The Cranberry Village

Chapter 6: The secret of the best; the story of the quarrel between the bakers

In Chapter 5, I introduced you to the baker in the Cranberry Village. His name is Bundt, and he makes the best breads, cakes, and cookies on the Island.

But now I must introduce to you a problem which I didn’t mention in Chapter 5. If you remember, I told you that Bundt the baker makes delicious cranberry bread. Do you remember who else in the Village makes cranberry bread? You’re right. It is Mrs. Cranberry.

Mrs. Cranberry had lived on the Island long before Bundt had moved in and set up shop in the Village. And Mrs. Cranberry, in all her years by the enchanted cranberry bog, had perfected the art of making anything and everything that can be made with cranberries: cakes, jellies, sauces, and, of course, cranberry bread!

Now, I must let you in on a little-known fact. The truth was, deep down inside, Mrs. Cranberry was proud of her cranberry bread. She thought that her cranberry bread was the best, not only the in Island but in the whole country besides. And it really was—for a time.

But then Bundt moved in. Bundt, as you know, was a master at any kind of bread-baking. And as you know, Bundt the baker was consumed with the effort of making perfect bread. So one day, Bundt visited the cranberry bog. He delicately picked the berries one at a time and carefully inspected each one, turning it over in his hand, squeezing it gently between his thumb and finger to make sure it was neither too soft nor too firm, sniffing it to see it was satisfactorily fragrant. He even tasted a few, chewing slowly and thoughtfully, concentrating on the flavor, savoring the delightful balance between the tartness and sweetness, with just the slightest hint of bitter. If the berry displayed even the suggestion of a deformity, the baker immediately discarded it. When his pail was full of the very best berries, Bundt returned to his bakery.

In his kitchen, Bundt kept working. He mixed, he measured, he filled his bread pans. He baked and sniffed and sampled. He added a touch of nutmeg here, a pinch of salt there, and finally, Bundt was convinced that he had made the perfect loaf of cranberry bread.

All around the Village, word got around: “Bundt the baker is making cranberry bread!”

In little groups all over the Village, animals were talking about it.

“Bundt is making cranberry bread!”

“Can you believe it?”

“Do you think he can make it better than Mrs. Cranberry?”

“Yes, he can.”

“No, he can’t.”

Word got around to Mrs. Cranberry as well, but she said to herself, “That’s alright. He won’t ever be able to make cranberry bread as good as mine.”

When Bundt the baker finally finished his loaf, pretty much the whole village showed up to taste it. With great enthusiasm, the crowd buzzed around Bundt’s bakery, sampling the new bread and discussing it.

“Why, it is better than Mrs. Cranberry’s!” someone said.

“No, it’s not!” another replied.

“Yes, it is!”

In all the Village, there had never been such excitement. And Mrs. Cranberry heard it. As she walked through the Village, Mrs. Cranberry overheard a little group examining the fine and nuanced qualities of Bundt’s cranberry creation. And something sputtered deep down inside of her.

Mrs. Cranberry went home and baked several loaves of her best cranberry bread recipe. Piling the loaves into a cart, Mrs. Cranberry brought them into the Village. Immediately there was a crowd around Mrs. Cranberry and her cart. Everyone wanted to taste her bread and compare it with Bundt’s.

Some held confidently to their original opinions: “Yup, Bundt’s bread is much better than Mrs. Cranberry’s.”

Others were less certain: “I’m not sure. I like both the same.”

Bundt, meanwhile, glanced over at the crowd that had moved away from his shop and gathered around Mrs. Cranberry and frowned. Then he disappeared back into his kitchen. All night Bundt was hard at work . . .

In the morning, a new sign appeared on his shop: “All-New Cranberry Bread—Same Great Flavor with a Unique Twist!”

So, of course, everyone had to try the new bread with the exciting twist.

“Why, this is the best cranberry bread I’ve ever eaten!” Somebody exclaimed.

Mrs. Cranberry’s insides recoiled. She went home at once and spent the rest of the afternoon in her kitchen . . .

The next morning, Mrs. Cranberry had a special new recipe for everyone to try.

For days and weeks and months, things went on like this. Bundt would make a new loaf and then Mrs. Cranberry would and then Bundt again. Each wanted to be the one who could make the best bread. Each wanted to be the best. And the more they competed with one another, the more they disliked each other. They refused to speak to each other. They glared at each other when they passed on the streets. Each was jealous of the other when they heard anyone talking about how good the other’s bread was.

