Sprouting Evil

A pretty flower, no? Tall stalks, swaying in the breeze; bright lemon-coloured petals offering gentle scent. Yet these plants would come nowhere near my modest garden, for these produce that most accursed of leaf vegetables- the Brussels sprout. This, the despoiler of Christmas dinners, that bane of childhood mealtimes, the foul blight of tastebud innocence.

Ah, you object? You are fond of these sprouts; you enjoy guzzling them with your turkey or roasted beef? Says Zophar the Naamathite:

“Though evil is sweet in his mouth,

And he hides it under his tongue,

Though he spares it and does not forsake it,

But still keeps it in his mouth,

Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;

It becomes cobra venom within him”. (Job 20:12-14)

Beware of the stinking fruits of pretty flowers. Beware the sins of sweet-smelling traps.