Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a baker named Mr. Higgins. He was well-known for his delicious pastries and always had a long line of customers at his bakery. One day, while experimenting with a new recipe, he accidentally added a spoonful of purple paint instead of purple food coloring into his pie mixture. Unaware of his mistake, Mr. Higgins baked the pie and set it on display in his shop.

Just as the first customer took a bite of the peculiar purple pie, a miraculous thing happened. The customer’s face turned bright purple, and then he suddenly began to float in the air! Everyone in the shop was in awe and couldn’t believe their eyes. Word quickly spread throughout the village about the magical purple pie, and soon Mr. Higgins’ bakery was flooded with excited customers.

As more people started tasting the purple pie, each person had a different reaction. Some sang like birds, others began to speak in rhymes, and a few even grew long, curly purple hair. The village had never been so lively and fun. Seeing how much joy his peculiar purple pie brought to the village, Mr. Higgins decided to embrace his mistake and create even more magical recipes.

To keep up with the demand, Mr. Higgins started experimenting with different colors and flavors. He created pies that made people laugh uncontrollably, pies that turned ordinary objects into jelly, and even pies that allowed people to fly through the sky. The village became a place of endless laughter and adventure, all thanks to the bakery and its peculiar purple pie.

However, as time went on, people started to become greedy and selfish. They wanted to keep all the magical pies for themselves and would do anything to get their hands on them. The once happy village started to lose its charm, and Mr. Higgins knew he had to do something to bring the joy back.

One day, Mr. Higgins called a meeting in the village square. He stood before the crowd and said, “The magic is not in my pies, but in the happiness they bring when shared with others. Let us remember that joy is multiplied when it is spread.” His wise words touched the hearts of the villagers, and they realized the error of their ways.

From that day forward, everyone could enjoy the magical pies at the bakery, free of charge. The villagers learned the importance of sharing and spreading happiness. The peculiar purple pie became a symbol of unity and friendship in the village. And so, the bakery thrived, not only because of its magical recipes but also because the villagers had learned a valuable lesson about the power of kindness and generosity.

🎧 Listen:

📖 Vocabulary:

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What was Mr. Higgins well-known for?
2. What happened when the first customer took a bite of the purple pie?
3. How did the village react to the magical purple pie?
4. What did Mr. Higgins decide to do after seeing the joy his pie brought?
5. What other magical recipes did Mr. Higgins create?
6. How did the village change as people became greedy and selfish?
7. What did Mr. Higgins say at the meeting in the village square?
8. What did the villagers learn from this experience?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a baker named Mr. Higgins. He was well-known for his delicious pastries and always had a long line of (1)______ at his bakery. One day, while experimenting with a new recipe, he accidentally added a spoonful of (2)______ paint instead of purple food coloring into his pie mixture. Unaware of his mistake, Mr. Higgins (3)______ the pie and set it on display in his shop.

Just as the first customer took a bite of the peculiar purple pie, a miraculous thing happened. The customer’s face (4)______ bright purple, and then he suddenly began to float in the air! Everyone in the shop was in awe and couldn’t believe their eyes. Word quickly (5)______ throughout the village about the magical purple pie, and soon Mr. Higgins’ bakery was flooded with excited customers.

As more people started tasting the purple pie, each person had a (6)______ reaction. Some sang like (7)______, others began to speak in rhymes, and a few even grew long, (8)______ purple hair. The village had never been so lively and fun. Seeing how much joy his peculiar purple pie brought to the village, Mr. Higgins decided to embrace his mistake and create even more magical recipes.

To keep up with the demand, Mr. Higgins started experimenting with different colors and flavors. He created pies that made people (9)______ uncontrollably, pies that turned (10)______ objects into jelly, and even pies that allowed people to fly through the sky. The (11)______ became a place of endless laughter and adventure, all thanks to the bakery and its peculiar purple pie.

However, as time went on, people started to become greedy and selfish. They wanted to keep all the magical pies for themselves and would do anything to get their hands on them. The once happy village started to lose its charm, and Mr. Higgins knew he had to do something to bring the joy back.

One day, Mr. Higgins called a meeting in the village square. He (12)______ before the crowd and said, “The magic is not in my pies, but in the (13)______ they bring when shared with (14)______. Let us remember that joy is (15)______ when it is spread.” His wise words touched the hearts of the villagers, and they realized the error of their ways.

