The Adventures of the Muffin Family
Chip and the Vacation Plans
By: Peggy Headings
Edited by: Jennifer Hopper
Published at Smashwords
Smashwords Edition License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions ex-
pressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted
full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
The Adventures of the Muffin Family
Chip and the Vacation Plans
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2009 Peggy Headings
v2.0
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written
consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Prologue
Once upon a long, long time ago, there was a really stout, little old lady named Nellie that lived in the woods all alone. Nellie had never married or had children and was very lonesome.
Whenever Nellie felt lonely, she cooked and baked good things to eat.
Of all the things she baked, muffins were her favorite. Nellie liked muffins so much that she had her house built like a chocolate chip muffin. No one else around had a house like Nellie's.
Three times a week, Nellie made a long, three-mile journey into the city of Muffin Ville. Pushing her two-wheeled cart down the cobblestone road, she sold the cookies, muffins, and cakes she had baked to the people of the town.
One day Nellie decided to experiment with a new kind of muffin. Instead of baking her usual plain muffins, Nellie decided to add lots of different ingredients into her mix: chocolate chips, grated lemon peel, poppy seeds, and pistachio nuts. She even used a different kind of baking powder to help them rise to a bigger size.
After placing the muffins in the oven to bake, Nellie went about her daily chores, humming a little tune. She was folding laundry in her living room when all of a sudden, "BANG! BOOM! KA-BAM!!!" Nellie leaped behind a large chair in fright as the horrible noises from the kitchen continued. Trembling, she cried, "What could that be! Wh-what have I baked up this time!"
The noises suddenly stopped. Nellie's heart thumped fearfully for a few quiet moments as she crouched nervously in her hiding place. Finally, she peeked around the back of the chair, just as two of the biggest muffins she had ever seen popped out of the open oven door and landed on the floor! Nellie's eyes widened. "That baking powder really worked!" she gasped. "Those muffins are as big as - as newborn babies!"
The next moment Nellie's mouth dropped open. "Faces!" she cried.
"My muffins have faces!"
Sure enough, in the side of the plump top of each muffin was a happily smiling face! Nellie ran to the muffins and carefully picked each one up, examining it closely. She laughed in delight and hugged the muffins to her chest. "I can't believe it!" she exclaimed joyfully. "I have created muffin people!"
Nellie smiled at her muffins. "Now I have children of my own to raise," she said with satisfaction.
And that's how the Muffin family came about. Nellie raised the two little muffins herself and called them Mr. and Mrs. Muffin. And what great adventures they all had!
The Muffin Family Map!
Chip and the Vacation Plans
Mr. and Mrs. Muffin were the proud parents of three children. There was little Chip, who was always getting into trouble. Then there was Cherry. She was Chip's older sister. Their brother Berry was the oldest of all the Muffin children. The children were like most other siblings.
They liked to pick on each other - too much, as to what their parents thought.
For some time, the Muffin family had been planning a trip to faraway Muffin City to visit their cousins'. The day of the journey had finally arrived, and the family began the long process of packing the things they would take. "Berry! Cherry! Quit fighting and get your clothes packed!" Mother Muffin kept saying. And where was that little Chip?
"When will they be easier to take care of?" Mrs. Muffin thought to herself, frantically searching for the youngest, most mischievous Muffin.
"Little Chip, where are you?" she called. "We don't have all day!"
"I'll look for him," offered Poppy as he headed up the slope of their front yard.
Chip had reached the trail leading to a nearby creek when his father caught up to him. "Why, Little Chip," scolded Poppy, "do you cause your mother and I so much heartache?"
Chip's head hung. "I don't know," he replied. "I just wanted to swim in the cool creek. I can hear the water calling to me. And skateboard some on the way back, and feel the breeze blowing in my face after that nice swim."