abstract
| - Franko Billypants examined the lovely ring in his hand. Its delightful glaze gave off an aroma that spoke of the great bakeries in the great Mount Baker. "Cousin Billyboy left me this?" he asked the elderly Gray Ralph who had come into his little bakery on the edge of Flopitown. "Why didn't he just eat it?" "It's much too dangerous to eat," said Gray Ralph, bunching up his dark eyebrows. "You see, whoever eats one of the Doughnuts of Despair cannot stop eating doughnuts, and soon cannot stop eating anything else either! Soon they will be under the control of Lard Sorgham utterly! This doughnut was baked in the dreadful bakeries by the dreaded Lard Sorgham! It's part of his evil plot take over the world by enslaving everyone with his Doughnuts of Despair!" "What must I do?" asked Franko in terror. "I'm already feeling the temptation to eat this!" "It must be taken to the ovens in Mount Baker and thrown in!" said Gray Ralph urgently. "Leave it here for now. We must go to your cousin Billyboy's farewell party." "Well, if it's made of dough, then it's a doughnut, so why can't we just burn it up, right here?" "Try it!" said the old man. So Franko threw it in. It didn't burn up. "What's going on?" asked Franko. "You see," said Gray Ralph, "This is a special doughnut. Anything made in Mount Baker must be destroyed in Mount Baker!" Franko reached for a tongs and took it out. There was a strange writing on the side. It said, "One Doughnut to Rule them All, One Doughnut to Find Them, One Doughnut to Bake Them All and in the Ovens Bind them; in the bakeries of Baker, where the Dough Lies." The temptation was too great. Franko took the Doughnut and reached toward his mouth. Gray Ralph took his cane and knocked it to the floor. "Like I said, Sorgham's a cunning one!" "It looks so good!" whined Franko, pawing at the pastry. "I just wish I could pop it into my mouth and savor the gooey richness!" "That's exactly what Sorgham wants!" said Gray Ralph. "You must resist the temptation! Here, I have an idea." He took a large metal locker from a shelf and then a cardboard box. Placing the Doughnut in the box, and then the box inside the locker, he locked up the pastry tight and hid the key in his coat. "There," he said, "Now you won't be tempted."
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