Sunny Days and Moon Cakes Read Online Free PDF Page A

disappointed.
    Once Rosie and Mum have finished their tea, we start making the fairy cakes. Well, Rosie and I do. Mum just takes out the ingredients and the equipment and then watches.
    I check the quantities in my recipe book. Then I weigh the butter and sugar on our pink kitchen scales and put them in a bowl. I love weighing things – it’s fun! Alanna always lets me do that bit in the cafe. After that, Rosie creams the butter and sugar together in a big bowl, while I carefully crack the eggs into a smaller bowl.
    “I can tell you’ve done that before,” Rosie says. “I always get egg white all over the counter or shell in the bowl.”
    I smile at her as I beat the whites and yolks together. Then I point at the larger bowl.
    “Yes,” she says, understanding my gesture, “you add the egg and I’ll stir.” When it’s all mixed in, Rosie asks, “Do you mind if I lick the spoon?”
    Mum laughs. I’d almost forgotten she was in the room.
    “Min loves doing that too,” Mum says. “Go ahead. I’m sure Sunny won’t mind.”
    I shake my head and smile again. Then I weigh the final ingredient – the flour. Once that’s folded in, I spoon a dollop of the mixture into each of the cake cases that Mum has laid out on two trays. When each one is half full, Mum pops the trays into the oven.
    “I can’t wait to eat them,” Rosie says. “How long will they take?”
    I read the recipe book, then hold up both my hands and then only one hand.
    “Fifteen minutes,” Rosie says. “Perfect.”
    “Would you like to see the rest of the castle while we’re waiting?” Mum asks.
    Rosie grins. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

Chapter 6
    Rosie loves our castle. She says it’s like something out of a fairy tale. As we show her around, she “ooh”s and “ahh”s. She gets especially excited when we walk up the wooden stairs towards the parapets.
    “Can you actually go outside onto the roof?” she asks.
    “Yes,” Mum says. “The edge of it anyway. Wait till you see the view.”
    There’s a small landing at the top of the stairs. On it is a suit of armour that Dad bought. I used to think it was rusty, until Dad explained it was made from copper. It’s so windy outside that the suit rattles when Mum opens the door onto the thin walkway that runs around the top of the castle.
    “I think your soldier’s about to come alive,” Rosie says.
    “That suit of armour is John’s pride and joy,” Mum says. “It’s from Cromwell’s time. John loves history. He collects old coins and lead shot from muskets. We found loads of both when they were rebuilding this place. Ready to go out?”
    Rosie beams. “You bet.”
    “Watch your step,” Mum says as she leads her outside. I follow behind them and watch as Rosie shakes her head at the view.
    “Just look at that!” she says. She has to talk loudly over the wind, which is whipping her hair around her face. “Is that Fastnet Lighthouse?”
    “Yes,” Mum says. “Amazing, isn’t it?”
    It’s cold up here, so we only stay outside for a few minutes. Rosie’s eyes are watering from the icy wind by the time we get back inside, and she hugs herself and rubs her upper arms. “This is the most incredible house ever. Thanks for showing me around, girls.”
    After the tour of the house, Mum and Rosie go back down to the kitchen to collect Rosie’s things. I wait for them in the sitting room with Goldie. My sketchbook and pencil are on the coffee table, so I pick them up and start to draw more of my latest comic strip. It’s about a fairy called Lotus Flower who is looking for her sister, Cherry Blossom, in a strange land – a crowded city of the future, full of towering glass skyscrapers, sky cars and robots. Lotus Flower’s quest is almost impossible as she can only talk to her own kind – other fairies – not humans or robots, and Lotus Flower and Cherry Blossom are the only fairies left in the whole world. Luckily, Lotus Flower has Firecracker, her tiny talking