There was a girl named Merry Sunshine who had a talent for growing beautiful flowers. She thought about opening her own flower store, but she was young and inexperienced - so she went to work for a fella we'll call Snidely Whiplash. He had a business growing and selling flowers - employing just a few people.
When first Snidely talked to Merry, he filled her full of excitement about the possibilities about the job! Though she would start as a part timer, she perhaps could someday even be a part owner of the flower business if she helped it grow. She was disappointed that Whiplash Inc. didn't need her much to start out with, but she threw herself into doing whatever she could attract business to the company - even on her own time. She enjoyed the plant growing process especially.
Snide wasn't around all that much - especially at first. He took several vacations. The office seemed happier somehow what the guy wasn't around. When he did come in, he praised Merry for her work growing plants and asked for her advice on projects. In the meantime, he berated another flower grower, Nelle, when she arrived late for work due to an ill family member. Merry became uncomfortable with Snidely's uneven treatment of employees. When she discussed the issue with Nelle, somehow Snidely found out and called her into the Principal's office for a long chewing out.
After a couple months of this - enjoying her work growing flowers, but feeling very uncomfortable with the working atmosphere, Merry considered her options. Sometimes Snidely tag-teamed against employees with his brother Boris Badenoff. The stress was getting to her.
Friends and family advised Merry to quit. She finally decided to explain to Snidely that she had a dream of starting her own flower business - a small one. She didn't want to tick the guy off by telling him the real reason she wanted out. At first Mr. Whiplash was understanding - even enthusiastic about Merry's move. He didn't demand that she march right out the door. He needed her to finish up some gardeny projects and she was happy to do so - professional to the end. Nelle evidently wasn't up to the task.
On her last day, Merry took a few snapshots of her best work for her files. Garden stores always show that stuff on their websites. She emailed them to herself from her work email, said goodbye to the gang and began her drive home. Before she even arrived at her place, Snidely phoned her, yelling that she'd stolen from him by sending herself those files - as if she'd stolen the very plants themselves! Snidely is a scary guy - who looks a bit like a pirate.
Merry didn't know what to do. She felt she was within her rights to have those photos. Gardeners keep collections of their plants in order to get jobs. Over the next few days Snidely made her life miserable by emailing her and leaving messages on her phone threatening police action. Merry was filled with angst - would she go to jail? She finally contacted her kindly Uncle Macaroon for advice. He told her to ask Snidely to stop contacting her.
For a while nothing happened. Then one day a constable knocked at Merry's door. Snidely Whiplash had filed a complaint against her - claiming she'd stolen plant pictures. She was told she was not allowed to have a copy of anything she signed at the Whiplash company. Merry filled out a report of her side of the story. The constable stated that he didn't like Snidely one bit. But now the reports will be viewed by a supreme being who will be the decider. Uncle Mac continued to consult with Merry regarding ongoing events.
Merry, wishing to put this behind her finally emailed Snidely to say she had decided to destroy all copies of the pictures of plants. She was worn out by the saga. But that wasn't good enough by Snidely. He sent her a scroll with a number of demands - some of them outrageously dating back to flowers she grew for employers before she even knew Mr. Whiplash. He also wants to tie her to a train track.
If his demands are not met and she is not put in the dungeon by the constable, Whiplash has vowed to take Merry Sunshines rupies ($$).
So that's where the story stands. A bully has threatened our heroine in several ways. He seems threatened by a young gardener who simply wants to grow a few flowers. Merry Sunshine is supported by her family, friends and Uncle Mac. It doesn't seem fair that a bully can get away with this type of behavior in fairy tale land. Does it?
No comments:
Post a Comment