From that day forward, everyone could enjoy the magical pies at the bakery, free of charge. The villagers learned the importance of sharing and spreading happiness. The peculiar purple pie became a symbol of unity and friendship in the village. And so, the bakery thrived, not only because of its magical recipes but also because the villagers had learned a valuable (16)______ about the power of kindness and generosity.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is your favorite type of pastry? Why?
2. How would you feel if you discovered a magical recipe like Mr. Higgins did?
3. Do you like experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen? Why or why not?
4. What do you think is the most important lesson the villagers learned from Mr. Higgins?
5. How do you think the village would have been different if Mr. Higgins had kept the magical pies to himself?
6. Have you ever made a mistake that turned out to be a positive thing in the end? Can you share your experience?
7. Do you think it’s important to embrace and learn from our mistakes? Why or why not?
8. What do you think is the significance of the peculiar purple pie becoming a symbol of unity and friendship in the village?
9. How do you think the village would have changed if the magical pies had never been discovered?
10. Have you ever had an experience where sharing something brought you more joy than keeping it to yourself? Can you share your experience?
11. Do you think it’s better to have a village full of magical pies or a village full of happy and kind people? Why or why not?
12. How do you think the story would have ended if the villagers hadn’t learned the importance of sharing and spreading happiness?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. miraculous
2. peculiar
3. awe
4. flooded
5. experimenting
6. uncontrollably
7. greedy
8. charm
9. embraced
10. adventure
11. selfish
12. charm
13. square
14. multiplied
15. unity

Meanings:
(A) An exciting or remarkable experience
(B) Concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure at the expense of consideration for others
(C) Increased or expanded in number or amount
(D) Overwhelmed by a large amount or number
(E) The state of being united or joined as a whole
(F) An open area in a town, typically one shaped like a square
(G) The quality of being delightful or pleasing (used again as it appears twice in the story)
(H) The quality of being delightful or pleasing
(I) Accepted or held closely, often used metaphorically
(J) Extraordinary and causing wonder or amazement
(K) A feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder
(L) Strange or unusual in a way that is surprising or difficult to understand
(M) In a way that cannot be restrained or held back
(N) Having an excessive desire for more than one needs or deserves
(O) Conducting tests to discover something unknown
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did Mr. Higgins accidentally add to his pie mixture?
(a) Purple food coloring
(b) Blue paint
(c) Purple paint
(d) Blue food coloring

2. What happened to the first customer who ate the peculiar purple pie?
(a) They turned into a bird
(b) They grew long, curly purple hair
(c) Their face turned bright purple and they floated in the air
(d) They began to speak in rhymes

3. How did the village react to the magical purple pie?
(a) They were angry and boycotted the bakery
(b) They were scared and avoided the bakery
(c) They were confused and didn’t know what to do
(d) They were excited and flooded Mr. Higgins’ bakery

4. What did Mr. Higgins do to embrace his mistake?
(a) He closed down his bakery
(b) He started selling regular pies
(c) He moved to a different village
(d) He created more magical recipes

5. What happened to the village as more people tasted the magical pies?
(a) It became sad and boring
(b) It became lively and fun
(c) It became chaotic and dangerous
(d) It became quiet and peaceful

6. Why did Mr. Higgins call a meeting in the village square?
(a) To bring back the joy and unity in the village
(b) To announce that he was closing down his bakery
(c) To apologize for his mistake with the purple pie
(d) To sell his magical pies to the highest bidder

7. What did the villagers learn from Mr. Higgins’ wise words?
(a) The importance of sharing and spreading happiness
(b) The importance of keeping all the magical pies for themselves
(c) The importance of boycotting the bakery
(d) The importance of being greedy and selfish

8. What did the peculiar purple pie become a symbol of in the village?
(a) Greed and selfishness
(b) Unity and friendship
(c) Chaos and danger
(d) Sadness and boredom

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Mr. Higgins decides to embrace his mistake and creates more magical recipes.
2. Mr. Higgins accidentally adds purple paint to his pie mixture instead of purple food coloring.
3. Mr. Higgins is a well-known baker in a small village.
4. People in the village become generous and selfless, wanting to share the ordinary pies with others.
5. Mr. Higgins calls a meeting and teaches the villagers the importance of sharing and spreading happiness.
6. The village becomes dull and boring as people have similar reactions to the mundane pies.
7. The first customer who eats the ordinary purple pie starts floating in the air.
8. Word slowly spreads throughout the village about the mundane purple pie.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this story in two sentences. Here are some hints:
Who are the main characters?
What happens in the story?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What was Mr. Higgins well-known for?
Mr. Higgins was well-known for his delicious pastries.

