Not Another Carrot!

Hugo: Carrots again! At breakfast! This is an outrage so enormous, Mother, I can barely sit at this table! Maya: Good morning, my storm cloud. Would you like some tea? Hugo: Tea will not solve the carrot situation. Maya: No, but it may help you discuss it without thumping the floor into pieces. Hugo: I have had carrots for breakfast, carrots for lunch, carrots for supper, and carrots in between. Every meal, every day. My ears are beginning to feel orange. Maya: Mm. That does sound very serious. Would one crunchy carrot help while you explain? Hugo: That is exactly the sort of question that has brought us to this tragic moment. Maya: Then tell me what you want. Hugo: Variety! Anything with a different color, a different crunch, a different... everything! I am a rabbit, not a carrot storage cupboard. Maya: Oh, my. A storage cupboard? Hugo: Do not laugh. This is a breakfast revolt. Maya: I hear the revolt, darling. Now, perhaps its leader should look beneath the sugar jar. Hugo: Why? Maya: Because you have been glaring at it as though it insulted you. Hugo: ...There is a tiny notebook here. Maya: Is there? Hugo: It says, “Carrot Menu.” Maya: Mm-hm. Hugo: You planned this? Maya: I planned something, yes. Hugo: Mother... what is on the next page?

Hugo: Mother! This is an outrage! Breakfast is carrots again! Maya: Good morning to you too, my thundercloud. Hugo: I am waving the Carrot Menu in protest. Breakfast carrots, lunch carrots, dinner carrots. Carrots in circles, carrots in sticks, carrots pretending they are not carrots. Maya: Mm. Very serious allegations. Shall I inspect the evidence? Hugo: It is orange evidence! Maya: What if breakfast were carrot pancakes? Warm little rounds, crisp at the edges, with butter melting into them. Hugo: Pancakes should be pancakes. Maya: These would be pancakes. Hugo: Carrot pancakes are suspicious pancakes. Maya: Fair. Then carrot-smushed jam on toast? Sweet and sticky, with a little cinnamon. Hugo: That is carrots wearing jam’s hat. Maya: Oh, Hugo, you do see through disguises. Hugo: I see through everything. Especially orange things. Maya: Then perhaps a carrot-shaped muffin. Hugo: A carrot-shaped muffin? Maya: Golden and fluffy, with one tiny raisin eye. Hugo: Why does it have an eye? Maya: So it can look brave before you eat it. Hugo: That is... slightly interesting. Maya: Slightly is a very promising amount. Hugo: But why are there always carrots? Maya: Because the garden gave us so many this harvest, sweetheart. Your father planted them by the fence, remember? And when I smell them baking, I think of warm burrows and everyone safe at the table. Hugo: Hmph. Maya: How about this. One carrot pancake, and one slice of apple beside it. Hugo: A big slice? Maya: A very respectable slice. Hugo: With cinnamon? Maya: With cinnamon. Hugo: Then the muffin can keep its eye.