The miller wanted to impress the world, so he said "my daughter can pass any multiple choice test!" And the child was shown into a room with only a number 2 pencil and a Scantron, and told to pass the test or else she would surely die.
"But I do not have the time to study so much!" The girl cried, and then a little creature appeared behind her.
"I can make sure you pass the test, but what would you give me?" Said the creature.
"My healthy sleep schedule," said the girl. He accepted the bargain, and she passed the test.
But then she was put into honors classes, and again found herself locked in a room with only a pencil and a Scantron.
"What would you give me if I help you pass?" Said the man, appearing behind her again.
"I would give my active social life," said the child, and the bargain was again struck.
Then the girl was put into another room, with more tests than she knew what to do with. When the creature appeared again, she said she had nothing left to give.
"Of course you do," said the creature, "simply give up your identity and self esteem, and you shall pass the tests!"
The girl gave it up, and she graduated with high honors. But she was not happy, and neither was her cruel father, for his prized child was no longer in school and so he could no longer brag about her.
Finally, she went to therapy and the therapist helped her name the creature: he was guilt and shame, familial expectations, a system designed to crush children to pick out the "gifted," the melancholy of lost opportunities and the anxiety of the future. Knowing the creature's name, the girl was at last able to reclaim her sleep, then her friends, and finally her sense of self.
"What you really need," said the therapist, "is a hobby."
"I've been thinking of getting into spinning actually," said the girl.
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