Annie the Economist and the Perfect Brownies

It was the best part of the day.  Annie was at her favorite cookie store, Lily’s.  There was a perfect brownie on the shelf, the last one left and it was going to be Annie’s!  Most brownies are good, but few reach that height of greatness where they just glow at you from behind the display case.  There was only one person ahead of her, a rather severe looking old man. 

“I’ll take one brownie!” said the old man.  “Oh no!” said Annie to herself and lightly tapped her father’s leg, warning him about the unfolding tragedy.  

Her father reassured her.  “Don’t worry, Annie.  I see Lily is already taking out another tray of brownies.  You’ll be able to buy as many as you like.”  Annie’s eyes went very wide.  Her father quickly corrected himself, saying “What I mean is, you don’t have to worry about Lily running out of brownies and we will be able to buy one brownie in just a minute.”

Annie was still dreaming about buying all the brownies when their turn finally came.  But something was wrong.  These brownies looked different.  She couldn’t explain it, but there was no wonderful glow.  While she was trying to figure out the reason for the difference, her father ordered a brownie and gave it to Annie.  She wanted to be polite, so thanked her father for the brownie, and took a bite, but the taste confirmed what Annie’s eyes had told her: It wasn’t the perfect brownie.  She tried to smile but a disappointed look settled on her face.

Lilly, the store owner, had been watching Annie the whole time she was in the store, and came over.  “Not as good as the others, right?” said Lilly.  Annie nodded sadly.  “It’s very frustrating.  Lazy Louie makes the brownies at his store across town.  When he’s careful, there is nothing better in town.  But sometimes Lazy Louie just doesn’t pay enough attention to making the brownies.  They taste ok, but discriminating consumers like you and me can tell the difference.  I don’t know what to do!”

Annie loved an interesting problem as much as the perfect brownie. Well, ok not quite as much, but almost as much.  She was curious.  How could Lilly get Lazy Louie to make perfect brownies all the time?  Annie asked Lilly, “How come you don’t just send the brownies back to Louie when they aren’t as good?  Or maybe pay him less for merely ordinary brownies?” Lilly sighed when Annie asked the question.  “Lazy Louie has twin brother, Richard.  Richard is a really tough lawyer, who knows judges which don’t understand desserts.  Some of the judges prefer eating fruit to brownies.  Imagine choosing some banana or orange over a great pastry!”

“Anyway, I pay Lazy Louie $30 for a tray of brownies.  I could send back the tray if it is ordinary brownies.  I could also try to pay Louie less for them, maybe $15. If I did, Lazy Louie would call his twin brother and lawyer Richard, who would sue me in front of some judge with no taste in dessert. Lazy Louie would claim that the brownies were perfect, and I was just being mean.  The judge wouldn’t be able to tell the brownies are merely ordinary, and would agree with Louie and Richard.  But my customers know the difference.  If the brownies aren’t perfect, I only wind up selling half and throw out the rest.”  Annie nodded and walked out the store with her father, chewing sadly on the ordinary brownie. 

Annie couldn’t sleep at first when she first lay down in bed that night.  She kept thinking about Lilly, Lazy Louie, his brother Richard, and most of all about the brownies.  The perfect ones looked so amazing.  There had to be a way to make sure that Lazy Louie would pay better attention, and stope making ordinary brownies.  Lily could make a deal with Lazy Louie that he would only make perfect brownies… but if Lazy Louie got lazy again and delivered ordinary brownies, the courts couldn’t help because so many judges have bad taste in dessert.  Without courts that understand the perfect brownie, an agreement was no guarantee! 

Annie finally fell asleep, and had a nightmare.  She was an ordinary brownie, sitting in the display case at Lilly’s bakery.  Nobody wanted her.  Lily came by the case at the end of the day, shrugged, and picked up the tray.  Step by step, the tray, with Annie in it, came closer to the garbage can.  Annie woke up in a cold sweat just as she dreamed Lily was tipping the tray over.  Annie had to pinch herself to make sure she was still a little girl, and not a brownie at the bottom of a garbage bag with a bunch of stale cookies and rolls.

Maybe the dream had the answer to the problem!  Annie realized that Lazy Louie got paid the same whether he delivered ordinary or perfect brownies.  The judges couldn’t tell if the brownies were merely ordinary or perfect by tasting them, but anyone could come by and look at how many brownies had been sold at the end of the day.  What if Lily and Lazy Louie made an agreement based not on whether the brownies were perfect, but rather on how many were sold?!  Lilly sold the brownies for $3 each.  Suppose Louie got $1.50 for each brownie sold, rather than the same $30 no matter how many sold?  If Louie was suspicious that Lily was exaggerating, he could just come by and see how many brownies were left at the end of the day. 