2. What happened when the first customer took a bite of the purple pie?
The customer’s face turned bright purple, and then he began to float in the air.

3. How did the village react to the magical purple pie?
The village became excited and flooded Mr. Higgins’ bakery to taste the magical pie.

4. What did Mr. Higgins decide to do after seeing the joy his pie brought?
Mr. Higgins decided to embrace his mistake and create more magical recipes.

5. What other magical recipes did Mr. Higgins create?
Mr. Higgins created pies that made people laugh uncontrollably, pies that turned objects into jelly, and even pies that allowed people to fly.

6. How did the village change as people became greedy and selfish?
The village lost its charm and became a place of greed and selfishness.

7. What did Mr. Higgins say at the meeting in the village square?
Mr. Higgins said, “The magic is not in my pies, but in the happiness they bring when shared with others.”

8. What did the villagers learn from this experience?
The villagers learned the importance of sharing and spreading happiness, and that joy is multiplied when it is shared with others.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) customers
(2) purple
(3) baked
(4) turned
(5) spread
(6) different
(7) birds
(8) curly
(9) laugh
(10) ordinary
(11) village
(12) stood
(13) happiness
(14) others
(15) multiplied
(16) lesson
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. miraculous
Answer: (J) Extraordinary and causing wonder or amazement

2. peculiar
Answer: (L) Strange or unusual in a way that is surprising or difficult to understand

3. awe
Answer: (K) A feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder

4. flooded
Answer: (D) Overwhelmed by a large amount or number

5. experimenting
Answer: (O) Conducting tests to discover something unknown

6. uncontrollably
Answer: (M) In a way that cannot be restrained or held back

7. greedy
Answer: (N) Having an excessive desire for more than one needs or deserves

8. charm
Answer: (H) The quality of being delightful or pleasing

9. embraced
Answer: (I) Accepted or held closely, often used metaphorically

10. adventure
Answer: (A) An exciting or remarkable experience

11. selfish
Answer: (B) Concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure at the expense of consideration for others

12. charm
Answer: (G) The quality of being delightful or pleasing (used again as it appears twice in the story)

13. square
Answer: (F) An open area in a town, typically one shaped like a square

14. multiplied
Answer: (C) Increased or expanded in number or amount

15. unity
Answer: (E) The state of being united or joined as a whole
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did Mr. Higgins accidentally add to his pie mixture?
Answer: (c) Purple paint

2. What happened to the first customer who ate the peculiar purple pie?
Answer: (c) Their face turned bright purple and they floated in the air

3. How did the village react to the magical purple pie?
Answer: (d) They were excited and flooded Mr. Higgins’ bakery

4. What did Mr. Higgins do to embrace his mistake?
Answer: (d) He created more magical recipes

5. What happened to the village as more people tasted the magical pies?
Answer: (b) It became lively and fun

6. Why did Mr. Higgins call a meeting in the village square?
Answer: (a) To bring back the joy and unity in the village

7. What did the villagers learn from Mr. Higgins’ wise words?
Answer: (a) The importance of sharing and spreading happiness

8. What did the peculiar purple pie become a symbol of in the village?
Answer: (b) Unity and friendship
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Mr. Higgins decides to embrace his mistake and creates more magical recipes. (Answer: True)
2. Mr. Higgins accidentally adds purple paint to his pie mixture instead of purple food coloring. (Answer: True)
3. Mr. Higgins is a well-known baker in a small village. (Answer: True)
4. People in the village become generous and selfless, wanting to share the ordinary pies with others. (Answer: False)
5. Mr. Higgins calls a meeting and teaches the villagers the importance of sharing and spreading happiness. (Answer: True)
6. The village becomes dull and boring as people have similar reactions to the mundane pies. (Answer: False)
7. The first customer who eats the ordinary purple pie starts floating in the air. (Answer: False)
8. Word slowly spreads throughout the village about the mundane purple pie. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