Little Bella loved blueberries. Summer was her favourite season as she could eat blueberries every day. She ate all the blueberries her mother got from the farmer’s market. Bella would walk along the shrubs near her house and pluck wild blueberries. She would eat them standing right there. She would return home with blue stains on her mouth, hands, and her dress. Then her mother would give Bella a stern look and tell her to wash her mouth and her hands.
One day, Bella’s mother baked a blueberry pie. She bought fresh juicy blueberries from the farmers’ market and used all of them in the pie. The pie had a soft buttery crust with a creamy blueberry filling. It was topped with shiny and sugary blueberry syrup. It smelled lovely and looked delicious. Bella’s mouth was watering.
She wanted it so badly! But Bella was not allowed to eat that pie. Her mother had baked that pie for the new neighbour’s. It was a gift to welcome them to the neighbourhood. Once the pie had cooled down, Bella’s mother placed it in a white box and told Bella to go and give it to the neighbour’s.
As Bella was walking to the neighbour’s house, she sat on a nearby bench to look at the pie once again. It was warm and smelled fruity. Bella couldn’t resist. She dipped her finger in the pie and licked it. Oh, it was so good! The filling was creamy and tangy and tasted just like blueberries. Her mother had cut the pie into five slices and placed it in the box. Bella took out one slice and took a bite.
One bite led to another, and Bella finished the slice. Then she took out another slice and ate it. Then she took out a third and ate that too. Now only two slices were left. Bella felt guilty. She had just eaten three slices of the neighbour’s blueberry pie! How was she going to deliver only two slices to the neighbour’s? It would look incomplete!
Bella didn’t know what to do. She felt so bad. Her mother had baked the pie so lovingly for the neighbour’s, and Bella ate most of it! Bella thought there was no point in giving only two slices to the neighbour’s. She decided to eat those too. Even though Bella was full, she forced herself to finish the pie. In the end, she was so full of pie she thought she would explode.
Bella returned home handed the empty box to her mother. She was scared her mother would get angry if she found out Bella had eaten the pie. She decided not to tell her. Bella told her mother that she had given the pie to the neighbors and brought back the empty box. Her mother believed her. But Bella felt very guilty. She hoped her mother would not talk to the neighbors and find out Bella’s secret.
The next day Bella had a terrible stomach ache. She had eaten too much blueberry pie and had become sick. She didn’t know what to do. Should she tell her mother? But then her secret would be out! Her mother would get very angry at her. Bella was miserable. Her mother entered Bella’s room and saw her lying on her bed.
‘What happened, dear? Are you okay?’ her mother asked.
‘No, mother, I’m not! Bella replied. She did not want to lie anymore. She confessed the truth. She told her mother she had not given the pie to the neighbors. Instead, she had eaten all five slices of the pie herself. And now she had a bad stomach ache.
Bella’s mother smiled.
‘I already knew that,’ she said. ‘I spoke to the neighbors last night on the phone. They told me they did not receive any pie.’
‘You did?’ said Bella. She was surprised.
‘Yes,’ her mother replied. ‘I knew you must have eaten it,’ she added.
I am so sorry, mother! I could not resist, and I feel so bad!’ Bella admitted.
‘It’s okay, my dear,’ said her mother. ‘But always tell the truth. It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes. But one should never lie’.
Bella really was sorry. She had learned her lesson. She was always going to tell the truth. And she would never hide anything from her mother ever again.
Bella’s mother gave her medicine. After Bella felt better, she helped her mother bake another blueberry pie for the neighbour’s. Bella and her mother went and gave the pie to the neighbour’s together.
Bedtime Stories 