Frango Felicity

Once upon a time there was a little girl whose mother worked at Marshall Field's. The little girl was very cute with her bobbed hair and large vocabulary. She was so cute, in fact, that every time she and her father would walk past the Marshall Field's candy counter on their way to pick up her mother from work (these were the days before cell phones), the candy lady would give her a large bag of candy to take home. The bag would have Jelly Bellies and Godiva chocolates and pecan turtles and jordan almonds--but most of all, the bag would contain a special treasure, Marshall Field's Frango mints. The little girl (and her father) were very grateful for the candy lady's generosity, but the security guard was not so pleased. He said to the little girl's mother, "I'm sorry, but this has to stop." The little girl's mother reluctantly agreed with the security guard, and the free Frangos stopped flowing.



A little while later, the little family moved away from the land of Marshall Field's and the little girl grew up and was no longer quite so cute. To make matters worse, big bad Macy's gobbled up Marshall Field's and it's candy counters. The little girl lost all hope of ever seeing such treasure again.

However, one day, the little girl's family moved back to the land of Marshall Field's, though it was now called the land of Macy's. Many of the citizens of the land of Macy's were very sad and angry that Marshall Field's was no more. This included the new candy ladies who reluctantly sold a re-branded version of Frango mints.

Two days before Christmas, the little girl walked past the old candy counter on her way back from the restroom. She wanted to buy some Frango mints for her dear mother and father to remind them of the good ole days, but they were so expensive! From the corner of her eye, she spotted a "SALE" sign over the pecan turtles, so she ventured over to the candy counter. "Well, I guess I can afford these turtles," she said to herself. "It will be such a nice treat for my family."

The new candy ladies helped her purchase her pecan turtles, and as they did, the little girl told them the story of the glorious days when her mother worked for Marshall Field's. Their eyes misted up and they replied, "Yes, my mother worked at Marshall Field's when I was a little girl, too." The little girl told them about the generous candy counter lady and the joy that she brought to the little family. They all smiled wistfully.

Just as the little girl was turning to leave, one of the candy counter ladies shouted out, "Wait. Oh, let's not spoil the tradition. Here, take some." She handed the little girl an opened box of Frango mints, and the little girl took one. "Oh, no. Here, just take the whole thing," she said as she dumped the contents of the box into the little girl's bag full of pecan turtles. "Oh, and here, take this too!" The candy lady turned around and handed the little girl a real treasure--a real Marshall Field's Frango bar. No, this was no re-branded Frango bar! This was the real original thing! Though broken, it was so valuable in the little girl's eyes.

Excited, she returned to her family. She found her mother waiting tiredly and hungrily in Banana Republic. "Mother! Close your eyes and open your mouth." The little girl placed a Frango mint into her mother's mouth, and her mother instantly cheered up. The little girl recounted the remarkable story of what had just transpired--but she did not tell her mother about the greatest treasure still in her bag.

Many days later, the little girl had to leave her family and return to the land formerly called Robinsons-May, which had also recently been taken over by Macy's. The little girl wanted to do something very special for her mother--give her the authentic Marshall Field's Frango bar. She could just leave it on the table for her mother, but that would be boring. What to do, what to do?

Just as she was leaving, the little girl had a thought. "What if I hide the treasure in a place that will surprise my mother and cheer her up just when she needs it most?! That would be perfect!" So the little girl placed the treasure on top of the dusting rags (her mother hated dusting more than anything in the world) and left with a satisfied smile.

THE END