When The Ice Cream Ran Out

Once upon a time there was a boy who really loved getting ice cream from this one particular store. Several times a week he went to this store and every time, he left the store with his ice cream.

Life was good.

Until one day he went to this store, to where the ice cream was, except there was no ice cream.

He was a bit surprised. He looked to the right of where it always was, and to the left, but nothing.

In a bit of a panic, he rushed to the store’s keeper and asked where the ice cream was.

"I’m sorry," the keeper explained, rather harshly. "We have no ice cream today."

The boy began to worry.

"What do you mean no more ice cream? I have come here every week for ice cream and all of a sudden there is no ice cream?"

"This is correct. I am sorry."

"But when will you have the ice cream again?"

"I am unable to say because I do not know."

"Well that’s not a good enough answer."

"It’s the only answer I have."

"But you don’t understand. I need my ice cream. It makes me so happy. It’s what I look forward to everyday!"

"That creates a most difficult situation because as I have stated, we have no ice cream."

"Well then I will wait here until there is more ice cream."

"We will call you when there is more ice cream."

"No. I will wait."

"You may be waiting for the rest of the month."

"I don’t care. I need my ice cream."

"Our store will be closing soon. Where will you wait?"

"I will wait outside the door."

"In the cold?"

"In the cold."

The keeper shrugged and walked back to his other activities and the boy parked himself outside the store.

Every day, he asked for his ice cream and every day the keeper grew more and more annoyed.

And then one afternoon, the shop keeper had enough. And he called the police.

In the police car on the drive to the boy’s house, the boy began to sob.

"What’s all the tears?" the policeman asked.

"I just wanted some ice cream. It was my favorite thing about my life, and suddenly they have no ice cream."

"Well why not just get it from another store?"

"Another store?"

"There’s another store right down the road."

"There is? Can you take me there?"

And so the policeman drove the boy to this other ice cream store and the boy was so happy.

"This is the best ice cream I ever had! Even better than the other ice cream! I can’t believe I wasted all this time!"

"Well next time, when the ice cream runs out, instead of being so upset, I hope you will remember that all you need to do is get up, and travel to someplace new. You’d be surprised how much ice cream there is in the world."

And so that’s what the boy did. When the ice cream ran out, he knew this only meant it was time to try something new. And he carried with him the many fond memories of all the ice cream he’d ever had.

-JLK