Harold's Revenge

Harold woke from one of his brief afternoon slumbers, and there was one thing on his mind, his delightful post-nap cookie. Smiling as he practically leapt out of his recliner, Harold made his way into the kitchen. His smile doubled in size as soon as he spotted his elephant shaped cookie jar. He removed the lid with delicious anticipation. Hurriedly he reached in, and removed the last cookie. It was his favorite, white chocolate macadamia nut. He was going to have to make some more cookies, he told himself. Then he replaced the lid, and made his way to the fridge. Taking out the milk he poured himself a glass. Next he happily shuffled back to his comfy recliner in the living room.

Neglecting not even a crumb, Harold savored every bite of his delectable treat. He washed it down with the milk, and set the glass on the side table next to his recliner. Blissfully satisfied, it was now time to read the paper. Harold flipped through the pages until he found an article that tickled his fancy. The first sentences enticed him, and he continued reading with fervor. Within minutes, however, he dozed off.

Harold woke from one of his brief afternoon slumbers, and there was one thing on his mind, his delightful post-nap cookie. Smiling as he practically leapt out of his recliner, Harold made his way into the kitchen. Spotting his elephant shaped cookie jar his smile doubled in size. With delicious anticipation, he removed the lid, and hastily reached in. But instead of finding his favorite cookie, white chocolate macadamia nut, he found nothing. The cookie jar was empty.

Poor Harold, someone had eaten all of his cookies. His mind raced, hunting for suspects of the heinous cookie theft. Who could have snuck into his house, and stolen his afternoon delicacy? Jim, his next door neighbor, was always jealous of Harold. And Jim’s wife wasn’t any less suspicious. And neighborhood kids were always riding their bikes up and down the streets. They could have easily smelled the cookies, and broke in to take them. The mailman was always too chatty for Harold. Probably trying to get information out of him. Harold thought of an endless list of potential thieves. 

With no way to know who the real criminal was, Harold devised a plan. He would catch them in the act, and get a little taste of revenge while he was at it. Going to the pantry, Harold found exactly what he was looking for. Returning to the kitchen, he placed a jar of peanut butter and a mousetrap on the counter. Using a butter knife, Harold delicately smeared peanut butter onto the mousetrap. A mouse or even a rat wasn’t at the top of his suspect list, but he wasn’t taking any chances.   

Harold completed his booby trap as he gingerly set the mousetrap, and put it into the elephant shaped cookie jar. He was so giddy. Whoever dared to try to steal his cookie was in for a painful surprise. He might even turn them into the police for a reward. Certainly cookie theft was a serious crime. Imagining the criminal behind bars, and Harold eating a cookie to rub it in their faces gave him an amusing joy.

After replacing the peanut butter in the pantry, Harold decided he could at least have a glass of milk even without a cookie to enjoy it with. He poured himself one, and made his way back to his comfy recliner in the living room. When he had finished drinking his milk, he placed the empty glass next to another empty glass on the side table next to his recliner. Now it was time to read the paper. Harold flipped through the pages until he found an article that piqued his interest. He was enthralled, reading sentence after sentence. Minutes later, however, sleep took a hold of him. 

Harold woke from one of his brief afternoon slumbers, and there was one thing on his mind, his delightful post-nap cookie. Smiling as he practically leapt out of his recliner, Harold made his way into the kitchen. His smile doubled in size as soon as he spotted his elephant shaped cookie jar. He removed the lid with delicious anticipation. Hurriedly he reached in, and was met with a nasty surprise, a mousetrap slammed against his fingers. Poor Harold.

Yelling out in pain, Harold yanked his entrapped hand out of the cookie jar. He pulled back the lever freeing his fingers. They were already red, and ached in pain. Who could have done such a thing, he thought. Why would anyone put a mousetrap in his cookie jar? His mind raced, prowling for suspects. Who could have snuck into his house, and done such a nefarious thing? 

Jim, his next door neighbor, was notoriously jealous of Harold. And Jim’s wife wasn’t any less suspicious. Neighborhood kids were always riding their bikes up and down the streets. They could have easily snuck into his house, stolen his cookies, and placed this awful trap. The mailman was always too chatty for Harold. No, he couldn’t be trusted. Harold thought of an endless list of potential trap setters. 

Harold ran cold water from the sink over his tender fingers to help relieve the pain. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do yet, but revenge was on the forefront of his mind. Just then Harold had a nefarious idea. From the refrigerator and the pantry Harold gathered all the ingredients he needed for his plan. He was going to make some fresh cookies. The white macadamia nut cookies he usually made were sure to tempt the thief to steal from him again. But Harold wasn’t going to let the crime go unpunished. When the crooks took a bite of one of the cookies he was concocting they’d know they’d been duped. 

When the fresh batch of cookies finished cooking and cooling, Harold placed them in the elephant shaped cookie jar. Before heading back into the living room, he decided he could at least have a glass of milk. After drinking the refreshing milk he placed the empty glass next to two empty glasses on the side table next to his recliner. Harold picked up the newspaper, and found an article that intrigued him greatly. However, minutes later he fell asleep. 

Harold woke from one of his brief afternoon slumbers, and there was one thing on his mind, his delightful post-nap cookie. Smiling as he practically leapt out of his recliner, Harold made his way into the kitchen. Spotting his elephant shaped cookie jar his smile doubled in size. With delicious anticipation, he removed the lid, and quickly reached in. He took out an appetizing looking white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, and replaced the lid. Harold poured himself a glass of milk. Next he happily shuffled back to his comfy recliner in the living room.

Taking a bite of the cookie soured Harold’s mood immediately. Someone was playing an awful prank on him. They replaced his heavenly cookies with cookies made with salt instead of sugar. Poor Harold. He wasn’t sure how yet, but he vowed to get revenge on the culprit, whoever they were.