Chapter 2: Salty Tale

Salt is magical – it amplifies flavors and makes food delicious. Back in the days when we used to smoke, the ocean wasn’t as salty as it is now; it was just water. Salt was more precious than gold. You might wonder, where did salt come from? Well, a king had a magical millstone – if one said rice to the millstone, it would mill rice; if one said basil to the millstone, it would spin out basil. That’s how he kept his kingdom rich, milling and selling salt.

Given how precious this millstone was, thieves naturally wanted to steal it. One night, a skillful thief successfully stole the millstone from the palace. To escape far, far from the palace, he decided to cross the ocean. While he was on the boat, he danced around in joy and asked the millstone to mill salt. The millstone started milling salt, and the thief continued dancing.

However, the millstone kept milling salt, and the boat started sinking. Unfortunately, the thief didn’t know how to stop the millstone from milling, and both the millstone and the boat ended up sinking to the bottom of the deep ocean. From what I've heard, the millstone continues to mill salt even now, and that's why the ocean is so salty!

Now, what happened to the thief? No one knows…