Ms P was desolate. The gemstones in her favourite tiara had turned into fruit gums. She asked her agent, Mr G, for advice about what she should do. ‘Why don’t we eat them?’ Mr G suggested, hoping to indulge his sweet tooth. Ms P stared at him. ‘But I wore this when I sang at La Scala,‘ she protested. ‘It brings back such vivid memories.’ Mr G looked crestfallen. ‘You were indeed magnificent as Violetta,’ he conceded, ‘and I will always remember it. But these bonbons will go mouldy if we don’t eat them up, which would be a waste, and you know how much I detest waste.’ Ms P wasn’t listening. She placed the tiara on her head, and began to sing: ‘A quell‘amor, quell‘amor
ch’è palpito…’ And the red and green gum drops turned back into jewels.
Simon Collings
Picture Nick Victor
.