Paul Holmes -
University
English Professor

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Short Stories for Kids

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The Day the Donuts Danced

A small town bakery becomes famous when its donuts come to life and dance.

Try this story at a different level?

 

In a little town, there was a bakery named Sweet Delights. It was famous for its yummy cakes and donuts. Every day, many people came to eat their favorite sweets. But one day, something very special was about to happen.

One morning, the bakery owner, Mr. Baker, found a magic package. It had magic sugar inside. The note said to put the sugar on the donuts to make them dance. Mr. Baker thought it was a joke, but he tried it anyway.

When he sprinkled the magic sugar, the donuts started to dance! They had tiny arms and legs and danced all around. Everyone in the bakery was surprised and happy. They watched the donuts dance and did claps.

The story of the dancing donuts spread everywhere. People came from far away to see them. The bakery became very famous, but Mr. Baker always remembered it was the happiness and love that made his bakery special. The dancing donuts showed everyone to be happy and share joy with others.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

1bakeryA place where you can buy cakes and bread
2famousKnown by a lot of people
3morningThe time when the sun comes up and a new day starts
4magicSpecial powers that can do things that are not normal
5sprinkledTo lightly throw tiny pieces of something over something else
6dancedTo move your body to music
7surprisedFeeling like you didn’t expect something to happen
8spreadTo move or go around to many places
9rememberedTo keep something in your mind so you don’t forget
10joyBeing very happy

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What was the name of the bakery?
2. What did Mr. Baker find in the magic package?
3. What happened when Mr. Baker put the magic sugar on the donuts?
4. How did the people in the bakery feel when they saw the donuts dancing?
5. Why did people come from far away to see the dancing donuts?
6. What did Mr. Baker think made his bakery special?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In a (1)______ town, there was a bakery (2)______ Sweet Delights. It was famous for its yummy cakes and donuts. Every day, many people came to eat their favorite sweets. But one day, something very special was about to happen.

One morning, the bakery owner, Mr. Baker, found a (3)______ package. It had magic sugar inside. The note said to put the sugar on the donuts to make them (4)______. Mr. Baker thought it was a joke, but he tried it anyway.

When he sprinkled the magic sugar, the donuts started to dance! They had tiny arms and legs and danced all around. Everyone in the bakery was surprised and happy. They watched the donuts dance and did (5)______.

The (6)______ of the dancing donuts spread everywhere. People came from far away to see them. The bakery became very famous, but Mr. Baker always (7)______ it was the happiness and love that made his bakery special. The (8)______ donuts showed everyone to be happy and share joy with others.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is your favorite sweet treat?
2. How would you feel if you found a magic package?
3. Do you like to watch things dance?
4. Do you think the dancing donuts made people happy? Why or why not?
5. Have you ever seen something special happen? What was it?
6. How do you think Mr. Baker felt when he saw the donuts dancing?
7. Why do you think people came from far away to see the dancing donuts?
8. What is something that makes you happy and brings you joy?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. bakery
2. famous
3. morning
4. magic
5. sprinkled
6. danced
7. surprised
8. spread
9. remembered
10. joy

Meanings:
(A) Known by a lot of people
(B) To keep something in your mind so you don’t forget
(C) Being very happy
(D) A place where you can buy cakes and bread
(E) To move or go around to many places
(F) To lightly throw tiny pieces of something over something else
(G) Feeling like you didn’t expect something to happen
(H) Special powers that can do things that are not normal
(I) The time when the sun comes up and a new day starts
(J) To move your body to music
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What was inside the magic package?
(a) Sugar
(b) Flour
(c) Butter
(d) Chocolate

2. What did Mr. Baker do with the magic sugar?
(a) Ate it all
(b) Sprinkled it on the donuts
(c) Threw it away
(d) Gave it to his friend

3. What happened when Mr. Baker sprinkled the magic sugar on the donuts?
(a) They turned into cupcakes
(b) They disappeared
(c) They became bigger
(d) They started to dance

4. How did people react when they saw the dancing donuts?
(a) They were scared and ran away
(b) They were surprised and happy
(c) They were sad and cried
(d) They were angry and shouted

5. Why did people come from far away to see the dancing donuts?
(a) Because they were made of gold
(b) Because they were big
(c) Because they were famous
(d) Because they were free

