‘What are these chocolates then?’ Mum asks.
‘It’s just something Paddy does,’ I explain. ‘He’s created truffles for all the sisters, and he made one for me too. Fortune Cookie, he’s called it, and every one has a prediction hidden inside. They sold out at the Chocolate Festival yesterday.’
‘Nice idea,’ Mum says. ‘What are they like?’
I offer the truffles round, and everybody takes one.
‘Yummy!’ Maisie declares, biting into the truffle. ‘Oh, what’s this inside?’
She pulls out a chocolate heart with the words, ‘Dream big’ engraved on it.
‘Ooh I get it now,’ she says. ‘Chocolate fortunes!’
Isla’s fortune says, ‘Happy families’, Mum’s says, ‘Take a risk’, and Sheddie’s says, ‘New beginnings’. They are good fortunes, hopeful fortunes.
‘Now you,’ Maisie says, and I reach for the last truffle in the box, bite into the rich ganache until my teeth touch the chocolate heart within.
‘Soon life will become more interesting,’ it says in tiny writing, and I laugh out loud.
I think this time it really might.
Which Chocolate Box Girl Are you?
Your perfect day would be spent …
a) visiting a busy vintage market
b) with your favourite canine companion on a long walk in the countryside
c) curled up on the sofa watching black-and-white movies with your boyfriend
d) window-shopping with your BFF
e) sipping frappuccinos in a hip city cafe
Your ideal boy is …
a) arty and sensitive
b) boy? No thanks!
c) a good listener … and a little bit quirky
d) polite and clever
e) good looking and popular – what other kind of boy is there?
Who’s the first person you would tell about your new crush?
a) your sister – she knows everything about you
b) your pet cat … animals are great listeners
c) your BFF
d) your mum – she always has the best advice
e) no one. It’s best not to trust anyone with a secret
Your favourite subject is …
a) history
b) science
c) creative writing
d) French
e) drama
Your school books are …
a) covered in paisley-print fabric
b) a bit muddy
c) filled with doodles
d) neat, tidy and full of good grades
e) rarely handed in on time
When you grow up you want to be …
a) an interior designer
b) a vet
c) a writer
d) a prima ballerina
e) famous
People always compliment your …
a) individuality. If anyone can pull it off you can!
b) caring nature – every creature deserves a bit of love
c) wild imagination … although it can get you into trouble sometimes
d) determination. Practice makes perfect
e) strong personality. You never let anyone stand in your way
Mostly As … Skye
Cool and eclectic, friends love your relaxed boho style and passion for all things quirky.
Mostly Bs … Coco
A real mother earth, but with your feet firmly on the ground, you’re happiest in the great outdoors – accompanied by a whole menagerie of animal companions.
Mostly Cs … Cherry
‘Daydreamer’ is your middle name … Forever thinking up crazy stories and buzzing with new ideas, you always have an exciting tale to tell – you’re allowed a bit of artistic licence, right?
Mostly Ds … Summer
Passionate and fun, you’re determined to make your dreams come true … and your family and friends are behind you every step of the way.
Mostly Es … Honey
Popular, intimidating, lonely … everyone has a different idea about the ‘real you’. Try opening up a bit more and you’ll realize that friends are there to help you along the way.
Yummy Ice-cream Sundaes
Banana Split
You need:
1 banana
vanilla ice cream
chopped nuts
chocolate sauce
Method:
Slice the banana in half lengthways, place in a dish and arrnage three scoops of vanilla ice cream between the halves.
Decorate with a sprinkle of chopped nuts and a squoosh of chocolate sauce!
Chocolate Heaven
You need:
3 chocolate chip cookies, crumbled
4 squares chocolate, grated
vanilla ice cream
chocolate ice cream
chocolate sauce
aerosal cream
Method:
In a tall glass, layer a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a sprinkle of crumbled cookie, a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a layer of grated chocolate, and another scoop of vanilla ice cream and a layer of crumbled cookie. Top with a layer of squishy aerosol cream and decorate with grated chocolate and sauce … bliss!
Strawberry Sundae
You need:
fresh strawberries
plain frozen yoghurt
strawberry yoghurt
strawberry sauce
Method:
Cut most of the fresh strawberries into quarters then layer in a tall glass with the plain frozen yoghurt, strawberry yoghurt and an occasional squirt of strawberry sauce.
Repeat the layers until you reach the top of the glass. Finish off with the leftover strawberries and an extra squoosh of strawberry sauce!
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Puffin is over seventy years old. Sounds ancient, doesn’t it? But Puffin has never been so lively. We’re always on the lookout for the next big idea, which is how it began all those years ago.
Penguin Books was a big idea from the mind of a man called Allen Lane, who in 1935 invented the quality paperback and changed the world. And from great Penguins, great Puffins grew, changing the face of children’s books forever.
The first four Puffin Picture Books were hatched in 1940 and the first Puffin story book featured a man with broomstick arms called Worzel Gummidge. In 1967 Kaye Webb, Puffin Editor, started the Puffin Club, promising to ‘make children into readers’. She kept that promise and over 200,000 children became devoted Puffineers through their quarterly instalments of Puffin Post.
Many years from now, we hope you’ll look back and remember Puffin with a smile. No matter what your age or what you’re into, there’s a Puffin for everyone. The possibilities are endless, but one thing is for sure: whether it’s a picture book or a paperback, a sticker book or a hardback, if it’s got that little Puffin on it – it’s bound to be good.
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First published 2015
Text copyright © Cathy Cassidy, 2015
Illustrations copyright © Pe
nguin Books Ltd, 2015
Illustrations by Sara Chadwick-Holmes
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted
ISBN: 978-0-141-35186-5
Fortune Cookie Page 15