Annie thought about it more.  It was a perfect solution.  Whenever Lazy Louie made perfect brownies, they would all be gone by the end of the day, and he would make a lot more money.  If he made ordinary brownies, maybe half the tray would sell, and he’d only make half the money.  Lazy Louie would have a really good reason to make sure his brownies were perfect.  And, even better, there would always be perfect brownies at Lilly’s!

The next day. Annie convinced her mother to go to visit Lilly at the bakery. “You just want to buy a cookie, don’t you?” said her mother.  “Well, I would like to buy a cookie, but I also want to explain an idea to Lily.”  Annie told Lily her idea and Lilly was so excited she gave Annie a big hug and a gift certificate good for a free birthday cake.  While they were standing there, Lilly called Lazy Louie to discuss the idea.  Lazy Louie picked up the phone after it rang twenty times, which is pretty typical for Lazy Louie.  He agreed to the idea right away.

After that day, whenever Annie visited Lilly’s bakery, she saw that the brownies always looked perfect, and most were sold by evening.  It always made her smile.  The only time she smiled more was when she ate her delicious, free birthday cake!

Annie the Economist and the Shaggy Kittens Concert

Annie was so excited to open her lemonade stand for the summer!  She was going to use all of the money she made from the stand to buy a ticket to a concert by the Shaggy Kittens, her favorite band.  If she made enough money, she could even afford a special t-shirt only available at the concert with pictures of the band on the beach.

Based on what she’d learned before[1], Annie knew the best place to open her lemonade stand would be a busier street than 11^th Avenue, where she lived.  The more people walking by, the more people would spend money on her lemonade, and the closer she’d be to seeing the Shaggy Kittens in person.  Annie decided the perfect spot was the corner of 11^th Avenue and Clark Street.  It only takes a few minutes to walk there from her home, so it isn’t too far to carry the table, sign, cups, and of course the day’s supply of lemonade, as long as she used a couple of trips.  It is also right near a bus stop and some office buildings, so there are lots of people walking by all the time. 

Annie went to the corner on the first day of summer with her table, humming her favorite Shaggy Kittens’ tune, “Now I’m going to Meow.”  She almost switched from a hum to a scream when she turned the corner.  Guess what she saw?  Her best friend Milton was sitting there, with his own lemonade stand and a big grin on his face.

Annie walked up to Milton and asked him exactly what he thought he was doing.  Milton said, “I’m selling lemonade.  I want to see my favorite band, The Naughty Bulldogs, and need the money for a ticket.”

 “But this is my corner.  I’ve been planning for months to use it!”  Annie cried.

Milton said, “It’s not your corner.  This is a free country.  Anyone can sell lemonade wherever they want.”

Annie thought for a moment.  She could complain to her parents or Milton’s parents.  They were always so busy though, and sometimes got annoyed when she complained.  They might even take Milton’s side.  She could make herself cry, and hope that Milton would feet bad and would go home.  She tried that for a minute, but Milton just ignored her, singing “Bow Wow Then and Now,” his favorite Naughty Bulldogs song.  Hmm, crying didn’t make things any better.  Annie then looked around and decided that the spot right next to Milton was as good as anywhere, and she could just as easily sell lemonade down the street as on the corner.  Maybe Milton’s lemonade stand wasn’t such a problem after all.

Annie returned to her house a couple of times to get the rest of the things for the lemonade stand, and was ready for business.  Both she and Milton were selling lemonade for 25 cents a cup.  Annie had thought hard about the math.  If she sold 10 glasses of lemonade at that price every day, she could go see the Shaggy Kittens, buy a t-shirt, and even have some money left over for snacks at the concert. 

The first customer came by.  He looked like a nice man, who was very tired and sweaty from walking around on this hot day.  The man looked at Milton’s stand, then at Annie’s stand, seeming confused as to why there were two lemonade stand on the corner, and which one to pick.  “Are you thirsty?”  Asked Annie.  Come buy my lemonade!”  The man took a step towards Annie’s stand.

“Come buy my lemonade!” said Milton. The man turned and took a step towards Milton’s stand.  Then he scratched his head and said, “Well, why should I buy your lemonade?  Both cost 25 cents.  Both look really delicious.”  Milton said, “I’ll only charge you 20 cents!”  The man took another step towards Milton’s stand.  Annie got frustrated.  How could she stop the man from buying from Milton?  She thought quickly, “Two can play this game.” 

“I’ll charge you 15 cents!” she called out.  “l’ll charge you ten cents!” yelled Milton. “Five cents!  You can have my lemonade for just a nickel!” said Annie.  The man kept on taking steps in one direction and then another, and finally tripped on his own feet and fell.  An ambulance had to come and take him away to the hospital.

