Maya, the eldest at seven, bounced on the balls of her feet, watching the golden cookie jar with the intensity of a hawk. Inside, only two chocolate chip cookies remained, the last survivors of a generous batch. Across from her, Lily, the ever-practical five-year-old, meticulously counted the remaining treats on her fingers. Behind them, Emma, a whirlwind of boundless energy at three, tugged on Maya’s shirt, her big brown eyes pleading.
“Cookie, cookie!” she squealed.
“There are only two left, Em,” Maya explained patiently. “We have to share.”
Lily, ever the voice of reason, chimed in, “Maybe we can split them in half?”
This suggestion, however, was met with frowns from both Maya and Emma. Half a cookie? The injustice!
Suddenly, Maya’s eyes lit up. “I know!” she declared. “We can have a four-day workweek for cookies!”
Lily’s head tilted. “A workweek?”
Maya explained, using all the wisdom gleaned from eavesdropping on grown-up conversations. “We each get one cookie today, but tomorrow, we have a whole extra day to wait for more cookies!”
Emma, though not quite understanding the concept of workweeks, seemed to like the idea of an extra day. Lily, ever the negotiator, added a wrinkle to the plan.
“Okay, but since we’re working four days,” she said, a mischievous glint in her eye, “we get to bake a whole new batch of cookies on the fifth day!”
The deal was struck. Each sister savored their single, precious cookie, the taste all the sweeter for the anticipation of a future filled with warm, chocolatey goodness. As for the “workweek,” well, who knew what delicious treats their imaginations would conjure up in the days to come? After all, in the land of three sisters and a dwindling cookie jar, every day was an adventure.
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