The late Fall months were upon the Endless Forest, and it was the time for the animals to collect food for the winter. Some struggled through this process, others were more successful. Akemi was more than prepared for the winter, and even was generous enough to help others. She collected pinecones several months in advance of the other animals in the Endless Forest, and had a hoard of them saved for not only herself, but those who were hungry as well. On a regular basis, she would be approached by a deer who was unable to find food in the dwindling months, and she eagerly gave each visitor twelve pinecones, as she had more than enough to share.

One afternoon, Akemi was approached by a lowly doe. ”Hello, Akemi, I heard you were giving away pinecones for the winter. May I have a dozen?”, Mystress said.

”You heard right. I’ve got enough to give. Here, let me give you some.”, Akemi replied, and soon offered Mystress twelve pinecones.

The doe saw how many pinecones was in his hoard, and politely asked, ”If you don’t mind, may I have one more? I asked for a dozen.”

Akemi tilted her head, ”I gave you a dozen pinecones and you want another? Listen, I only give away twelve.”, she spoke.

Mystress frowned, ”You can’t spare one more pinecone? I asked for a dozen, not twelve.”

By now, Akemi was becoming annoyed. She replied, ”Look, I need to save the rest of these for the winter. I simply cannot give away too many. A dozen is twelve, not thirteen. Take it or leave it.”

The doe sighed and said, ”Very well…”, and left without taking the pinecones.

From then, Akemi seemed to have terrible luck. The next day, several of her pinecones had been stolen, and the thieves were never found. Another day, some of the pinecones had been covered in poisonous fungus, and had to be discarded. There were days that the pinecones fell apart when Akemi picked them up, and even a day when several of them floated away into the sky. Akemi was baffled by this luck, and soon began to consider the request of the doe for a dozen pinecones.

Mystress came a week later and asked for a dozen pinecones again. Akemi was furious that she would return and ask for the pinecones after the curse she had put on her pinecones. ”You dare ask me for a ‘dozen’ pinecones? No, I will not give you any now, not after sabotaging my stash. Leave me alone!”, Akemi shouted. Mystress left again without another word.

Akemi’s string of bad luck continued, as her pinecones were robbed once again, and even became rotten. She was running out of edible pinecones, and winter was soon approaching. She was becoming desperate.

She wandered off alone, finding herself at the old Ruins. There was no others around, so he began to pray. ”To anyone who hears my prayer, please come to my aid. A witch has cursed my pinecones, and soon the work I did to save them will be for naught. I am afraid of this winter, for there may not be enough for me to survive, let alone give to those who I have promised to share them with.”, she spoke.

When she returned to what was left of her pinecones, she saw a vision of a stag gleaming. The stag looked to her with eyes of sadness in his eyes. ”I am Seed, but you may know me as Saint Nicholas. I am the patron saint of merchants, sailors, and children alike.”, the saintly deer spoke.

”Saint Nicholas, what must I do? I am in terrible trouble, I cannot bear to think of what this winter will be like.”, Akemi replied.

”I spent my life giving to the poor, helping the sick and the suffering, and caring for the fawns, just as the Twin Gods asked us to. Michael and Auriea are generous to us, and we should be generous to those in need.”, Seed said.

The words touched Akemi so deeply that she could not bear to look at him. Turning her head, she understood that this was her doing for being so selfish. Seed approached and nuzzled her, ”Is one more pinecone such a terrible price to pay for the generosity the Twin Gods have shown us?”, he asked. When Akemi turned to answer, he was gone.

Moments later, Mystress approached for a third time. Akemi knew that she was there for thirteen pinecones, and without even saying a word, she went to what was left of her stash, picked out thirteen clean pinecones, and handed them to Mystress. The doe nodded her head, ”The spell is broken. From now on, a dozen is thirteen.”, she said, and taking her pinecones, she left.

And from that moment on, Akemi was gracious in giving away her pinecones. She no longer had any problems with robberies or rotten pinecones ever since. She eagerly collected what she could find to build her stores again, but whenever anyone ever asked her for them, she generously gave thirteen pinecones, a “baker’s dozen”.