Chantelle had a drinking problem. She would pour herself a drink (what nonsense! she drank straight from the bottle) the minute she got out of bed. Sometimes she even had a swig before she got out of bed.
One morning rather early she opened a brand new bottle and a Genie popped out. “How dare you supplant yourself in a bottle and displace the original contents,” screamed Chantelle.
“I was going to give you three wishes,” said the Genie, “but since you’ve been such a malicious floozy I’m going to throw a curse on you.”
The Genie left. Chantelle was devastated. She opened a bottle of Southern Comfort (for comfort) but it was empty. She opened another. And another. Not a single bottle in Chantelle’s cellar contained a drop of booze. Even the bottles she had hidden under the bed were empty.
Chantelle lived the rest of her life in agony. Never again would she be rude to a Genie. But it was too late. The deed had been done and the no-alcohol curse was in force.
That is why I exhort all readers when opening a bottle if a Genie pops out be nice to it. You can’t be too careful. I have opened many, many bottles and countless Genies have popped out. In fact, the more bottles I open the more I see Genies everywhere.
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