CHAPTER 4: Conquering Jealousy and Chocolates

“Do you feel anxious about following Prince’s lead without knowing where he would take you?” asked the girl, “or constantly expecting more magic without knowing when, or searching for the enchanted spell without knowing why and how?”

“It is not sufficient to accept intellectually who you are, meaning a partial acceptance.”

Bass the Jealousy Counsellor

“Many magical creatures, and humans too, force their agenda and try to control the situation and every bit of it,” answered Bass, “but everyone tends to overlook that each has an unique assignment, which others cannot complete on his or her behalf and vice versa.”

The girl frowned and shook her head.  “I don’t quite understand.”

“Oh look!” alarmed the girl on arrival at the Dresden Hauptbahnhof, “there are two magical creatures on the other side of the track!”

“You should have spotted the two chatterboxes early on,” sighed Don.

Don took the initiative to introduce Bianca and Chococo to the girl.  There was an instant friendship between the three ladies.

The two little fellas were best friends since they could remember, while they were insanely jealous of the other’s gifted flair.  But there was not rivalry standing between them.  As they were often misjudged by their stereotypical traits, they simply wished to swap places with one another.

Intense jealousy was veiling their direct personalities and natural talents in helpless, yet partial acceptance.  They decided to put on the mascot costumes, acting out the person that they wanted to become, against the exaggerated false impressions.

As the cheerful group entered the historic heart of Dresden, they could easily identify the baroque Dresdner Zwinger by its richly sculpted and ornamented facades and gates.

The Dresdner Zwinger infused the Innere Altstadt with a festive spirit.  The museum complex contained the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister showcasing a wonderful collection of the works by the old masters from the early Renaissance to the Enlightenment.  Throngs of sightseers packed the ticket office floor.  The girl felt being forced along with the fanatic crowd.

“We will see more buildings designed by the court architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann today,” commanded Prince, “so let’s move fast to find the queue to get in.”

The Italian artist Raphael Sanzio’s masterpiece Sistine Madonna was truly the greatest treasure of the museum.  Prince examined the oil painting very carefully, but it held no secret of magic spells.

“The two chubby cherubs stole the scene,” whispered the girl in a soft voice.

“Yes, indeed, the two chubby cherubs,” echoed Bass.

As Prince performed a roll call at the end of the investigation, Chococo was found missing.

The beastie buddies looked at one another.

“I know where she is,” yelped Bianca, pointing to the portrait section on the museum map.

The group immediately rushed to Jean-Étienne Liotard’s painting Chocolatière, which featured a housemaid serving a cup of hot cocoa, a luxury and fashionable drink in Europe in the eighteenth century.

“You are just so predictable,” mocked Bianca as she shrugged her shoulders.

Chococo forced a smile in embarrassment, blushed.

“How could you smell chocolate from a painting?” jeered Prince, “Never mind.  Let’s move on.”

Prince had done some research on transportation to the castles suspicious of holding the magic spells.  He then hopped on the bus and helped everyone get on.

The Schloß and Park Pillnitz at the Elbe River valley was a Slavic settlement, once a pleasure palace, and later the summer residence of the Saxon royals.  The Wasserpalais by the riverside stood scenically amidst the abundance of botanical treasures.  The group was strolling in sunshine, while Prince conducted his investigation again.

“I am curious why you conceal your true colours literally in your mascot costume,” said the girl.

“I don’t want to be a pig,” sighed Chococo, “‘pork chop’ is a derogatory nickname to mock any chubby girl in my regional street culture.”

“Bristly and chocolate-skinned, she suffers from common misconceptions about pigs being obnoxious, grimy, lazy, and sometimes, nerdy,” said Bianca, “but we all know Chococo has naturally clean instincts to start with and has an incredible sense of smell and fashion.”

“Thank you, Bianca,” said Chococo in watery eyes, “and it is also not fair to Bianca that, with her fur as white and soft as snow, she is immediately associated as a cuddly, adorable, cute little bunny.  Her not-so-threatening appearance often causes others to undermine her efforts and intelligence.”

“So, we change what needs to be changed,” added Chococo.

“I’m afraid that’s life…” sighed the girl in empathy.

“It is not about accepting the status quo or the opposite,” Bass interrupted her mid-sentence just to stop the girls from wallowing in self-pity, “it is not sufficient to accept intellectually who you are, meaning a partial acceptance.  Everyone wants to be smarter and prettier.  I want to be taller, stronger, and shinier.”

The girls chuckled.

Bass went on, “It is just too easy to yield to temptation – bargaining for what is and never will be ours, envying our peers, and responding in anger and resentment – because the imagined good things are not fulfilled.”

When the group returned to the old town of Dresden in the late afternoon, the Dresdner Residenzschloß, the residence of the kings and electors of Saxony, was glowing in sunset.  It was beautiful, but it housed no magic spells either.

Prince, in bitter disappointment, was not in the mood to appreciate the architectural forms and features, from baroque to neo-renaissance.

“I suppose we are all sent to the castles on assignment for spiritual growth,” said Don.

“Is it possible to refuse or take on an assignment?” asked Bianca.

Don was utterly confused.

“You can,” replied Bass, “but you cannot refuse the consequences of the decision.”

“I wish to take on an assignment to the beach!” grumbled Chococo.

“But that is not what you were fabricated for,” said Bass.  “Going to the beach is perhaps somebody else’s beastie assignment.”