Hey everyone and welcome back to Easy English and today we have another short story to learn from.
As always, we will read a short story in clear and easy English, and then, at the end of the story, I will explain some difficult new vocabulary for you.
I recommend to listen to the story in a straight listening.
So listen the whole way through, then we will learn the words, and then you can re-listen to the story a second time and try to remember and hear those words.
Okay, let's get started.
Today's short story is called The Big Bake Sale.
So it is quite a light-hearted and fun story today.
Let's get started.
It was a sunny Saturday morning and the small town of Willow Creek was buzzing with excitement.
Today was the annual community bake sale, held in the park.
Everyone in town came to buy, sell and enjoy homemade treats.
The money raised would help improve the local library, which badly needed new books and fresh paint.
Tara, a 10-year-old girl with a big dream of becoming a famous baker, was especially excited.
She had spent the whole week preparing her best recipe, chocolate chip cookies.
Her mum had helped her practice, but the final batch was all Tara's work.
These cookies will be the best in town, she said proudly, as she packed them into boxes.
When Tara and her mum arrived at the park, the bake sale was already in full swing.
Tables were covered with colourful tablecloths and each one was piled high with cakes pies, muffins and pastries.
Children were running around with sticky fingers and music played from a speaker near the fountain.
Tara found her assigned spot and set up her table.
She neatly arranged the cookies on a platter and added a small vase of flowers to make the display look inviting.
Her mum helped her put up a sign.
Tara's famous cookies, two for one dollar.
Her first customer was Mr. Wilson.
He was an elderly man who always wore a bowler hat.
Good morning, Tara, he said.
I'll take four cookies, please.
Tara handed him the cookies and he took a bite straight away.
Delicious, he said with a smile.
I've tried cookies from all over the world, but these might just be my favorite.
Tara beamed with pride.
As the morning went on, more and more people stopped by Tara's table.
Mrs Patel bought a dozen cookies for her grandchildren, and the mayor even complimented Tara's baking skills.
By lunchtime, she had sold more than half of her cookies.
Tara was starting to think that she might win the best baker prize, given to the baker who sold the most treats.
But then disaster struck.
A sudden gust of wind blew through the park, knocking over a nearby table.
A tray of colourful cupcakes flew through the air and landed right on Tara's table, smashing into her cookies.
Frosting, crumbs and chocolate chips were everywhere.
Oh no, Tara gasped.
Her beautiful display was ruined.
Mia, the girl whose cupcakes had fallen, ran over looking horrified.
I'm so sorry, she cried.
The wind knocked them over.
I didn't mean for this to happen.
Tara took a deep breath.
She wanted to be upset, but then she remembered something her mum always said.
Kindness is more important than winning.
It's okay, Tara said.
Let's fix this together.
The two girls quickly cleaned up the mess.
Tara's cookies were no longer perfect.
And Mia's cupcakes were squashed.
They were destroyed.
But Tara had an idea.
Why don't we combine our treats?
We can sell cookie cupcake sandwiches."
Mia looked confused.
Cookie cupcake sandwiches?
Look, Tara said, picking up a cookie, placing a smashed cupcake in the middle and adding another cookie on top.
It's like a dessert sandwich.
Mia laughed.
That looks funny, but I bet it tastes amazing.
The girls got to work making more cookie cupcake sandwiches.
They redecorated the sandwiches with sprinkles and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
When they were ready, Mia made a new sign.
Cara and Mia's Mega Treats, $1 each.
To their surprise, the new creation was a hit.
People lined up to try the cookie cupcake sandwiches.
By the end of the day, their table was completely empty.
As the bake sale came to a close, the organizers announced the total money raised.
$2,500 for the library.
The crowd cheered and Tara and Mia high-fived each other.
But there was one last surprise.
The mayor walked up to the girls with a golden ribbon.
This year the best baker prize goes to Tara and Mia for their creativity and teamwork.
Tara's eyes lit up.
Really?
Even though we didn't sell perfect cookies?
Sometimes the best treats come from a little bit of imagination, the mayor said with a wink.
On the way home, Tara couldn't stop smiling.
She didn't just learn a new recipe.
She learned that working together could turn a disaster into something unforgettable.
And that is the end of our story.
So let's take a look at some key words that I would like you to learn today.
The first word is annual.
Annual.
So for example, the annual bake competition.
An annual, something annual, is something that happens once every year.
It happens once per year.
So you could say, we have an annual dinner.
It means we do it once per year, every year.
That's what annual means.
The next phrase is sticky fingers.
We can see it in the sentence, children were running around with sticky fingers.
Sticky fingers.
This is just simply a playful way to describe hands covered in something sweet like frosting or syrup or honey, that type of thing.
The next word is complimented.
And we can see in the story, the mayor even complimented Tara's baking skills.
So what does complimented mean?
This is from the verb to compliment.
And it is to tell someone that they did something well.
For example, if you really enjoyed a dinner or a meal that someone cooked for you, you can compliment them and say wow, that meal is so tasty.
You did a good job.
Then you have complimented them.
Okay, another word that's a little bit difficult and unusual is squashed.
So they were talking about the cookies being squashed.
And squashed means flattened or crushed, usually by an accident.
So when they are made flat from their usual shape.
Okay.
Now the next bit when it talks about sprinkles flying everywhere.
Sprinkles are simply tiny pieces of sugar that are used to decorate desserts.
And our final word for today is teamwork.
And teamwork is working together to solve a problem or complete a task.
That's all our words for today.
If you liked this video, please like it.
And if you're new, subscribe.
Once again, I recommend to re-listen to the story a second time to hear and understand all the words correctly.
Thank you for watching and have a lovely day.
