Three townsmen were standing outside a cafe, each sipping their tea, mocha, and frappe.

All the while, a stretcher was rushed down the street, carrying a man who looked weary and beat...

The oldest told the youngest to go see who had had caused this great woe, but to his surprise, the youngest replies...

"Don't you already know? That's your old friend Rieze!"

"He was in this cafe, just a few hours ago, and his coffee made his stomach turn to and fro...

He fell to the ground, and couldn't get up.. before long, his tummy was completely messed up. He couldn't eat, nor drink a thing; he passed his comrade, literally starving!

"Reports on this unfortunate event

have happened more than once; it went

from the blighted beans to the rancid roast,

to the many who drank the brew; their tongues were toast."

"Now, who in their right mind...

would make such a brew to leave such a mess behind?!

I say we find this brute; if anyone gets in our way, we won't give a hoot!"

The oldest replied...

The trio went on a caffeinated quest, a truly blinding, blurrying, harrying quest... to find Rieze's perpetrator and serve up some justice; too bad the thing they lacked was just this.

They eventually came across a sporting old man, who somehow ceased their charge. The middle man teased him for his age and said his gut was large.

"You fools think you can find the one

who made these beans from the ground? It's fun to think of her being real, but keep on running around."

"How dare you mock our valorous approach! To the likes of us, you're an old-timey roach!

Tell us where that fiend is gone, and you can forget that this ever went on."

The wise old man sent them to a tree and told them that the mastermind had went to pee. If they waited there, he would come... and they could surprise him! Pound him like a drum, or whatever.

The trio came to the spot they were guided and found a pot full of coins; they were delighted! They rejoiced for a moment, completely forgetting their goal; this sheer amount of wealth was breaking the mold!

In a frantic rage, they all jumped for the bake; in a cluster of collisions, they all fell into an enormous lake...

and to make things more dim, none of them could swim... let alone carry the mold-breaking gold...

In summary, this tale of greed exposes the things we don't really need in our lives. Whether it be pride or wealth made excessively. Some over-achievers must pay the price, and unlucky others meet their demise... So again, long story short, be wise and let what's truly important be the sparkle in your eyes!

The Naughty Gnome

Written by: DeAndre Jackson

One fateful day, a gnome was perched on the roof of a house, gazing out to the sea and watching the passing ship.