Edmond and Rover And Oranges

Edmond and Rover sat beside the riverside. It was a cool morning, one which happens right at the end of summer, when the leaves are starting to change and you can wear a jacket if you like. Edmond had some tea. Rover had a cup of orange juice. Rover looked down at his orange juice and then looked up at Edmond.

“Edmond,” he said, “where do we get orange juice?”

Edmond stopped looking across the peaceful river in order to pay attention to Rover’s question. “We get it from the store Rover.”

Rover looked down again at his orange juice. Edmond could tell something was brewing in his little turtle brain. “But Edmond, how do we have orange juice in the store here? I don’t see any oranges nearby.”

Edmond thought for a bit, “They must bring them from where there are oranges then.”

“But, who would bring oranges to us?”

“The orange delivery people would, that must be there job.”

Rover looked back down again. Edmond, thinking this matter had been settled, looked back to the river and sighed with relief at it’s pure beauty. Rover’s face lit up.

“Ah, but why do they bring them? It seems we an abundance of our own food here. That seems a lot of work for orange juice.”

Edmond’s face crunched a little and he grumbled as he turned away from the scenery. “Yes,” he said, “it must be a bit of work to bring oranges from the oranges place to here, but you like oranges, don’t you? They are delicious, so they bring them here for us.”

“Then why did they bring the oranges here in the first place?”

“What do you mean?” Edmond asked, a bit over with the conversation. “You like so they brought them over the first time and then kept bringing them over and will be doing so until nobody likes oranges anymore.”

“No, I mean, if they bring them here because I like oranges, but they had to have brought them in for the first time in the first place, I wouldn’t have liked oranges before that, seeing as I’d never had an orange before so I couldn’t possibly tell you if I liked them or not, then how did they ever start bringing them over. You see, before they were brought I couldn’t have liked them, so what reason did they have to bring them?”

Edmond saw what Rover was trying to do and he knew he wouldn’t be getting back to the river watching anytime soon. “They must have known you would like them so they brought them for you.”

“How would they know I liked them if I’d never had them.”

“Perhaps everyone likes oranges.”

“That couldn’t be the case, there is always someone who doesn’t like everything, oranges can’t be the exception.”

“Why not?”

Rover sat in silence for a second. “I supposed it’s possible, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like oranges, so as far as I know, it is possible that everyone likes them…”

Edmond smiled, “Exactly, the orange delivery people must know that everyone loves oranges so they bring them from wherever oranges come from to everyone else in the world. Now, that’s enough of this talk of oranges, let’s go back home. I’m beginning to feel the need for some breakfast.”

Rover smiled. “Yes, me too Edmond.”