Everyone in the Village began to feel the tension too. What had started as a small rivalry was now a full-fledged quarrel, and it was hurting everyone on the Island. In fact, so many animals noticed the problem that they decided to come together and discuss what to do about it. After days of worrying over the issue, Whisk the squirrel, Fenton Frog, and Paul and Mrs. Mole, who were friends with both Bundt the baker and Mrs. Cranberry, decided it was time to do something to help. Together, they came up with an idea . . .

The next morning, Mrs. Cranberry went out to her cranberry bog with a pail to gather cranberries. She was trying out a new recipe for cranberry bread that she felt sure would be the best anyone had ever tasted. But as she stepped out her front door, she saw that there was a gift laid out on her porch, wrapped up with a bright red ribbon. Mrs. Cranberry loved presents, so she was very pleased as she unwrapped the gift. It was a pair of beautiful, light blue oven mitts. There were two little red cranberries with their little green leaves stitched into the corner, and neatly embroidered in red along the edge were the words, “Matthew 20:26-28.”

At the same time in the Village, Bundt was just opening shop. He had spent the night in his kitchen baking a new recipe of cranberry bread that he felt would be the best anyone had ever tasted. As he opened the front door of his shop, he noticed something long and skinny and wrapped in red paper lying on his step. Bundt was pleased, for he loved presents too. Unwrapping his gift, he saw that it was a long wooden spoon. Etched in tiny neat handwriting along the handle of the spoon were the words, “Matthew 20:26-28.”

Both Bundt and Mrs. Cranberry stopped what they were doing. Both got a faraway look in their eyes. Both began to think. And the more they thought, the more they realized that they had just stumbled across another Cranberry Secret.

The Cranberry Secret: The Cranberry Secret comes, of course, from Matthew chapter 20 verses 26-28. In these verses, Jesus is talking to His followers. When Jesus lived on earth, He had twelve special followers called disciples. These disciples did not always get along very well with each other. Just like Bundt and Mrs. Cranberry in our story, the disciples fought sometimes about which of them was the best. So Jesus had to teach them an important lesson. He said, “ ‘ . . .whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.’”

The disciples fought to be the best. Mrs. Cranberry and Bundt the Baker fought to be the best. But Jesus says that someone who is truly great serves others. Instead of fighting to be the best, they help others. Jesus gives us the perfect example of someone like this—He gives us the example of Himself. Jesus really is the best. There is no one greater than Him. But the Bible tells us that Jesus, even though He is the best, even though He is God Himself, gave up all His rights in Heaven and came down to earth to be a human being and to serve human beings (Philippians 2:1-11). That’s pretty incredible. But that’s not all. Jesus gave His life— He died on the cross—to save sinful human beings from God’s anger. But of course He didn’t stay dead. He was buried, but came alive again and went back to Heaven.

Now, those who want to follow Jesus must be like Him—they must follow His example of being a servant.

How can you be a servant? You can wash dishes for your parents. You can help a little brother or sister with their homework or with a chore. You can help your mom cook dinner. There are many ways you can be a servant instead of fighting to be the best.

As for Mrs. Cranberry and Bundt the baker, as they thought about their presents and their new secret, each had an idea. All day, Mrs. Cranberry sat in her rocking chair on her front porch bent over her sewing. All day, Bundt the baker scuttled about in his kitchen perfecting his favorite recipe. That night, Mrs. Cranberry tiptoed to Bundt’s bakery and laid on his doorstep a brand new apron she had made herself. She had noticed that his old one was dirty and worn.

And that night, Bundt the baker crept softly up to Mrs. Cranberry’s front porch and laid down a beautiful loaf of his best sourdough bread. He thought she ought to have something to go with her famous cranberry jelly.

So instead of fighting to be the best, Mrs. Cranberry and Bundt the baker now help each other out whenever they can. And in doing so, they have become friends. It no longer matters to them who can make the best cranberry bread. After all, they both have a Savior Who gave everything for them even though He is the very best. And He has taught them the secret of the best.

Read the story of Jesus' fighting disciples for yourself in Matthew 20:20-28!

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Artwork by Daniel and Joshua Venturo.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Used by permission.  All rights reserved.