Modern Day Fairy Tale

I still like to believe in magic, the kind of magic that places benevolent beings in the world that help others. Recently I had such an encounter, and the story needs to be told.

It began much like many fairy tales, in a land far far away (from Cheese that is, our normal good-fairy) where a poor couple lived, who worked hard every day. The wife would diligently (and sometimes not too diligently) try to keep their small abode clean and orderly, while trying to work outside the home as well. The husband would drive great lengths and distances to keep his small business (aka Radioshack-land) running more or less smoothly. Normally in fairy tales, the honest hard working man is often the recipient of the 'acts of kindness' but this time was a little different.

After one long day of work for the wife, she was just finishing up the dishes when she saw that she had missed one pan. Sighing to herself, she wished she had seen the pan earlier, before she had dumped out her wash water. However, as it was late at night, and the wife was tired, she hung the pan up in its place and vowed to clean it tomorrow.

'Tomorrow' came and went, with the little woman distracted with a myriad of other things that needed to be done/attended to/fixed. Until one unsuspecting day, she remembered that her pan needed washing. She took the pan off the wall, but it was clean! Her heart warmed a little, and she smiled at the love and appreciation that her husband showed her on a daily basis. She vowed to thank him for his loving kindness.

When her husband came home tired a few nights later, she remembered what he had done, and thanked him appropriately. The husband however was shocked by her declaration, stating that he had never washed that pan. He was sweet and nice and kind, but hadn't had a free moment even to think about doing secret acts of kindness for his forgetful wife.

The couple thought about this incident for a while, unsure whether to be happy or worried. What if someone was sneaking into their home? Who would do such a thing? This was quite a conundrum, boggling both their minds, until the wife remembered her childhood education. Of course! Elves! Those industrious laborers helped another needy couple, and even if this couple wasn't as needy as the story-book couple was, why wouldn't they help out anyway?

And so, based on my experience, I wish for you visiting elves, or at very least a thoughtful, but forgetful dotting husband.