Peter's Honey Biscuits

In his neat little, white painted, house at one end of the village of Trimble, Peter the friendly elf was looking through his cupboards. He had run out of his favourite honey biscuits and he was checking to see if he had all of the ingredients to make some more. To make sure he had them all he had written them down on a list was crossing them out as he found them.
Peter’s List
Flour
Salt
Butter
Honey

And, oh dear, the most important one was missing, honey, and the one thing you cannot do without when making Honey Biscuits, is honey.

Slipping on his little blue Jacket he hurried next door to his friend Pod’s house, but Pod didn’t have any honey either. Next he tried nearly every house in the village, but no one had any honey. Now there was only one house to try and that was Kronk’s house.

Kronk was the meanest and most unfriendly old gnome you could meet, but Peter thought he would ask anyway. Kronk was busy putting a new lock on the gate to the apple tree – the apple tree really belong to the whole village, but Kronk had built a fence around it, put a lock on the gate and now kept all the apples for himself.

‘Good day, Mr Kronk,’ said Peter, ‘I was wondering if you might have a little honey to spare.’

Kronk gave Peter a mean look and said, ‘Honey? Do you really think that if I had any honey I would give it to you? If I had any honey, which I do not, I would keep it all for myself.’

Oh, thought Peter, he really is the meanest old gnome ever, but all he said was, ‘Thank you, Mr Kronk,’ and walked away.

Peter got up early the next morning, he was going to Dingle market for some honey and it was a long way. It way a lovely morning the birds were singing and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. On the way to the market Peter was carrying an empty basket and he skipped all the way there. But on the way back there was a heavy pot of honey in his basket and he was getting very tired. The day was hot, he was sweating and his little legs were aching by the time he reached the old oak tree at the edge of the village.

It was no good he just had to sit down and have a rest, placing the basket next to him; he sat with his back against the tree and before he knew it had nodded off. As soon as he was asleep Kronk who had been watching him from behind his hedge, crept out, grabbed the honey and scurried back into his garden. After looking around he decided to hide the pot of honey under an upturned flowerpot, ‘Hee, Hee,’ he cackled. ‘No one will find it there.’

Half an hour later Peter woke up, went to pick up his basket and found that his honey had been stolen. Who would have done such a thing, he looked around but there was no one about. Sadly, with his head bowed, he began to make his way home; there would be no honey biscuits today.

He was so sad that he was half way home before he realise someone was shouting his name. Turning he saw that it was his friend Pod. Peter wasn’t in the mood for talking but he couldn’t just walk away, so he waited for Pod to catch up.

‘I’m sorry Pod,’ Peter said when his friend reached him, ‘I’m not in the mood to talk, someone stole my honey when I was asleep.’

‘I know, said Pod. ‘I was on top of fairy hill and I saw who took it. It was that horrible gnome Kronk and he has hidden it under a flowerpot in his garden. Lets’ go and get it back.’

‘No, that won’t work,’ said Peter. ‘He’ll just laugh at us, besides he won’t let us in his garden. But I think I know how to get the honey back.’

Peter explained his plan to Pod then they went around talking to the villagers. The next morning when Kronk was in his garden, three of the villagers ran past carrying sacks, ‘What is going on?’ he called.’ But the villagers kept on running and soon disappeared over the hill. Shortly afterwards some more villagers ran past and the same thing happened. A little later he saw Pod running towards him, so he stepped out into the road with his arms outstretched and Pod had to stop, ‘What is going on?’ he demanded.

‘Nothing,’ said Pod.

‘Then why have you got that sack?’ asked Kronk.

‘Because the farmer at green meadow, over by Dingle, has a field of potatoes he can’t pick and if you take your own sack, he’ll let you fill it for free.’

At the mention of the word free, greedy old Kronk ran back into his garden, grabbed a sack and went racing up the road. As soon as he disappeared over the hill Peter came out from behind the oak tree and took his honey from under the flowerpot.

‘Come on Pod,’ he said. ‘Let’s go home and bake some Honey Biscuits.’

It took Kronk two hours to get to Dingle, only to find no farmer at green meadow and no free potatoes. Then it took him two hours to get back and wasn’t he surprised when he topped the hill to find all of the villagers sitting under the oak tree, having a picnic with lots of Honey Biscuits to eat.

Recipe for honey biscuits

Ingredients

8 oz wholewheat flour

½ a teaspoon of salt

4 oz of butter

2 tablespoons of clear honey

Method

Mix flour and salt in bowl, rub in butter, mix in honey.

Sprinkle board and roller with flour, roll out pastry thinly, cut out with a round 2 inch cutter. Bake in oven Gas 2, 300° F, 150° C for 20 minutes

Will make approx 24 biscuits

Copyright Fred Watson