The Breakfast Quest

I'm making a special breakfast today. Granny's famous cinnamon buns.

To make the best buns, you need the best ingredients, I tell my sister Sam.

So we hop on my bike and ride across town to Farmer Ray's.

You've come to the right place, says the farmer, pulling on his bushy beard.

My chickens lay wonderful eggs.

At the chicken coop, I gather two smooth brown eggs and a nervous chicken.

Cinnamon buns, you say? Farmer Ray smiles slyly.

If it's butter you're after, you'll need to pack your bags.

The best butter I know comes from Denmark.

We all hop on his tractor, catch a plane, and watch as we zoom over the Atlantic Ocean.

In Denmark, we head to Rolling Green Fields, where we find an enormous sleepy cow.

I introduce myself, my sister Sam, Farmer Ray, and the chicken to the cow's owner, explaining that my grandmother's cinnamon buns are not to be missed.

Well, you've come to the right place, says Farmer Lena, spilling some milk from a pail.

My butter is the creamiest in the world.

Cinnamon buns, you say? She pauses.

If it's flour you need, the heartiest wheat I know comes from France.

We all ride the cow to the train to France, where we find an amber field of warm, dry grain, and meet a French farmer who listens very closely to our plan.

Well, you've come to the right place, says Farmer François, twirling his mustache.

My wheat makes the very best flour in the entire world.

I grab two armfuls.

Cinnamon buns, you say? If it's vanilla you need, the finest vanilla in all the world comes from Madagascar.

Come with me.

We all hop in his hot air balloon and set off over Africa, looking down on a magnificent leopard roaming the plains.

In Madagascar, we march through the lush hills.

There we meet Sabine, a vanilla grower, and I tell her the plan.

Well, if you're making famous cinnamon buns, you've come to the right place, says Farmer Sabine, her eyes sparkling.

My vines produce the most fragrant vanilla beans in all the world.

I scoop up a handful of the heavy brown vanilla beans.

Madagascar grows sugarcane and cinnamon, too, says Farmer Sabine.

Let me take you to my friend Patrick's plantation.

Patrick listens to the plan.

True.

I have the sweetest sugarcane and the very best cinnamon in the world, he says.

Sugarcane I can give you, but-

He looks sad.

I'm afraid I can't help you with cinnamon.

I'm all out.

We harvested it yesterday.

No cinnamon for the cinnamon buns, we cry.

Now what?

Something high atop a tree catches my eye.

A small area of bark.

I climb the tree and peel some off.

This will do, I say, grinning at the relieved crowd.

We coax the cow and the chicken onto a steamship and head home before the ingredients spoil, mixing up a batch of Granny's famous cinnamon buns along the way.

Well, I ask as everyone chews and smiles.

You were right, say the farmers.

These are truly the very best cinnamon buns in all the world.

Now what should I make for lunch?