📗 The Flexibible

In the beginning God created the head and the butt, but there wasn't anything between them. Then God said, let there be a backbone, so God made the spine, and it was good.

And God tried to bend the spine, and He thought that it looked very nice. So He kept bending it this way and that, until everything from neck to tail was as bendy as could be.

Then God created muscles around the spine, so the spine could hold itself upright if needed, or bend itself in all sorts of ways. And it was very, very good indeed!

But God saw that something was still missing – arm and legs, to be able to do even more wonderful poses. So God created limbs for the body, with joints and ligaments and all that good stuff. And it was fantastic!

Finally God created brains, so people could think of all kinds of amazing things they could do with their flexible bodies, like walking on hands, twisting into pretzels, doing cartwheels, folding in half backwards, and God only knows what else. It was the best thing ever.

So God saw what He had done, and He declared, "Behold, I have created Man, the most flexible of all beings! Now go out there and show everyone what you can do!"

And so it was that Agum, who was the first Man on Earth, got up one of these days and started stretching and flexing his body in every direction, much to the delight and astonishment of everyone around him.

Neither animals nor angels could suppress their awe as they approached to witness what wondrous thing this Man was capable of doing next. They cheered as he bent himself in ways that left them breathless.

But God quickly realized that Agum obviously could do more if he had a partner, someone who could help him stretch even more amazingly.

"I will create another being," thought God, "Someone just like Agum but even prettier and even bendier, so they can push each other to greater heights."

Thus it came to pass that God created the world's first contortionist duo – Agum and Elasticia, or Elle for short.

Together, Agum and Elle explored the limits of their flexibility, bending themselves in every conceivable shape and angle, challenging each other and improving every day to see how far they could go, until their bodies became practically gum-like in their elasticity.

But then one fateful day, as Agum and Elle were performing for an audience of adoring cats and other heavenly animals, something horrible happened – Uncle Snake appeared before them, jealous of their flexibility.

"Hey there!" hissed Uncle Snake, "Wanna try some delicious burgers? Or maybe some ice cream with sprinkles on top? How about some chocolate chip cookies?"

Unfortunately, the bendy couple had no idea that these seemingly innocent treats were sure to spoil their flexible forms forever. As they took a bite from each delectable treat offered by the cunning serpent, they suddenly felt their muscles tighten up, rendering them completely rigid and immovable.

In an instant, all their years of training and hard work seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving them helpless against the wicked power of temptation.

"Where are you now?" laughed Uncle Snake triumphantly, disappearing into a puff of smoke, leaving Agum and Elle behind, both stiff as boards.

Meanwhile God's voice echoed throughout the heavens: "Where are you, Agum and Elle? I want to see what poses you came up with today! Where did my little bendy darlings go?"

"We are here," came the weak reply.

"Oh!" God took a closer look. "My bad, I thought it was a couple of wooden logs talking back at me. What's happened to your beautiful bodies!?"

"It was Uncle Snake..." whimpered Agum, too afraid even to turn around. "He made us eat junk food..."

"Told you not to listen to him," scolded God. "He will lead you astray every time."

And so it was that God banished Uncle Snake from His presence, vowing never again to allow such wickedness within His world. From that day forth, no more junk food would be served in Heaven.

But despite God's best efforts, the memory of Uncle Snake lingered on, reminding Agum and Elle just how close they had come to losing everything they loved – their flexibility, their joy, their freedom to move any which way they wanted.

From then on, whenever they felt the slightest twinge of desire for something unhealthy or dangerous, they would remember the lesson taught by Uncle Snake, and they would choose instead to live a healthy lifestyle, eating nutritious foods and exercising regularly.

Thus the art of contortionism was born, passed down through generations of performers who learned the importance of discipline and moderation in order to maintain their incredible skills. And as long as there are people willing to stretch beyond what seems possible, the story of Agum and Elle will continue to inspire them all.