Maurecia liked ice cream. She was sweet and pretty and could beat up any boy in Mrs. Jewls\'s class. Everybody liked Maurecia-except Kathy, but then she didn\'t like anybody. Maurecia only liked ice cream.

Every day Maurecia brought an ice cream cone to school and kept it in her desk until lunch time. At first she brought chocolate ice cream every day. But she soon tired of chocolate ice cream. So she started bringing vanilla. But she got tired of vanilla, too. Then she got tired of strawberry, fudge ripple, butter pecan, pistachio, and burgundy cherry, in that order.
36And then a terrible thing happened. Maurecia got tired of ice cream. By that time her desk was a mess, and everything in it was sticky.
Everybody liked Maurecia. But Maurecia didn\'t like anything.

Mrs. Jewls hated to see Maurecia unhappy.

"I don\'t understand it, Mrs. Jewls," cried Maurecia. "There just aren\'t any good flavors anymore."

So Mrs. Jewls worked all night. The next day she brought in a new flavor of ice cream for Maurecia. It was Maurecia-flavored ice cream. "Everybody will like it," thought Mrs. Jewls, "because everybody likes Maurecia."

"Here you are, Maurecia," said Mrs. Jewls, "Maurecia-flavored ice cream."

Everybody gathered around as Maurecia tasted it. They hoped she\'d like it.

Maurecia took a lick.

"Well?" said Mrs. Jewls.

Maurecia took another lick.

"Well?" asked the class.

"This ice cream has no taste," said Maurecia. "It doesn\'t taste bad, but it doesn\'t taste good. It doesn\'t taste like anything at all!"

Mrs. Jewls was heartbroken.

&quo............