Once upon a time, there were two German toymakers in the city of Hamburg. Atchue (pronounced Ach-oo) had a toyshop on the west end of the city and Gesundheit had a toyshop on the east end.

They were in strict competition with each other. If one charged $2.99 for a doll, the other would charge $2.98. Then, the price wars would continue driving the price down penny by penny.

If one came out with a new toy, the other would quickly make a toy just like it. They were fierce competitors. Consequently, they were both miserable, especially around Christmas-time.

When they opened their toyshops many years ago, they both were so happy. They both loved making toys and making children happy. But, over the years, they each lost their joy as they competed with each other.

Atchue and Gesundheit hated each other and stayed away from each other.

But once, they happened to be at the same big party. They didn’t know that they were both there. They were at opposite ends of the big ballroom. All of a sudden, Atchue sneezed very loudly.

“Ach-oo,” Atchue sounded.

From the other end of the room came a reply.

“Gesundheit,” Gesundheit replied, not knowing who had sneezed.

Word spread throughout the big ballroom that Atchue had sneezed and Gesundheit responded without even knowing who had sneezed. Giggles spread across the ballroom. Soon, everyone was laughing. People told Atchue and Gesundheit what had happened. Even though they didn’t want to, both Atchue and Gesundheit laughed, too.

The people between them cleared a pathway so that Atchue and Gesundheit could see each other. The room fell silent as people waited to see what these two would do.

They were both quiet for a while. Then, suddenly Atchue sneezed again, although this time it was obviously a fake sneeze.

“Ach-oo,” Atchue played.

Everyone looked at Gesundheit to see how he would respond. After some silence, Gesundheit did respond.

“Gesundheit,” Gesundheit replied.

The whole room burst into laughter, including Atchue and Gesundheit.

From that day forward, Atchue and Gesundheith got along with each other. They even grew to like each other. Soon, they stopped trying to undercut each other’s prices. Soon, they stopped copying the toys that the other had first created.

Just as their names complemented each other, soon their toyshops started complementing each other. When one made a new doll, the other made accessories for that doll. When one sold drums, the other sold drumsticks. When one sold checkerboards, the other sold checkers. This went on with everything they sold.

They each became much happier. The whole town became much happier.

And, of course, when one sneezed, the other said Gesundheit and everyone laughed!