children

There was once a little girl who lived by herself in the city. She lived in a strange, lopsided house, which made you want to crane your neck sideways to correct its defects. During working hours, the little girl was a successful businesswoman, but after work, she was the most meticulous collector of alcohol memorabilia as a little girl could be.

The interesting part was that she never drank a drop of alcohol herself. Oh, no, not she. She simply loved collecting her beloved bottles and stacking them on the shelf so that the sun rays passing through would soften the whole house in an amber tone in the mornings. On weekends, she would sit in her rocking chair and watch her clothes dry in the sun, content, while liquid amber sunshine washed over her. Unfortunately, this meant that the bottles themselves were always drunk, bring full of alcohol all the time. They tended to quarrel a lot among one another and delve into deep philosophical conversations, talking the most horrid nonsense you've ever heard.

One evening, the little girl went to the nearby alcohol store to see if there was an alcohol antique she could buy. The store keeper was joyous to see her. He considered the little girl a valuable, if scandalous, customer.

'Why, hello little girl! What will you have today?'

The little girl surveyed her options, a little disappointed. She realized that her collection was quite extensive, and it was becoming harder and harder to find a fascinating bottle of alcohol.

The store keeper saw the chagrin on her face and thought hard. He then quickly ran in and brought out a queerly striking bottle of alcohol, shaped like a happy Buddha. It seemed to be carved out of translucent orange stone, with the features beautifully defined. The little girl could not take her eyes off it.

The store keeper smiled benevolently and named a price thrice the cost of the cheap Korean packaged arrack he had received as a gift the same morning. The little girl bought it, thrilled, unable to believe her luck at having obtained what was clearly a rare piece of alcohol art.

She took the happy Buddha home, and placed it among the rest of the bottles, in the center. The others were immediately suspicious of a new comer who resembled the unfortunate union between a family member and a pot.

The happy Buddha smiled at them happily. 'Hello there, pleased to meet you,' he greeted them politely. He did not seem to be inebriated.

To be continued...