The rest of the day was miserable.  Annie and Milton kept cutting prices in order to take customers away from each other.  Happily nobody else had to go to the hospital.  However, one time Milton offered to pay someone ten cents to drink his lemonade instead.  It was frustrating, and worst of all, lowering prices meant that she would make less money each day.  By selling lemonade for so much less than she had planned, there was no way whatsoever that Annie could earn enough money to see the Shaggy Kittens.  She could try selling lemonade somewhere else, but there was no other good corner nearby.  What could she do?

Annie walked home at the end of the day, dragging her table and other equipment behind her.  She was too sad to even hum one of her favorite songs, “Fur Ball Blues.”  Her Dad was home when she got there, and he offered Annie a glass of lemonade.  That was the last thing she wanted after such a day!  She took a glass of nice apple juice instead and went into the backyard to recover from the day and think.

How could she earn enough money to go see the Shaggy Kittens?  There was no way she could make Milton close his stand or move it.  Milton was so stubborn, and loved the Naughty Bulldogs almost as much as Annie loved the Shaggy Kittens.  But as long as Milton’s stand was there, there was no way she could sell enough glasses of lemonade to go to the concert.  She could try to make an agreement with Milton, that they would both charge 25 cents.  However, she knew it would be so tempting to offer less money to customers whenever they were choosing Milton over her.  It was so exciting to get one of his customers.  It was like she could feel herself a couple of steps closer to the concert each time that happened.  Annie saw the same happy look on Milton’s face whenever he tempted one of her customers away.  It would be too hard to keep such a promise.  Besides, she wanted to teach Milton a lesson: nobody gets between her and the Shaggy Kittens.  Making such an agreement would be too close to letting Milton win.

Annie felt frustrated.  Her teacher, Mrs. Frederick, had taught her to take a nice deep breath whenever she felt this way.  She tried it. The air went ssshhh though her nose.  She still felt frustrated; it didn’t work.  She tried another breath.  Ssshhhh  went the air. 

What was that smell?  Annie noticed that the mint in her mother’s backyard garden smelt nice and refreshing.  She walked over to the mint plant. It was huge!  Her mother had planted the mint a couple of years ago, and almost never used any.  The smell gave Annie an idea.  Instead of selling lemonade, she could sell mint lemonade.  It would be different and more delicious than the plain lemonade that Milton was selling.  Instead of cutting her price to keep customers, she could sell something different and better.  What if Milton tried to sell mint lemonade also?  Annie thought for a moment.  Milton’s Dad had lots of tomatoes and zucchini growing in his backyard, but no mint.  It was a good plan!

Annie remembered she had to ask permission before just taking the mint.  Last year, Annie had taken some peonies from the garden to decorate the table at a tea party, and her Mom had been really mad at her. Annie had to take out the garbage for a whole month.  When her Mom came home, Annie asked permission and her Mom agreed to let Annie use the mint.  “It grows like weeds, even if I don’t water it.  Just make sure not to step on my roses!” said Mom. 

Annie set up the lemonade stand in the same spot the next day, and just before opening for business, gave Milton a mischievous smile.  She then unveiled her new sign:

FRESH MINT LEMONADE – SPECIAL AND REFRESHING.  25 CENTS!

She saw Milton look at the new sign and shrug.  The first customer of the day came by.  She was a very elegant looking woman.  The woman, looked at Annie’s sign, glanced at Milton’s stand, and then took several steps towards Annie. 

“I’ll sell you lemonade for twenty cents!” said Milton.  The lady kept walking towards Annie.  Annie smiled.  “OK ten cents!” Milton cried out.  The lady kept coming towards Annie.   “Five cents?” offered Milton.  The lady looked at Milton, and said, “But I don’t want plain lemonade.  I like the fresh taste of mint along with the sour taste of lemons.”  Milton looked down at the ground and didn’t say anything.

The rest of the day was the same.  Most people looked at the two stands, and then chose Annie’s.  Only a pair of twins chose Milt’s stand, saying that mint gave them hiccups.  Annie was really happy.  She was right on track to buy her Shaggy Kitten’s tickets. 

The next day, Milton didn’t even open his stand.  He wound up starting an ice cream sundae business for birthday parties instead, and was able to go to his Naughty Bulldogs concert.  After a week, she and Milton had forgotten about the horrible day when they were competing for customers, and played at the neighborhood pool happily. 

At the end of the summer, Annie had sold enough special and refreshing mint lemonade that she got a front row seat to the Shaggy Kittens, along with a special VIP pass that let her pose for pictures with the band after the concert.  Annie treasured that picture, and kept it along with some pressed mint from the backyard on her dresser all of the next year to remind her of the wonderful evening at the concert, and the idea that helped her get there. 

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[1] See the Annie the Economist: The Beginning