Last Tuesday began like any other. The ovens were warm, the dough was risen, and Madame Crumb was in her usual position beside the window. Then the currants did not arrive.
The Crisis Unfolds
At 5:40 AM, our supplier, a small and punctual hedgehog named Mr. Spike, called to say that the van had broken down. The eyes of fourteen dozen mice were therefore unavailable. The kitchen fell into a silence that could only be described as flour dust settling.
Emergency Measures
- The staff voted to use poppy seeds, but the poppy seeds had been eaten
- A search of the cupboard revealed a single raisin
- Crumb suggested using blueberries, which were deemed too sad
- An apprentice proposed baking mice without eyes, which was rejected as unnatural
The Solution
After three hours, a plan was agreed. The mice would be baked with eyes drawn on in chocolate, using a very thin brush. It was slow, delicate work. Every mouse looked a little different, and several looked quite cross.
The Result
Customers were delighted. Some even said the chocolate eyed mice had more character. One described them as having an inner life. Sales rose by nine percent, and we now offer them as a limited edition called The Pensive Mouse.
Lessons Learned
The bakery has since purchased a second supply of currants and hired a second hedgehog. We also installed a sign in the kitchen that reads Do Not Panic, which is ignored but admired.
Madame Crumb remarked at the end of the day that every setback is a chance to make something slightly worse and call it art.
Staff Reactions
Staff reactions to the crisis were mixed. Pumpernickel slept through the whole thing. Rye wrote a formal complaint, which was a single paw print in the dough. Crust, always the optimist, suggested that missing eyes would make the mice more mysterious. He was not wrong, but he was not helpful.
The affair has since been written into the bakery’s history as The Day Without Eyes, and is retold to new apprentices with a lowered voice and a small piece of cheese.
This case study is fictional and made for amusement.