‘Splash’ a huge wall of water ascended in the air after Wyatt swung off of a vine hanging from an ancient oak tree. The Doty children were playing in a river not far from their home. “Cut it out,†Cara demanded as she sat reading underneath the same oak tree, “You are getting my book wet.†“Aw come on Cara you never play with us,†Lelia called from across the river. “Yeah, come on Cara put that boring book down,†Levi joined in. “It is getting hot out anyways,†Cara replied, “Let’s go inside and cool off.†“Okay,†the twins said in unison. “I’ll catch up with ya’ll in a minute, I want to take one last swing off the vine,†Wyatt said as he began to climb the oak tree. Wyatt caught up with the others just as they arrived at the back door. The children entered the house exhausted, so their mother, Arianna, handed them each their favorite flavor of Mr. Goodsicle popsicles. Wyatt gladly took his Root Beer pop. Cara reached for the Cherry pop. Lelia smiled as she received her Strawberry-Kiwi pop and Levi took the Blue Raspberry pop. Arianna returned to the kitchen to put the remaining popsicles in the freezer. As she closed the freezer door she heard a wail from the living room. Once she entered the room she was horrified to see Levi’s tongue stuck to his blue popsicle. By now Levi had tears streaming down his cheeks. Wyatt stood scoffing at him saying, “Just pull it off!†“I will rip it off for you!†Levi then let out another wail, “No don’t let him touch me,†but it sounded more like, “Ohhh on’t et im uch eeee!†Arianna scolded Wyatt and sent him to the kitchen to call their father. She then told Levi to sit on the couch and Lelia and Cara to retrieve some warm water. Wyatt returned with a phone in hand and shoved it at his mother. She took it up and told John what had happened. He was infuriated. “Was there a warning on the box,†he asked. When Arianna replied, “No,†he screamed, “We will sue Mr. Goodsicle for every popsicle he has.†By the time Arianna was off the phone with John, Lelia and Cara had managed to melt most of the popsicle with warm water. After another five minutes of applying the water, Levi’s tongue was free, but the pain was not gone. For a week, Levi found it difficult to eat and drink, because of the raw spot on his tongue, curtsey of the Blue Raspberry Mr. Goodsicle. John was prepared to take action. He contacted an old friend from high school, Blakely Turner. Blakely opened a law firm with a fellow colleague, Branson White, six years ago and their company, B² Attorneys at Law, was now prospering. Blakely agreed to help John out as a favor for an old friend. After four years of paper work and other court business, the day finally arrived when the family would go to court. Blakely had put together a commendable case against William Spencer, the owner of Mr. Goodsicle. The product had no warning label and the emotional toll on Levi and his family was almost unbearable. The case took only two days to present to the judge and jury. Once the jury was sent for deliberations, they returned in less than an hour. The verdict, the Doty family was to be presented with six-hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Spencer was appalled; he could not believe that his company was going to be forced to pay this amount of money for such an act of stupidity. The next day, Mr. Spencer ensured that the next box design would contain a warning: if not careful, one’s tongue may stick to the Mr. Goodsicle. The Doty family used some of the awarded money to buy a large freezer which they fill weekly with massive amounts of Mr. Goodsicles. A month later a reporter found the Doty children down at the river along with the other neighborhood kids. Every one of the children had a popsicle stuck to their tongues. Slowly but surely the popsicles began to melt and fall off of the dangling tongues. When finally a small girl with long blonde pigtails cried, “I win!†She was the only one with a popsicle still attached to her tongue. The reporter was curious and decided to investigate. She approached Levi and questioned him about the act that they were performing. She also inquired about the lawsuit his parents won only a month ago. Levi responded, “My brother and sisters and I have been doing this ever since my tongue first got stuck; it has become like a sport for us. Now the whole neighborhood is involved.â€Â
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