The Magic Bonbons

In Boston lived an old chemist, Dr. Daws. He loved to do chemical experiments and play around with it. In the same Boston, there also lived a young lady named Claribel Sudds. She had a lot of money and could buy anything she wanted. And what she wanted was a career on stage.

So Claribel went to Dr. Daws and said, “I can’t sing or dance, I can’t recite verses or play the piano, I’m not a dancer or a sports heroine. Yet I want to be on stage. What should I do?” “Come to me tomorrow at two o’clock,” he said. Dr. Daws was delighted. Now he could have fun, with what is sometimes called chemical wizardry. Claribel arrived promptly at two o’clock. Daws triumphantly showed her a box containing 5 bonbons in different colors.

De magische bonbons sprookje.

“With the chocolate-colored bonbon, you’ll play the piano insanely well, as if you’ve never done anything else,” promised the old man. “The pink bonbon will make you sing like a nightingale. The lemon-yellow bonbon will give you the talents of a professional kickboxer. With the white bonbon, you can recite the most complex poems from memory. And with the lavender-colored bonbon, you can dance so gracefully, as if you’ve trained your whole life for it.”

“How wonderful!” exclaimed Claribel, and she grabbed the box and gave the old man his money. With the box in her hand, she walked past a clothing store. There she bought several dresses and in her excitement, she forgot about the box of bonbons. In the same store, the girl Bessie Bostwick also tried on new clothes. Important guests, including the senator and mayor of Boston, were coming to her home that evening. When she paid for her clothes, she carelessly took the box from the counter and brought it home.

Arriving home, she saw that she had brought one package too many. “Oh, they’re just a few bonbons,” she exclaimed and placed them in a candy dish. She took the chocolate-colored one and ate it while examining her purchases.

Suddenly, she felt an urgent need to play the piano. She took her place at the piano and began to play. Her mother heard someone playing the piano and didn’t know what she was hearing. Breathless, the parents watched as their daughter played one piece of music after another.

While they were listening, the senator and mayor arrived. Both were very impressed with Bessie’s piano playing. In the meantime, the father took a pink bonbon. He graciously offered his guests the other bonbons. The mayor chose the lemon-yellow bonbon and ate it immediately. The senator took the lavender-colored one but didn’t want to eat it right away. He put the bonbon in his vest pocket.

Suddenly, the father began to sing loudly. “Strange,” thought the guests. The lady of the house was embarrassed by her husband, who couldn’t stop singing. Irritated, she put the last, white bonbon in her mouth and told her husband to keep his mouth shut. Suddenly, the mayor started kickboxing out of nowhere.

The senator watched it all and felt like he was being tricked. When he stood up to leave, the hostess stood up to recite various verses of Goethe. “Are they completely crazy?” he thought to himself. “They’ll never see me there again. Do they really think they can fool me?” The senator trembled with anger and left the house.

The next day, the senator had to give a speech. He felt in his vest pocket to see if he had brought his speech and found the lavender-colored bonbon and ate it. A few minutes later, he stood up in front of the large audience that greeted him enthusiastically. Suddenly, the senator felt an enormous urge to twirl on his toes. Up went his right leg in the air, just like ballet dancers do. There was a buzz of amazement from the audience, but the senator didn’t seem to notice.

Suddenly, Claribel Sudds, who happened to be in the audience, jumped up from her seat. She pointed a finger at the dancing senator and shouted loudly, “That’s the man who stole my bonbons! Arrest him!” But the ushers chased her out of the hall, and the senator was quickly taken off the stage.

Claribel visited Dr. Daws often for a new order. The bonbons brought her exactly what she wanted. She is now a famous actress, and there is no one in America who doesn’t know her.


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