On New Year' s Eve in 1655, Baas, the baker, was about to close his shop when a strange-looking woman thrust her way in the door. She demanded a dozen of the baker' s famous New Year' s cookies.The weary Baas counted out 12 cookies. The woman, for no apparent reason, insisted, "One more cookie. One more than 12 makes a dozen." Of course, she was mistaken. Baas got angry and pushed her out of the door. Baas' s wife suggested that on a holiday eve he should have given the woman the extra cokie. But Baas said that business was business.

In the year that followed, bad luck came to the little bakery. Invisible hands seemed to snatch money and cookies. Bread rose up to the ceiling or fell flat as a pancake. The baker began to suspect that the New Year' s Eve visitor was the cause of the trouble that had come to his shop.

On the following New Year' s Eve, a ghostly figure appeared. It told Baas that if he would show some holiday spirit, all his misfortunes would go away. Then the figure vanished, and in its place stood the strange-looking woman. When she again demanded a dozen cookies, Baas counted out 13. Handing them to her, he wished her "Happy New Year!" With that the spell was broken. AS she left the shop, the woman made Baas pledge that from that day on 13, not 12, would make a "baker' s dozen."