Three Cupcakes for Michael, and a Chocolate Bar for Andie

The day was Michael’s birthday! He was so happy he jumped on his bed right after he opened his eyes that morning, singing ‘My birthday… My birthday… MY birthday… MY BIRTHDAY… la-la-la-la-la…’ 

The things which made Michael so happy about his birthday were that, firstly, he would certainly have that extra special care from his father, or if he was lucky enough, a full treat to the amusement park with his father!

Secondly, he could also expect that extra big birthday cake from his mother along with a very delicious meal for dinner and an extra warm hug before bed.

Also, thirdly, and most importantly, what made him so happy about having his birthday were his presents! 
He could at least expect seven of them all! One from each of his uncle and aunt; Uncle Ben, Uncle Jim, Uncle Andy, Aunt Mary with Uncle Fred,– … Aunt Mary… err… – Aunt Mary… oh, he could barely remember all of their names! Oh wait, wait, – it was Aunt Mary, then Uncle Dick, Aunt Adele, and Aunt Emma! Yes, seven of them all! That has not included the presents he would receive from his parents. Oh, the loads of them! He was so lucky he had so many uncles and aunts.

He was so happy while he was jumping on his bed, when he suddenly realised that his mother had not come into his room and greet him with the usual ‘Happy birthday, dear’. So he stopped jumping, and prowled down to the kitchen where he thought his mother would be.

‘Mummy?’

‘Oh, Michael, there you are, happy birthday, dear…’, and her mother kissed him on the cheek. ‘Watch the flour, dear,’ said her mother pointing to her hand and her messy apron.

Her mother was apparently making his birthday cake! Michael has always wanted to see and help her to make the birthday cake. However, he knew that her mother would never let her. So he was about to slip back to his room when he notice his older sister, Andie, was also in the kitchen, using an apron, covered in flour, and was doing something with some dough in a bowl. This never happened before. Suddenly Michael thought that perhaps that time, he could help too. 

So then he approached Andie,

‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

‘I’m busy, Mike,’ replied Andie.

‘Are you making my birthday cake?’ asked Michael.

Andie did not reply.

‘Can I help too?’
‘Muuuuummmmm!’

Their mother looked their way and said ‘Michael, stop bothering your sister, dear,’ then she went back to her work.

Andie kept silent, and so Michael went back to his room. He bit his lips and sat on his bed, thinking what he should do next.

He took out his toy car and played with it for a couple of time on his bed. Finally he got bored. Then he took out his toy plane and spun it in the air for half an hour or so. Yet then he got really bored with it and kept it back.

He started to think what to play next. He could take out his marbles, yet he could already vividly imagine each and every colour of it even then before he took them out. Or he could read alone the story books his mother usually read him. Yet, probably no, they were all Andie’s as well, and he was still annoyed by Andie. This was not the first time Andie did something to annoy him. She did that all the time!

That was it, Michael was very annoyed that his mother would not let him helped yet she let Andie helped her. He always thought that his mother always loved Andie more than him, and he did not know why. Moreover, it was his birthday after all! Michael would do something to get back to Andie!

He slipped out of his bed to Andie’s room. He knew where his sister kept all her candies and chocolates; inside a glass jar with green lid under her bed. She kept it there because she thought that Michael would not find it. She was really angry and annoyed when Michael once took one of them.

That was what Michael would do again! He would take out the largest chocolate bar and have it all for himself just to get back to Andie!

So he crawled under her bed. Yes, there it was! He found the glass jar with the green lid. He managed to take out the largest chocolate bar. Yet, when he was about to slip back to his room, he heard the familiar voice,

‘Mikkkeeeeee!’

It was Andie’s voice! It sounded from the next room which was Michael’s room! Michael needed a place to hide, and quick! He saw one of his sister’s closet doors was ajar, and so he slipped inside and crouched silently.

‘Mikkkkeee!’ called out Andie again.

‘Mum, where is Mike?’ she called out to the kitchen downstairs.

‘I do not know, dear, try to look in his room,’ was their mother’s reply from downstairs.

‘He’s not there…’ murmured Andie, ‘Mike?’ she was already in her room.

She was about to sit on her bed, when she noticed some piece of cloth that really looked like his brother's pyjamas that he wore that morning stuck out her closet door.

‘Mike?’ she called again, and opened the closet doors.

There he was, his brother, sat crouching on top of her dolls under her hung clothes. 

She was about to yell angrily at her brother when she saw those big watery eyes were fixed on a scowled face, and she knew that her brother was mad at her.

Michael saw his sister picked up a plate with what looked like three little cupcakes on top of it. 

Oh, those cupcakes looked good, how nice it would be if only Andie would give one of them to him. Yet, he knew that Andie would never share food with him. So he scowled even more.

‘Happy birthday, Mike,’

suddenly Andie handed over the whole plate to Mike, although she was not smiling.

‘For me? All of them?’