6. What did the dancing donuts teach everyone?
(a) To be happy and share joy with others
(b) To be sad and keep joy to themselves
(c) To be angry and not share joy
(d) To be scared and run away from joy

7. What was the name of the bakery?
(a) Yummy Cakes
(b) Magic Sugar
(c) Dancing Donuts
(d) Sweet Delights

8. What made the bakery special?
(a) Magic sugar
(b) Famous customers
(c) Happiness and love
(d) Big donuts

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The bakery became very infamous, but Mr. Baker always remembered that it was the sadness and hate that made his bakery special.
2. There was a bakery called Sweet Delights that sold yummy cakes and donuts.
3. The note said that if the magic salt was sprinkled on the donuts, they would start to dance.
4. One day, the bakery owner found a special package with magic sugar inside.
5. Everyone in the bakery was very surprised and happy to see the dancing donuts.
6. When he sprinkled the magic salt on the donuts, they actually didn’t start to dance!
7. Mr. Baker thought it might be serious, but he decided to try it anyway.
8. The news about the dancing donuts spread all over, and people came from far away to see them.
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 the name of the bakery?
The name of the bakery was Sweet Delights.

2. What did Mr. Baker find in the magic package?
Mr. Baker found magic sugar in the package.

3. What happened when Mr. Baker put the magic sugar on the donuts?
The donuts started to dance when Mr. Baker put the magic sugar on them.

4. How did the people in the bakery feel when they saw the donuts dancing?
The people in the bakery felt surprised and happy when they saw the donuts dancing.

5. Why did people come from far away to see the dancing donuts?
People came from far away to see the dancing donuts because the story spread everywhere and they wanted to see it for themselves.

6. What did Mr. Baker think made his bakery special?
Mr. Baker thought that it was the happiness and love that made his bakery special.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) little
(2) named
(3) magic
(4) dance
(5) claps
(6) story
(7) remembered
(8) dancing
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. bakery
Answer: (D) A place where you can buy cakes and bread

2. famous
Answer: (A) Known by a lot of people

3. morning
Answer: (I) The time when the sun comes up and a new day starts

4. magic
Answer: (H) Special powers that can do things that are not normal

5. sprinkled
Answer: (F) To lightly throw tiny pieces of something over something else

6. danced
Answer: (J) To move your body to music

7. surprised
Answer: (G) Feeling like you didn’t expect something to happen

8. spread
Answer: (E) To move or go around to many places

9. remembered
Answer: (B) To keep something in your mind so you don’t forget

10. joy
Answer: (C) Being very happy
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What was inside the magic package?
Answer: (a) Sugar

2. What did Mr. Baker do with the magic sugar?
Answer: (b) Sprinkled it on the donuts

3. What happened when Mr. Baker sprinkled the magic sugar on the donuts?
Answer: (d) They started to dance

4. How did people react when they saw the dancing donuts?
Answer: (b) They were surprised and happy

5. Why did people come from far away to see the dancing donuts?
Answer: (c) Because they were famous

6. What did the dancing donuts teach everyone?
Answer: (a) To be happy and share joy with others

7. What was the name of the bakery?
Answer: (d) Sweet Delights

8. What made the bakery special?
Answer: (c) Happiness and love
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The bakery became very infamous, but Mr. Baker always remembered that it was the sadness and hate that made his bakery special. (Answer: False)
2. There was a bakery called Sweet Delights that sold yummy cakes and donuts. (Answer: True)
3. The note said that if the magic salt was sprinkled on the donuts, they would start to dance. (Answer: False)
4. One day, the bakery owner found a special package with magic sugar inside. (Answer: True)
5. Everyone in the bakery was very surprised and happy to see the dancing donuts. (Answer: True)
6. When he sprinkled the magic salt on the donuts, they actually didn’t start to dance! (Answer: False)
7. Mr. Baker thought it might be serious, but he decided to try it anyway. (Answer: False)
8. The news about the dancing donuts spread all over, and people came from far away to see them. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧

📚 How about these other Level 1 stories?

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A jolly jellyfish named Finley gets lost in the deep sea but finds new friends along the way.

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Peter the penguin wanted to have a big party, but he forgot the music, so he asked his friend Sammy the seal for help and they made a happy song for everyone to dance to.

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