It was a sunny morning in the cozy little village of Clover Hill. Birds chirped outside the windows, butterflies floated over flowers, and the smell of warm bread drifted from the baker’s shop. In the middle of this happy village stood a small yellow house with blue curtains and a white picket fence. That house belonged to Lala, a sweet and cheerful little girl who loved two things more than anything else: baking cakes and sharing them with her friends.
Today was a very special day. It was Lala’s “Cake Celebration Day,” a day she made up herself to celebrate cakes of every flavor, color, and shape. She had spent the whole morning in her little kitchen mixing flour, eggs, and sugar with her favorite secret ingredient—love.
The result? A beautiful, triple-layer chocolate cake with rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream swirls. She carefully placed it on a glass cake stand and covered it with a clear dome lid. Then she set it on the table, ready for her afternoon tea party with her friends, Thuy and Lu.
With the cake ready, Lala went outside to pick some fresh flowers to decorate the table. She skipped across the yard, humming a tune, never imagining that something was about to go terribly wrong.
When she returned fifteen minutes later, her eyes went wide.
The cake was gone.
Not a crumb, not a sprinkle, not a smear of cream was left. Just the empty cake stand, sitting there like a lonely stage without a dancer. Lala dropped her bouquet of daisies and ran to the table.
“No… no, no, no!” she cried, her voice trembling. “Where is my cake?”
She looked under the table. She checked the windowsill. She even opened the fridge just in case she had somehow forgotten putting it there.
But it was no use.
Someone had eaten her cake. And they hadn’t left a single clue.
Lala sat on the floor and burst into tears. Big round tears rolled down her cheeks and splashed on the floor. She had worked so hard on that cake. It was supposed to be the best part of her day. And now it was gone—just like that.
“Why would someone eat my cake without asking?” she sobbed. “Who would do such a thing?”
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Lala sniffled and wiped her face with her sleeve. She opened the door and saw her friends, Thuy and Lu, standing there with big smiles.
“Hi Lala!” said Thuy. “Are you ready for the tea party?”
But when they saw Lala’s tear-streaked face, their smiles disappeared.
“What’s wrong?” Lu asked gently.
“The cake… is gone…” Lala choked out. “Someone ate it!”
Thuy and Lu gasped.
“No way!” cried Thuy. “It looked so pretty this morning when you sent us the picture!”
Lu frowned. “Did you check the whole house?”
“Yes,” Lala sniffed. “I even looked inside the fridge.”
Thuy walked over to the table and inspected the cake stand. “No crumbs, no plate marks. Whoever did this cleaned up very well.”
Lu’s eyes sparkled. “Sounds like a mystery! And we’re going to solve it.”
Lala looked up, hopeful. “You really think we can?”
“We’ll try our best,” said Thuy. “Let’s think. Who was near the house while you were picking flowers?”
Lala thought for a moment. “I saw Mr. Tutu the cat sleeping under the tree. And I think I heard some giggling from behind the fence.”
“Let’s go talk to Mr. Tutu first,” said Lu.
They went outside and found the orange tabby cat still snoozing under the tree.
“Mr. Tutu,” Lala said gently. “Did you eat my cake?”
Mr. Tutu yawned, stretched his paws, and rolled over.
“Well, that’s a no,” Thuy said, laughing. “He hasn’t even moved. And cats don’t usually eat chocolate cake.”
“True,” Lala sighed. “Then who was giggling behind the fence?”
The girls peeked over the wooden fence and spotted two little monkeys—Mimi and Coco—playing with sticks and laughing.
“Did you two see anyone come into my yard while I was picking flowers?” Lala asked.
Mimi looked up. “Nope! We were playing here the whole time.”
Coco nodded. “We heard the birds chirping and someone humming.”
“That was me,” said Lala. “So you didn’t see anyone else?”
“Nope,” said Mimi again. “Wait! Coco, remember that squirrel?”
Coco’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah! A squirrel ran across the fence with something brown in its mouth!”
Lala’s mouth dropped open. “A squirrel?!”
Thuy giggled. “Maybe it stole the cake!”
“But a whole triple-layer cake?” asked Lu. “That would be too big for one squirrel.”
“Unless…” Lala whispered. “It took small pieces and went back and forth.”
Just then, a little brown squirrel scurried down the tree near the fence. It had chocolate on its paws and something sticky in its fur.
“Hey!” Lala pointed. “That’s the one!”
The squirrel froze. It looked at the girls, then at its paws, then dashed off into a bush.
The girls followed quietly and peeked through the leaves. There, hidden behind a pile of twigs, was a tiny squirrel-sized stash of cake pieces—smushed, licked, and messy—but definitely from Lala’s cake.
Lala couldn’t believe it.
“The squirrel really did steal it!” she said.
Lu laughed. “Looks like he couldn’t resist your baking, even if he had to take it piece by piece.”
Lala smiled a little, but there was still a tear in her eye. “I guess it’s a compliment… but I wish he’d just asked first.”
Thuy hugged her. “Don’t worry. We can still fix this.”
Lu clapped her hands. “Let’s make a new cake—together this time!”
Lala’s face lit up. “Really? You’ll help?”
“Of course,” said Thuy. “And this time, we’ll keep the windows closed!”
They all laughed, and Lala’s sadness began to melt like frosting on a warm cake.
Back in the kitchen, the girls mixed and stirred, poured and frosted, humming a cheerful song. By afternoon, a new and even bigger cake stood proudly on the table—this time with a note that said:
“For friends only! (Sorry, squirrels!)”
And as the sun set over Clover Hill, the girls enjoyed their cake, their laughter, and the warm feeling of friendship that no squirrel could ever steal.
