There once was a boy named Chuck. He was very skinny. So skinny that he could crawl under the front gate from one side to the other. Chuck was very unhappy. He didn’t want to be skinny. He wanted to be big and strong, like the other boys at his school.

One day, while walking home from school, he saw a man sitting on a nearby park bench. The man was fairly old, so Chuck went to go sit next to him.

Then the old man said to him, “Chuck, I saw that you are very unhappy. Why are you so unhappy?”

Chuck was amazed that the man could know this, and replied, “Sir, I don’t want to be so skinny. I want to be big and strong, like the other boys at my school.”

The old man shook his head and handed him a spoon.

“This is a magic spoon,” he told Chuck. “If you eat with this spoon, you will grow big and strong.”

Chuck liked what the old man told him. He was very excited about his new magic spoon. He wanted more than anything in the world to grow big and strong, like the other boys at his school.

So Chuck went home, and every day, he ate all his meals with his new magic spoon. Just like the old man told him to do. After many days and many nights, he noticed that what the old man said was true. He started to grow muscle and get bigger. Chuck loved his new look. So he continued to eat even more meals every day with his new magic spoon.

One day, Chuck went back to the old man he found at the park. He sat there on the same bench Chuck found him on the first time.

“Look Sir, I grew bigger just like you said,” he said excitedly.

“Good for you,” replied the old man with a soft smile.

So Chuck went home, happy as can be.

So, after many days and many nights, and eating all his meals with his new magic spoon, Chuck started to feel uncomfortable. He started to grow even bigger. Chuck did not like this. He became fat and ugly. He didn’t want to be big anymore. He became unhappy. So he went back to look for the old man at the park, but he wasn’t there. The bench was empty. He began searching, but he couldn’t find the old man. He didn’t know what to do, so he went home.

The next day he decided to eat fewer meals, but still with his magic spoon. But, chuck became even worse. So bad, in fact, that it became difficult for him to move around. Chuck hated being so big. He wished he could get his old, skinny body back. So he could be comfortable again… So he went back to the park to find the old man.

With a newspaper on his face the old man sat, fast asleep.

Chuck shouted, “Hey, take your spoon back!” The poor old man nearly jumped out of his skin.

“What?” he said, clearly a bit confused.

“Take your stupid spoon back. I don’t want it anymore.”

The old man seemed startled. “But,” he asked,” isn’t this what you wanted?”

“No!” Chuck shouted in rage. “I want my skinny body back.”

So the old man said nothing, took his spoon back and slipped it into his pocket. “As you wish,” he said, and went straight back to his afternoon nap.

Chuck was too furious to pay any further attention to the old man and rushed back home. He ate all his meals with an ordinary spoon, just like he used to. He soon became his old skinny self, and he was happy to be this way.