Once upon a time, there were three little girls who lived with their Mommy and Daddy. Katie was the oldest, Kathy was the middle child, and the littlest of the sisters was called Kookabunga. Of course, her real name was not Kookabunga. Her real name was Kerri, but she wouldn't let anyone call her anything but Kookabunga. One day, Kookabunga was watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on TV, and she heard the heroes yell, "Cowabunga!" Kookabunga liked the word very much, but she was very little, and she could only say "Kookabunga". After that, she insisted that everyone call her Kookabunga.
One day, Kookabunga's mommy decided to make brownies. She took out a package of brownie mix and stirred in eggs and water and oil. As she was mixing it all together, Kookabunga came into the kitchen.
"Mommy, what doin'?" Kookabunga wanted to know.
"I'm making brownies for dessert, Kookabunga," said Mommy. "Brownies are very good. You will like them. Look, see?" Mommy showed Kookabunga what she was mixing in her bowl.
Kookabunga made an awful face. "No. Mud."
Mommy shook her head. "No, Kookabunga, these are brownies. They are yummy."
"Mud," said Kookabunga.
Mommy smiled. "You'll see when they come out of the oven they won't look like mud then."
Kookabunga went off to look at her storybooks. Mommy put the brownies in the oven to bake, and before long, wonderful, delicious smells wafted through the house. Just as Mommy was taking the brownies out of the oven, Kookabunga wandered through the kitchen again.
Mommy showed Kookabunga the delicious brownies. "Look, Kookabunga, now the brownies are cooked. Don't they look yummy?"
Kookabunga wrinkled her nose. "Dried mud."
"Kookabunga." Mommy was really suprised now. "Of course it isn't dried mud. These are brownies. Do you want a little taste?"
"No," said Kookabunga. "Dried mud."
"Well, all right." Mommy put the brownies on the counter to cool. "When everyone else has a brownie for dessert tonight, you don't have to have one, if you're sure."
"Dried mud," said Kookabunga and wandered off to make a puzzle.
That evening, after everyone had finished their dinner, Mommy gave everyone a brownie for dessert. She gave Daddy a brownie, she gave Katie a brownie, she gave Kathy a brownie, and she put a brownie on her own plate. Then, she turned to Kookabunga.
"Kookabunga, are you sure you don't want a brownie? Look, Katie likes her brownie."
"Mmm," said Katie.
Mommy smiled. "And look, Kookabunga, Kathy likes her brownie."
"Yum," said Kathy.
"Are you really sure you don't want a brownie, Kookabunga?" Mommy asked.
"No," said Kookabunga. "Dried mud."
Before she had a chance to eat her brownie, Kathy ran off the the bathroom, leaving her brownie right next to where Kookabunga was sitting. Kookabunga sat in her booster seat and watched everyone else eat their brownies. She wondered how they could like that stuff so much. Maybe it didn't taste as awful as it looked. Kookabunga looked at Kathy's brownie. She looked at Katie eating her brownie and licking her fingers. She looked at Kathy's brownie, just sitting there. She looked at Daddy, picking up the last few crumbs with the tip of his finger. She looked at Kathy's brownie, all by itself on the table. Kookabunga looked at Mommy, dipping the last little bit of her brownie into her coffee. She looked at Kathy's brownie, just within reach.
Kookabunga stuck out one little hand and picked up Kathy's brownie. Kookabunga took the tiniest little bite out of the corner of the brownie. It was good! She put it back at Kathy's place quickly before anybody saw her.
"Mommy," said Kookabunga, "Dried mud, please."
Daddy licked the last few crumbs off his finger. "Dried mud? What is she talking about?"
Mommy smiled over her coffee. "Kookabunga tells me that the brownies are not brownies at all, but dried mud. She told me she didn't want any. Are you sure you want a brownie, Kookabunga?"
Kookabunga nodded vigorously. "Dried mud."
"Okay, Kookabunga, I'll get you one." Mommy got up and looked around for her serving knife.
Just then, Kathy came back from the bathroom. Kathy took one look at her brownie and squealed. "Mommy! Somebody took a bite out of my brownie!"
Mommy turned around and raised one eyebrow. "Kookabunga, did you take a bite out of Kathy's brownie?"
Kookabunga looked at the table and didn't say anything.
Mommy walked over and crouched down to look at her. "Kookabunga? Is this why you wanted a brownie?"
Kookabunga nodded slowly.
"Kookabunga, it would have been all right to taste Kathy's brownie if you had asked first," said Mommy. "But it was wrong to take Kathy's brownie without asking her. I think I'm going to have to give this new brownie that I cut for you to Kathy. You can have the brownie that you took a bite of."
Kookabunga grinned. That was not so bad. "Okay."
Kookabunga ate her brownie slowly and liked every yummy bite. After that, every time Mommy made brownies, Kookabunga was more excited than anyone else because brownies had become her favorite food, even though she still called them dried mud.
The End
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