Part One

Once upon a time there was an old man. He was so old that no one could even remember a time when he wasn't around. He was also very wise and very rich. He was so wise that he knew the answer to anything anyone asked him. And he was so rich that he owned basically the entire town.

The old man had two step-children, a young man and a young woman. They lived in the woods at the edge of town. They didn't consider themselves "hippies", but that would describe them pretty well. Neither one of them had a job. They spent most days just growing and eating organic vegetables and sampling the various "herbs" that they found. And sometimes they would run through the woods naked.

Even though they were both raised by their step-father, they weren't technically brother and sister. And so one day they decided to get married. They didn't want a fancy church wedding, just a simple ceremony there in the woods. They didn't plan on having any children, at least not right away. But there were plenty of birds and animals to keep them company. The young man wanted to be a biologist someday. He would spend part of each day cataloging the names of all the animals he observed.

One day a very bad man came to the woods to meet the young couple. He flattered them and said he liked their free-spirited lifestyle. He talked to them for a while and then tried to get them to do some very bad things, things that even hippies would be ashamed to do.

One of the things he said was that there was a special plant that grew in the woods. If you ate the plant you would experience a higher level of consciousness. At first they told the bad man that they wouldn't try the plant. They were afraid of the consequences. They were pretty sure they had heard somewhere that the plant was bad for you.

He was a REALLY persuasive bad man, though, and soon he had talked them into trying it.

It was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to the young couple. Suddenly they had a new awareness. The air smelled better, the woods seemed more colorful, and they were both very hungry. They sat and talked and enjoyed the plant for some time. They couldn't imagine how something so great could possibly be bad for them.

After a while things went back to normal. Well, not really. Things were worse than normal. The young couple didn't feel so good. They had aches and pains that they had never felt before. They were very tired. They started to get the feeling that someone was watching them all the time. And they didn't want anyone to find out what they had done.

The very bad man gave them an idea. "Why don't you wrap yourselves in leaves and hide in these bushes over here?" he said. "Sounds good to us," they said.

And that's how he found them when the step-father came to visit a short while later. He called to them and when they finally stepped out into the open they were both sweating and visibly nervous. "What's been going on here?" the old man asked.

The couple remembered who it was that had told them NOT to try the plant.

"We're really sorry," they said. "That guy talked us into it."

The old man was very upset. "Didn't I warn you that stuff would mess you up?" he scolded them. "You've really gone too far this time. I want you to take off those ridiculous leaves, put on some normal clothes, and first thing Monday morning you're both going to have to start looking for jobs."

"Bummer," said the young man.

"I think these leaves are giving me a rash," said the young woman.

The old man just turned and walked away. He still kept an eye on the young couple, but after this experience he started visiting them less and less.