The Cake Stall

The school library needed new books, and Class 8B had promised to raise one hundred pounds by the end of term. Nadia had a plan: a cake stall at the Saturday market.

For a whole week, the class baked. Nadia made lemon cupcakes, Sam made flapjacks, and Priya's grandmother sent a huge chocolate cake with a note that said, "For the readers." By Friday night, there were more than two hundred cakes in Nadia's kitchen.

On Saturday morning, the sky was grey. They had just set up the table when it started to pour with rain. People hurried past with their umbrellas up, and nobody stopped. By eleven o'clock, they had sold four flapjacks and Nadia's hands were freezing.

"This is a disaster," said Sam. "We'll have to take everything home."

Nadia looked at the stall next to theirs. The man who sold coffee was busy, because everyone wanted something hot. She had an idea.

"Excuse me," she said. "If we give a free flapjack to everyone who buys a coffee from you, could you put our sign on your counter?"

The coffee seller laughed. "Why not? It's a deal."

Soon, people with coffee were coming over to buy a second cake to take home. When the rain stopped at lunchtime, a crowd arrived at once. By three o'clock, the table was empty.

That evening, Nadia counted the money twice. They had raised one hundred and thirty-six pounds. On Monday, the librarian let Class 8B choose the first new books.