Feelings and kindness · Ages 5 to 8 · About 2 minutes

The Cake That Went Wrong: a funny story about mistakes

Zara, 7 · Zara's Adventures

The Cake That Went Wrong

Zara and her Nani bake Dad's birthday cake, and it sinks right in the middle. Pickles the cat is not impressed. Your kid chooses how Zara turns the mistake into the best part.

Free to play. Real character voices and music. Your kid chooses what happens 3 times, and it ends calm.

Made from four lines

  • WhereNani's kitchen
  • WhoNani and Pickles the cat
  • What happenedwe baked Dad's birthday cake, it sank in the middle, we fixed it anyway
  • Feelingfrustrated, then proud and giggly

This story stars Zara. With Jump Into World, you type four lines about your kid's day and tonight's episode stars them.

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Read the story

One of the ways tonight can go. Play it above to make different choices.

Tonight, Zara stood on a stool in Nani's kitchen with flour already on her nose. Dad's birthday cake was happening.

Nani: This card is older than your father. Older than my knees. We follow it exactly. Mostly.

Pickles: I'll be supervising from this chair. Wake me when there's cream. Not before.

Zara: Mostly! I heard that, Nani. That means one thing of my own goes in.

What does Zara add?

  • Sneak in a pinch of chiliThis time
  • Press a chocolate-chip heart on top
  • Hide a secret jam layer
  • Pour in all the sprinkles

Zara: Your card says cinnamon, Nani. Mine says chili. Just a pinch. Okay, two pinches.

Pickles: My whiskers are tingling from across the room. I'd like that written down somewhere.

Nani said her grandmother would have fainted, and slid the tin in. Zara knelt at the oven door to watch it rise.

Ding! Nani lifted out a golden cake that smelled warm and daring. Then the middle sank with a sad little sigh.

Zara: No, no, no! It was perfect. I watched it the whole time, and now it's ruined.

Pickles: For the record, I sink in the middle every afternoon. Nobody calls me ruined.

Nani: He's right, for once. It's not ruined. It's a new recipe. It just doesn't have a name yet.

What does Zara turn it into?

  • Make it a volcanoThis time
  • Share it as cake pops
  • Turn the dip into a lake
  • Bake it a tiny hat

Zara: Stand back, everyone. That's not a dip, that's a crater. Nani, pass the strawberry sauce!

She piled the edges high, poured in the sauce, and red lava rolled down the sides of Mount Dad.

Pickles: If it erupts, I was never here. Tell everyone I was magnificent.

Nani was still laughing at Mount Dad, lava dripping down its sides, when the doorbell rang. An hour early.

Zara: That's Dad! He's early! Quick, towel over the cake! Pickles, hat on!

Pickles: I would rather not. Oh. It's already on. I'm a cat in a hat. Wonderful.

Nani: Breathe, Zara. Your father rings the bell, then looks for his keys. Every time, since before you were born.

How does Zara surprise Dad?

  • Hide, then jump outThis time
  • Light candles in the dark
  • Send Pickles in with the card
  • Sing happy birthday in Cat

Zara dived behind the counter, Nani slipped behind the door, and Pickles stayed exactly where he was, in his hat.

Zara: SURPRISE! Happy birthday, Dad! Ta-da! Look at the cake, not at me!

Dad: Zara! My heart! And... oh. Oh, that is the best cake I have ever seen in my whole life.

Dad said his heart was still jumping, in the good way, and ate two slices to settle it.

Now Zara lay in bed with flour still in her hair. On the chair, Pickles slept in his paper hat.

Zara: Nani? Next year, can we make it go wrong again? Just a little bit?

Nani: We'll see. The best cakes have a story, and tonight you made one. Sleep now, my new recipe.

What it's about

A mistake is not the end of the story: fixing it your own way can turn out to be the best part.

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Tonight, starring your kid

These stories star Mia, Leo and Zara. Yours would star your kid.

Tell us about their day in 20 seconds. Tonight's episode is about them, with real voices and music, they choose what happens, and it ends calm.

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