Andie nodded, and she was about to storm out of the room when their mother came in, ‘Andie? Oh, Mike, you are here. Do you like the cupcakes? I hope they are okay, you sister made them all morning especially for you. She would not even let me help. That was why she did not want you to hang around in the kitchen this morning,’ their mother smiled, ‘Lunch is ready children, come downstairs will you?’ and she left.

They both fell silent, feet dangled from the bed.

‘You made them for me?’ asked Michael after their mother left.

Andie nodded, ‘I wanted to give you a special birthday present. So I tried to make a whole tray, yet only three were okay. The rest were spoiled, Mum said I put too much milk. I’m sorry…’

Suddenly Michael felt really bad, so he took one of the cakes and ate it.

‘Okay,’ said Michael. The cakes tasted okay, and he was no longer mad at Andie.

Andie smiled, and Michael smiled. Andie was almost crying when she said,

‘I love you, Mike, you know that? But why do you always annoy me?’

Suddenly Michael hugged her and said,

‘I love you, Andie, I’m sorry…’, and he returned the chocolate bar he took and smiled.

Andie smiled again, and Michael kissed her sister on the cheek and hugged her tighter.

Now that he knew her sister loved him. To him, it was the best birthday present ever.

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Ellie the Elephant

Ellie the elephant was a toy owned by a little boy named Jerry.
Ellie’s skin was made out of plain pale yellow cotton cloth, and she had beady eyes that were made of what could have been a very tiny solid black marble that was cut into halves.
Ellie’s tail was made of what looked like a piece of white cord string, and Ellie wore a puffy little laced dress.
Nothing more was special about Ellie, except that whenever Jerry went, he brought Ellie along.

Ellie was so proud of herself to be Jerry’s favourite toy, and she kept boasting about it to her friends.
Her friends had reminded her not to behave so smugly, yet she just would not stop bragging.

‘Jerry likes me so much, today we went to the park, and he kept telling me stories all along the way’

‘You should not be so proud of yourself, Ellie. It becomes quite annoying,’ said Tom the wooden stallion.

‘For one thing, it is bad enough that Jerry does not play with us as much as he plays with you,’ squeaked Rudy the grey haired wheeled mouse with a long pink rubber tail from the corner of Jerry’s bedroom that night.

‘Aren’t you afraid that someday he might find another toy that he will prefer more than you?’ asked Olive the puffy white owl wisely from the toy box.

‘You are all just jealous that Jerry prefers me more than all of you,’ replied Ellie from the bed where she sat.

‘Olive has a point, Ellie,’ said a quiet voice from the shelf.
A little teddy bear was speaking, his right eye was missing, and his left ear was a little lopsided. ‘Haven’t I told you I was his favourite toy until he got you for his birthday present?’

But before Ellie could reply anything, Jerry came in to the room. ‘Ellie, let’s go to bed, we shall sleep in Mum’s room tonight,’ Jerry said sleepily and headed for the door holding Ellie’s hand in his. Ellie beamed to her friends.

The next morning, Jerry woke up with a surprise.
‘Good morning, sweetheart, we have a surprise for you ...’ his mother’s voice woke him up.

‘Mummy! Daddy!’ Jerry jumped out of the bed, and in his excitement knocked Ellie to fall through the small gap in between the bed and the bedside table.

‘Open up,’ said Jerry’s father handling a box wrapped with red ribbon.

Jerry opened the box and beamed at a brand new train set complete with little trees, sign posts, and its long lane that he could build at will.

‘Thank you!’ he leapt forwards and hugged his parents.

‘We think that you have been old enough now to be able to construct such train set,’ said Jerry’s father.

All along that day, Jerry was so busy playing with his new train set. So was he the next day, and the day after, and the day after, and perhaps even months after that day.

Ellie did not know how long she has been trapped in that dark corner under Jerry’s parent’s bed for it had felt like a very long time. All she knew was that Jerry had seemed to forget her. He never did come to look for her, and she was so sad and lonely.

Her friends were right all along, and she felt really bad. Somehow Ellie was also grateful that she had been trapped in Jerry’s parent’s bedroom so that she could not hear what her friends might say now.

One day, after what felt like a very long time, a little hand came and touched Ellie’s head, and Ellie felt that she was lifted at last!

She hoped it was Jerry, yet Ellie then heard a voice she did not recognised, ‘Mummy, what is this?’ came a little girl’s voice.

When Ellie was turned around, Ellie then saw that the little girl was Jerry’s little sister, Jemima. She seemed older than the last time Ellie saw her.

‘Oh, it’s your brother’s old elephant. I thought it’s been lost for years. It’s filthy, dear, where did you find it? Let’s give it a bath, shall we?’

Then Ellie was bathed and her dress was washed and ironed. Ellie was clean once more.


However, what makes Ellie the happiest was that now she had a new friend, she was now Jemima’s favourite toy.

Jerry also seen her now and then now, and he did not appear to forget Ellie at all.

Yet, never again would Ellie brag about herself to her toy friends, and her toy friends liked her even more now. Even Tom the stallion was nicer to her now.

Ellie was then the happiest little elephant in the whole world wide.

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