by Ben KitchinKing Leon loved cake. Any kind of cake.
Chocolate cake. Banana cake. Cheese cake. Carrot cake. Mud cake. Blackforest cake. Cinnamon tea cake.
But, King Leon didn't like to share. Cake, cake, cake, cake. The king's chefs were kept very busy. Bake, bake, bake, bake!
"For my birthday," King Leon announced, "I want the biggest, yummiest, scrummiest cake ever! It has to be as big as my castle! And with rainbow colours!"
"But your birthday is in just one month!" exclaimed the king's chefs.
"Just make it!" screeched the king.
Enormous pots and pans were built. The ingredients went into an enormous bowl …
One hundred thousand tonnes of butter … Seventy-five thousand tonnes of sugar … Ten thousand litres of vanilla essence …
Then it was time for mixing. Mix, mix, mix, mix.
More ingredients …
One hundred and fifty thousand eggs … Mix, mix, mix, mix … Two hundred thousand tonnes of flour … Sift, sift, sift … Mix, mix, mix … Twenty-five thousand litres of milk … Pour, pour, pour … Mix, mix, mix, mix.
Finally the cake batter was piled into an enormous cake tin. And popped into a humungous oven.
The cake had to cook for a good while. While it baked, the king went off for a nap.
The chefs made the icing. Mountains of icing sugar, butter and milk. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Finally it was done. And it was the king's birthday.
"Caaaaaaaaake!" squealed King Leon, "Bring me my royal bib! I must eat it all!"
King Leon ate. And ate. And ate. And ate. And ate. "Oh ho, it's delicious! It's scrumptious! It's delectable! It's just too tasty!"
King Leon ate too much. Way too much.
King Leon started to change colour. First he went pink … then a shade of purple … and finally green.
"I feel quite sick," mumbled King Leon, "I cannot possibly eat this cake all by myself but I’d hate to see it wasted! Please, urgh, oh help me! My tummy hurts!"
King Leon's humble servants lined up and shared the cake out. Leon marvelled at how happy they all were … sharing, eating, talking, playing.
King Leon had more gold than any of them, more power, more houses, more everything! But, he had not a squib of their happiness or companionship.
Something hurt King Leon deep in his heart.
"I have been a very bad king." he announced sadly. "From now on things will be different.”
The people cheered.
King Leon still loves cake …
Ben Kitchin is a primary school teacher and has five kids of his own. He enjoys trying to write humorous, engaging stories for children. His first picture book, Don't Wake the Troll (illustrated by the illustrious Ben Redlich), was released late last year.
KBR Short Stories are a way to get your work ‘out there’—and to delight our KBR readers. Stories are set to a monthly theme and entries are due in the 25th of each month. Find out more here.
