Catherine Makes Cupcakes

    

Catherine cooking

Cupcakes

cookie

cake

     Once upon a time there was a little girl named Catherine.  Catherine liked to cook.  She liked to bake cakes and cookies, but most of all Catherine liked to bake cupcakes.  One day Catherine said to her mother, "I'd like to make cupcakes to take to school for Carl's birthday."  Carl was Catherine's best friend.  "All right, said Catherine's mother,"but keep Corky the cat off of the counter."
     Catherine put on her apron and began to get all the ingredients for cupcakes together.  She pulled out the canisters of flour and sugar, got a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator, and lifted oil and vanilla out of the cupboard.  She set them all down on the counter.  Just as Catherine was starting to mix things together, up jumped Corky the cat onto the counter.  Corky was constantly curious.  He liked to poke his nose into everything, especially everything Catherine was doing. "Shoo, Corky," said Catherine.  Corky did not shoo.

carton of eggs

cupboard

canisters

    "Go away, Corky,"  said Catherine.  Corky turned his back and jumped up onto the canisters.  Catherine picked Corky up and put him on the floor.   Corky jumped right back up onto the counter. 

     "Mom, Corky won't leave me alone, " called Catherine.

Corky on the counter

     Her mother came into the kitchen and said, "Can you  think about how we can keep Corky off the counter so you can cook?"

     "Let's put him outside,"said Catherine.
     "Good idea," said her mother.
       Catherine picked up Corky and put him out the back door

Connie

       Just then their neighbor Connie called from the   door, "Yoo hoo!"  

        "Come in, Connie"  said Catherine's mother.

          Connie said, "I have a present for Corky.  Where is he?"

         "O, no," said Catherine, "we don't want him in the house again.  He'll climb onto the counter and get into my cupcake batter."

catnip toy

        "Not with this present," said Connie, and she showed them a little toy stuffed with catnip.  

catnip

Corky coming through cat door

         Just then Corky crept in through his cat door.  He started to jump onto the counter, but Connie held the catnip toy under his nose.
Whoosh!   Corky snatched the toy and crawled under a chair with it.  "He'll be there for hours, " said Connie.  "Go ahead and cook, Catherine."

Corky with catnip toy

Catherine cooking without Corky

cupcake holders

       And Catherine did.   She mixed the flour and sugar and eggs and oil and vanilla all together to make a batter.  Then she poured the batter carefully into cupcake holders in the muffin pan.  She had to make sure that the cupcake holders were not too full.    Her mother put the pan in the oven, and Catherine set the timer on the clock.

clock timer

        When the timer buzzed, Catherine's mother took the cupcakes out of the oven.  "Now we have to let them cool before we ice them, "  said Catherine's mother.  It was so hard to wait!  When the cupcakes were finally cooled, and  it was time to ice them, Catherine made the icing  look like cat faces.  She called them Corky Cat  Cupcakes for Carl.

Corky Cat Cupcakes

cupcakes cooling

Carl