The Silly Prophecy
Once upon a time, three little girls lived in a small, busy town. Ada had curly hair and a big, big laugh. Bea zoomed everywhere in her little wheelchair, always first to the playground. Cleo loved to carry her blue hat, even when it was not sunny.
One sunny morning, they found a tiny piece of paper under a big yellow flower. Ada picked it up and said, “Look, friends! It's a prophecy!” Bea clapped. “A prophecy! What does it say?” Cleo giggled, “Maybe it says there will be a rain of cupcakes!”
Ada squinted at the words. She tried to read. “It says… uh… ‘Three small heroes will find the secret shoe, and all the cheese in the land will turn into jelly beans at noon.'”
The girls looked at each other. Bea blinked. Cleo blinked. Ada just laughed.
“Do you see a secret shoe?” asked Bea.
“Nope!” said Cleo.
“I see my secret sock,” said Ada, waving her foot.
Everyone giggled. No one saw a secret shoe.
But they decided to look anyway.
The Hunt for the Secret Shoe
The girls looked under a big blue bench. Nothing.
They checked behind the bakery. Only crumbs.
They peeked inside a funny old teapot outside the shop. No shoe, just a sleepy mouse.
“Maybe it's an invisible shoe!” said Cleo.
Ada nodded. “Maybe it's a shoe that can hop!”
Bea spun in her chair. “Let's call for it! Maybe it has ears.”
All together, the girls shouted, “Secret shoe! Where are you?”
A little bird flew down and chirped. “Cheep-cheep! No shoes up here!”
Cleo waved her blue hat at the bird. “Thank you, Birdie!”
They kept searching. Every time they looked, something silly happened.
Ada opened a box and a bunch of rubber ducks popped out. Bea knocked on a tree, and a pile of confetti fell onto her hair. Cleo leaned close to a rock and heard it whisper, “I am not a shoe.”
The girls thought it was very funny.
The Jelly Bean Surprise
Suddenly, the church bell rang. It was noon!
Ada gasped. “Will the cheese turn into jelly beans now?”
Bea rolled to the grocery. “Let's see!”
Inside the shop, Mr. Oak, the grocer, looked surprised. The cheese counter was full of jelly beans! Red, green, purple, and yellow! Everywhere – jelly beans!
Cleo laughed. “The prophecy was right, but a little bit silly!”
Ada said, “We did not find the secret shoe.”
Bea thought for a moment. She picked up a jelly bean shaped like a shoe. “Look, Ada! Maybe this is the secret shoe!”
Ada took the jelly bean and grinned. “I think you are right!”
Cleo said, “Let's eat it!”
So they shared the jelly bean. It was sweet and a little bit wobbly.
Mr. Oak gave each girl a handful of jelly beans for being such good helpers. “Prophecies are tricky,” he said. “Sometimes, they just mean you get a tasty treat.”
The girls rolled, walked, and skipped home, very happy and a little bit sticky.
“Maybe tomorrow there will be a rain of cupcakes after all,” whispered Cleo.
Ada laughed and Bea clapped.
And the three girls agreed: Prophecies are funny, friends are sweet, and jelly bean shoes are the best kind of surprise.
