A Rainy Night

Cool, wet weather puts me in the mood to bake. I made peanut butter cookies and homemade bread. My son came by and he took a cookie on his way out. My husband loves freshly baked bread. I'm working on a story about a little boy that sells meat pies. Meat pies are a favorite snack food in Belize. Enjoy!

Little Meat Pie Boy
Early each morning, Ramon walked to the village market with his bucket full of meat pies. Each afternoon he returned with an empty bucket and his pockets full of coins and dollars. The villagers called him the “Little Meat Pie Boy.”
Near Ramon’s village lived a demanding old lady. One morning, she met Ramon with his bucket full of meat pies.
“Stop little boy,” called the old lady. “Give me all your meat pies.”
“No,” said Ramon. “I must take them to the market. I can’t give them to you.”
“Is that so?” said the old lady. “Then I’ll take you and your meat pies too.” With that she grabbed Ramon and put him in her sack. Away she ran toward her little bamboo hut. Halfway the road she remembered her cassava bread at the market. “I must go for my bread before somebody eats it.”
A man was picking coconuts near the roadside. “Watch my sack,” she told the man and she hurried towards the market.
When she was gone, Ramon called, “Please let me out. The old lady wants to eat me and my meat pies!” The man untied the sack and freed him. Ramon thanked the man and asked him to help fill the sack with coconuts. Ramon then hurried to the market along another path.
Back came the old lady with her cassava bread. She took the sack and swung it over her shoulder. “I must be tired for this boy and his meat pies feel heavy,” she moaned.
When she reached her hut and opened her sack out rolled the coconuts. “WHERE’S MY DINNER?” she yelled and she threw a coconut out the window.
The next morning Ramon left earlier than usual, hoping the old lady wouldn’t see him. She was waiting behind a giant mahogany tree. “Give me your meat pies,” she told Ramon waving her bony arms to keep him from passing.
“No!” said Ramon. “I must sell my meat pies at the market.”
“Is that so?” asked the old lady, “Then I’ll take you and your meat pies too.” She threw him and his bucket of meat pies into her sack. Off she ran towards her little bamboo hut. She almost reached her hut when she remembered.
“I left my magic herbs at the market. I must get them before somebody uses them.”
She saw a man filling a wagon with white dusty stones. “Watch my sack,” she cried and ran off towards the market.
When the she had gone, Ramon called, “Help me! The old lady wants to eat me and my meat pies.” The man hurried over and untied the sack. Ramon thanked the man and asked him to help fill the sack with the stones. Ramon ran down another path to the market.
When the old lady returned to her sack, it was so heavy that she couldn’t pick it up. “The sun has made you fatter,” she said. She bent over and started to drag the sack the rest of the way to her hut. She untied the sack to find nothing but stones. “WHERE’S MY DINNER!” she yelled, and kicked the stones. White dust covered her from head to toe.
The next morning, Ramon decided to wear a disguise. He wore one of his mother’s scarves, her skirt and her apron to fool the old lady. As he walked pass a tall hedge of red hibiscus out popped the old lady. She grabbed him with her brown wart covered hands.
“Give me those meat pies,” she ordered.
“No!” yelled Ramon. “I must sell them at the market.” He struggled to get free.
“Is that so?’ asked the old lady. “Then I’ll take you and your meat pies too.” The old lady wrapped her spaghetti arms around Ramon and rolled him and his bucket into her sack. As she walked up the path to her little bamboo hut, she remembered her new pot that she had left at the market.
“I must return to the market to get my new pot before he gives it away.” This time she carried her sack inside her hut. “You won’t get away this time,” she laughed and she placed a huge padlocked on the door.
After she had gone, Ramon took his mother’s sharp pair of scissors from the pocket in her apron and he cut a hole in the sack. He searched and filled the sack with bags of her magic dust. He sewed the hole. He removed a board from the side of her hut and squeezed through. He ran along the sea shore to the market.
The old lady rushed inside with her new pot. She untied the sack. “Now I will have my dinner served in my new pot.” She lifted the sack to empty it into her pot. Out poured the bags filled with her magic dust. “WHERE’S MY DIN DIN DIN NEEER? AH AH AH CHOOOO! Her magic dust caused her to sneeze so hard that she disappeared.
Early each morning, Ramon walked to the village market with his bucket full of meat pies. Each afternoon, he would return with an empty bucket and his pockets full of coins and dollars. The villagers called him the “Little Meat Pie Boy.”