The Minotaur and the Grain of Rice

a children’s story written and voiced by Joe J Thomas

 

 
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Once upon a time in the land of Spostabe, there was a minotaur named Kevin.

Like all minotaurs, his name was required to start with a “K”.

When Kevin reached the age of 18, his father, Kyle, put him in charge of guarding his very own maze.
The family tradition of maze-guarding ran deep in the minotaur line.
Kevin wore a minotaur uniform of lederhosen passed down to him from his great uncle Karl, who was very famous indeed.

Kevin did a good job at his maze, but always felt like there must be something more.

One day, during his regular lunch break, a strange thing happened. While eating the standard minotaur meal of pineapple fried rice, packed for him by his mother, Kim, he found a grain of rice that was very different from the others.
It was blue!
And stranger still, it was wearing a tiny lab coat and holding a clipboard.

“Hello!”, said the grain of rice, “My name is Milford.”
“Uh, hello Milford…”, replied Kevin, “I’m Kevin.”
“Why are you trapped in this maze?” asked Milford.
“Oh! I’m not trapped. I guard this maze.”, said Kevin.
“Did you choose this job?”, Milford queried.
“Well, no… my father, Kyle, told me it’s what I’m supposed to be. It’s the family business”, said Kevin defensively.
“How about your lunch? Did you pick that?”
“My mother, Kim, tells me it’s what I’m supposed to eat.”, Kevin mumbled sheepishly.
“… and you wear lederhosen – an interesting choice!”, noted Milford.
“Yeah, they’re from my great uncle Karl… it’s what I’m supposed to wear..”, Kevin sighed.

During the conversation, Milford was taking notes on his clipboard. He seemed very interested in Kevin and his life.

“What about you?”, asked Kevin, “Why are you so different? Why are you blue, and what to you do?”

Milford jumped up on Kevin’s shoulder, put down his clipboard, and cleared his throat.

“My task today is to be a researcher. I’m researching your life. But my job is to help people to look at themselves in new and different ways. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be a janitor, or a fireman, or even an astronaut! Find what you’re happy doing, Kevin. You deserve to have that kind of life.”

With that, the little blue grain of rice removed his lab coat, and threw it away with his clipboard. He said “See you around!”, and hopped down to the ground, and with a big wave Milford walked out of the maze.

Kevin thought long and hard about what Milford had said. If he hadn’t chosen his job, or his food, or even his clothes, then maybe he was trapped in the maze!
He thought it would be best to ask his family about Milford over their dinner of pineapple fried rice that evening. He told them all about the conversation and asked what he should do.

His mother, Kim, said “What does he know about food? He’s only a grain of rice!”

His father, Kyle, chimed in “Who is this guy anyway? What do you know about him?”

And his great uncle Karl just grumbled “Ahhhh… Go ahead and gobble up that little know-it-all!”

Poor Kevin didn’t know what to do. He tossed and turned all night. He liked his new little blue friend, but he also liked his job and his family.

“That’s it!”, cried Kevin in the early morning, “I know what to do!”

Months later, Kevin was guarding his maze, but it was a little different. He had come to realize that he enjoyed maze-guarding. He loved his family and friends, and his life was good. Little things had changed, here and there. But the biggest change was in Kevin’s attitude toward life. Every day was a day to be lived to the fullest. There was always something new to learn or try, no matter how small.

When lunchtime rolled around on this particular day, Kevin did not eat his usual pineapple fried rice. A little car pulled up outside the maze with a bright blue sign on it that said “Milford’s Pizza”

Kevin smiled and sat down to a nice lunch with his little blue friend.
 

—— the end 😉 ——

 

All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com