A few days later, the small group of people approached the Farmer and suggested that after having peeled all the oranges, they should put them in cans to preserve them until such time as they could be eaten. "Fine", the Farmer said, wondering how it was that opening a tin can to get to the edible part of an orange was better than simply peeling an orange. Some of the more clever people sensed the Farmer's doubt and added that canned oranges can be stored even longer than unpeeled oranges so now there will never be any problem with the oranges ever spoiling again. "Very good", said the Farmer, wondering what canned oranges would taste like.

And so arrangements were made to send the next shipment of oranges to a nearby cannery where they could be processed, canned, and stored for later consumption. After a few days, the first batch of canned oranges arrived and were served to the people at the next meal. The people did not like the canned oranges very much, nor did the Farmer, so he told the small group of people they had better throw them out and find some normal unpeeled oranges for everyone to eat! (He did this while jumping up and down, flapping his arms, standing on his head, and so on. In fact, he was shouting at the top of his lungs with such force that many of the people ran away with tears rolling down their cheeks. The rest of the day, people only spoke softly and with trembling voices. Others were so moved that they could not speak at all and remained silent for a while.)

So for quite some time, the people of the West ate their oranges at each meal in the same way that oranges had been eaten by the people of the East for generations. Then one day, a small group of people approached the farmer and mentioned to him that oranges were actually rather tart compared to other fruits such as apples, bananas, and so on. "Wouldn't it be great", they said, "if we could put some sugar on the oranges to make them sweeter and more tasty for us to eat?" "Very good", said the Farmer, wondering what it was about the taste buds of the people of the West that made it hard for them to enjoy the natural sweetness of his oranges.

The next morning, at breakfast, everyone was given half an orange with sugar on top, a plate, a spoon, and instructions to eat the orange in the same way that you would eat a grapefruit. Most of the people liked eating the oranges with added sugar, a spoon, and a plate. At this, the small group of people became extremely pleased with themselves, as their idea had not only improved upon the taste of oranges, but it also required half as many oranges, taught people better table manners, solved the problem of having to peel the oranges ahead time, and completely eliminated the possibility of anyone ever getting any part of an orange underneath their fingernails.

And from that day forward, the Farmer's oranges have always been served with sugar, a plate, and a spoon. Of course, the Farmer and his close friends still preferred to eat oranges in the customary way and arrangements were made so that some people could continue to eat oranges like that. Others took it upon themselves to scrape off the sugar before eating their oranges. Still others, having scraped off the sugar, dispensed with the plate and spoon and made a point to peel their half of an orange and eat it in the customary way, though they were annoyed that they now only got half an orange rather than a whole one.