A Party Without Balloons

Clara was organising a party for her sister on Saturday, and on Friday she still had a long list of things to buy. She went to the village shop, which was so small that it only had a few shelves and a counter. The owner, Mr Bell, was reading behind it.

“Do you have any candles?” Clara asked. “Yes, I do,” Mr Bell said, putting down his newspaper. “I have some candles here.” “Do you have any balloons?” “I’m afraid I don’t have any balloons today. They sold out yesterday.”

“Is there any paper for a banner?” Clara asked. Mr Bell shook his head. “No, there isn’t any paper, I’m afraid. But there is some string.” Clara looked at the string and wondered what she could possibly do with it.

Then Mr Bell remembered something. He bent down, searched under the table and pulled out a dusty box. “I don’t have any balloons, but I do have some paper lanterns!” The lanterns were red, yellow and blue, and Clara thought they were even better than balloons.

She bought the candles, the string and the lanterns and carried them home. “Is there any cake?” her sister asked as soon as she saw the bags. “No, there isn’t any cake yet,” Clara laughed. “But at least we have some candles!”