Colin loved his wife, Brenda. Her birthday was today, and he wanted to do something special. Brenda’s favourite thing in the world was a warm scone with cream and jam. So, Colin decided he would bake them himself. He had never baked before, but how hard could it be?

He found a recipe on his phone. It said, “Mix flour, sugar, and butter.” Easy. He took a big bag of white flour, a small bag of white sugar, and a big block of yellow butter. He put them all in a bowl. But the flour went everywhere! A white cloud filled the kitchen. Colin sneezed and accidentally knocked the sugar bag into the bowl. Oh dear.

Next, the recipe said, “Add milk slowly.” Colin poured the milk. But he didn’t pour it slowly. He poured it all at once. The mixture became a sticky, grey liquid. It was not dough. It was like a thick soup. He tried to fix it by adding more flour. More flour went everywhere. Now the kitchen was a very white mess.

The next step was to make small, round shapes with the dough. Colin tried. He got the grey, sticky soup on his hands, his face, and his T-shirt. The shapes he made were not round. They were like small, sad puddles.

He put them on a baking tray and into the oven. He waited. After twenty minutes, he opened the oven. The kitchen filled with a smell like burnt toast and disappointment. The “scones” were hard and black. They looked like small, round rocks. Colin felt very sad. He put the rocks in the bin.

He sat at the kitchen table, which was covered in flour. His wife’s birthday surprise was a disaster. He heard the front door open. Brenda was home.

“Hello, my love!” she called. She walked into the kitchen and stopped. Her eyes were big. She looked at the flour on the floor, the sticky bowl, and Colin’s white T-shirt.

Then, she started to laugh. “What happened in here?” she asked, smiling.

Colin sighed. “I tried to bake you some scones for your birthday,” he said. “It was a disaster.”

Brenda smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “That was so sweet of you,” she said. She opened a bag she was carrying. “Luckily, I know my husband. So I bought my favourite scones from the bakery on my way home.”

Colin laughed, and they sat down together. They ate Brenda’s delicious scones and drank tea, surrounded by the mess. It wasn’t the surprise Colin planned, but it was a perfect birthday after all.

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Vocabulary Notes

Scone
Meaning: A small, round cake, often eaten with cream and jam. It is a traditional British food.
Example: “Brenda’s favourite thing in the world was a warm scone with cream and jam.”
Similar words: Bun, biscuit (in American English).

Baked
Meaning: To cook something with dry heat, especially in an oven. This is the past tense of the verb “to bake.”
Example: “He had never baked before, but how hard could it be?”
Similar words: Cooked, roasted, grilled (these are all ways of cooking, but baking is a specific method).

Dough
Meaning: A thick, soft mixture of flour, water, etc., used for making bread, cakes, or pastries.
Example: “The mixture became a sticky, grey liquid. It was not dough.”
Similar words: Paste, mixture, batter (batter is usually more liquid than dough).

Mixture
Meaning: A substance made by mixing other substances together.
Example: “The mixture became a sticky, grey liquid.”
Similar words: Blend, combination, compound.

Disaster
Meaning: A terrible event or a very bad situation.
Example: “His wife’s birthday surprise was a disaster.”
Similar words: Catastrophe, failure, mess.

Mess
Meaning: A dirty or untidy state of things, or a difficult situation.
Example: “Now the kitchen was a very white mess.”
Similar words: Disorder, chaos, clutter.

Puddles
Meaning: Small pools of liquid, often rain. In the story, the word is used to describe the shape of the scones.
Example: “The shapes he made were not round. They were like small, sad puddles.”
Similar words: Pools, drops.

Luckily
Meaning: By good fortune or with good luck.
Example: “Luckily, I know my husband. So I bought my favourite scones from the bakery on my way home.”
Similar words: Fortunately, happily, by chance.

Story written by Gemini Pro AI

Image created by Imagiyo AI

CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads

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