Dear sweet little Alice decided to leave her lovely little cottage to take a long stroll through the woods by her home.It was a lovely spring-like day, perfect for a walk. It seemed like the flowers she saw growing wild amongst the trees were swaying as if dancing to the birds singing their lovely tunes in the tree tops above her. Something off in the distance made Alice quicken her pace. "Whats this?" Alice said out loud-- which was silly because Alice was all alone. "Sit, eat, enjoy yourself" was the reply. Alice was wondering to herself... self-- did you say "Sit, eat, enjoy yourself?" Again, she heard the purring voice say, "Sit down girl, eat some food, enjoy yourself." Looking quickly around, Alice spied a striped cat sitting on a branch of a tree... surely that cat didn't say all of that. "Hello girl, I am a cheshire cat... I've invited you to sit at this lovely table that is set before you.There are yummy cookies and a delightful sweet cranberry tea that is of the highest quality made by fairies that live in this area.Alice was befuddled. Everything was so out of the ordinary that it made dear sweet little Alice dizzy... so, dear sweet little Alice pulled out a chair and sat down. Surely this wasn't meant for her! Know one knew she was going for a walk today, or that she would end up taking this very path-- not even Alice knew herself. Looking at the table set before her she was quite suprised at the spread that was laid out before her. Cranberry tea that smelled like a boutique of sweet roses, next to a plate of sugar cookies piled high. Alice could only image how great it all would taste. "Please help yourself to whatever is your hearts desire, I must go curl up in a sunny spot and take a nap." And with that, the cheshire cat sashayed away flicking his tail to and fro as his huge belly sashayed in the opposite direction as his tail. It was all Alice could do but laugh at the cat as he walked away.
As dear sweet little Alice settled down from such a happy-funny sight she felt much more comfortable with her surroundings and now the idea of a table set with such yumminess in the middle of nowhere wasn't so unbelieveable. Dear sweet little Alice grabbed a few cookies and set them on the plate in front of her and then poured herself a cup of the cranberry tea. Without even a taste, she added four sugar cubes for good measure. Within a few bites of a sweet sugar cookie, dear sweet little Alice felt the weight of someone staring at her. She twirled around in her chair out of fear and embarrasment and set her eyes upon a dear sweet little fella wearing a odd looking hat. A startled Alice spoke in a soft voice, "Oh, my-- hello... is this your table set so beautifully that I was invited to sit at?" The little fella stepped right up to Alice and replied, "Yes, please sit and if you don't mind, I'll join you for some riparian refreshments." The two fell into a happy conversation as they both enjoyed the cookies and the sweet cranberry tea. Without hesitation the sweet fella hopped to his feet to get somemore cranberry tea....Alice being the inquisitive girl that she was, asked the fella, "Why wear such a big hat if you have to hold onto it all the time?" With down cast eyes, the fella wearing the huge hat confessed to Alice.... "I'm addicted to sweets." "I use this big hat to carry the large gumdrops that I grow in my garden."
Alice knew she could help out this nice fella who was addicted to sweets, for she knew that addiction herself..... "You don't have to use your hat silly," said Alice as she laughed with a solution. She spied a large basket that would serve the purpose well! The nice fella was overjoyed with the thought of having such a large basket to carry his sweet-sweet gumdrops.
Alice was happy to help her neighbor... then she got an idea! "If you love sweets, and I love sweets.... I betcha everybody would like some sweets!"
Alice, noticing the time, told the fella she would be back the next day.Alice took one of the fella's gumdrops home... she had a plan.The next day she informed the fella that they had to wash all of the gumdrops that he had collected... she had come up with a plan! With my Nana's recipe for chocolate chip cookies and these huge sweet gumdrops... hmmmmm...And now you know the rest of the story~If you wish to partake in more tea party merriment... please visit Vanessa's blog "A Fanciful Twist" for a linky list of all those participating this year.