Humpty Dumpty's Fall

I'm not talking here about the season.

I'm reflecting on what could have been the origin of the modern-day omelette, as we know it.

Never mind all those king's horses and men. Never mind Chicken Little screaming that a giant talking egg was falling on his head. Never mind a jealous Mrs. Dumpty pushing poor old Humpty off the wall in a misguided moment of rage. Let's reconstruct the scene, and see if my theory stands the test:

Mr. Dumpty happened to be sitting on the perimeter wall of a small English cheese factory. Just below the wall was a mushroom patch. As workers scrambled (sorry, bad choice of verbiage...) to rescue him, cheese on their hands mixed with broken shards of crushed mushrooms. Almost as one, the rescuers lifted Humpty in to a giant frying pan, and couldn't even look each other in the eyes as the combination became quite apparent - and even more tantalizing.

On a steady heat (initially to try reviving Humpty), the smelling salt was determined to require an equal measure of pepper.

By the time it was determined that Mr. Humpty could not be revived, his remains had developed a golden, crispy hue.

And that is how the modern-day omelette came to be - if my train of logic stands up to scrutiny...

Chow for now!