For a moment, Jeannie feared that her new friend had really found a flavor she disliked. But then she realized the girl was taking her advice. Cleverness always impressed Jeannie, and she could think of nothing more clever than someone listening to her. It seemed too often that mortals chose not to. Perhaps it was in their nature to be independent, but the genie had always wondered if it was more that people simply wanted to be right, even when they were very obviously wrong.
“Oh that sounds promising,” she encouraged. “Like those mints they leave on pillows in very fancy hotels.”
While the clerk got their next samples, Jeannie considered the comments that had been made and the question asked. It could sometimes be a tricky thing, to tell people that you had a bottle. Sometimes, they would try to take it. But the djinn had confidence that her current master could defend her bottle from the young woman, so she saw no harm in admitting, “Yes, I have a bottle. It is a lovely bottle, it is all pink and purple on the inside, with many pillows and cushions. I like it very much.”
A heartbeat later, she added in a spurt of generosity, “Would you like a jade elephant?” If Annie thought they were pretty then perhaps she should have one. Jeannie was a firm believer that a girl could never have too many pretty things.