Gullwick, the Island That Shares · Sprout · ages 6-8
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Read by an AI-generated voice. The words on this page are the transcript.
The Lemonade Stand
The hammer rang once. A spark jumped off the anvil and did not go out. It waited. They followed.
The ferry horn blew once. Lan and Beto were back on Gullwick.
Two spans held. The third needed nails.
"The ferry sells nails," said Poppa Pike. "Twelve coins a box. We have no coins."
It was hot. The ferry was full of thirsty people.
"A lemonade stand!" said Lan.
Gilly lent lemons, sugar and cups.
"Write down what the supplies cost first," said Cost the Crow. Four, two and two. Eight coins owed.
"One coin a cup?" said Beto.
"Too low and we can't cover the lemons," said Price the Pelican. "Two coins a cup, painted big."
The people had big coins. Five each.
Coin had an old cash box. Its lid had a patch. A tiny hammer was scratched by the patch.
"Count up from the price to the coin they gave," said Coin the Chipmunk. Four, and one more makes five. One back.
They sold ten cups. Twenty coins!
"Twenty for the bridge!" said Lan. She grabbed the tin.
"Pay back what we owe before we count it ours," said Profit the Porcupine.
Lan counted out eight coins for Gilly. Twelve left.
Lan looked at the shiny box. Then at the twelve coins. "The plain one," said Lan. "That's enough."
Twelve coins bought the nails. Everybody drove one. The last plank said ENOUGH.
The ferry horn blew twice. Home.
The spark dimmed to a warm dot and settled back on the anvil. The Green was just the Green again.
Back on the Green
Tí sold drawings for one coin. Lan wrote down the paper first.
Tell the story back to someone. What did they owe Gilly?
Who you met
-
Poppa Pike The bridge is built by everyone laying one plank from IslePals -
Cost the Crow Cost — what the lemons, sugar and cups cost you from StandPals -
Gilly Know your spares before you swap from IslePals -
Price the Pelican Price — what to charge, on the sign where everyone can see it from StandPals -
Beto a child of the Green Takes things apart -
Coin the Chipmunk Change — count up from the price to what was paid from StandPals -
Lan a child of the Green Goes first; makes a friend in a minute -
Profit the Porcupine Profit — what you took in, take away what the supplies cost from StandPals
Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.
The Honest Page
Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?
True
- The cost is what the supplies cost you. Four coins of lemons, two of sugar and two of cups make eight.
- Ten cups at two coins each take in twenty coins. At one coin each they would take in only ten.
- Profit is what you took in, take away what it cost: twenty take away eight is twelve. Source
- To give change, count up from the price to the coin you were given: four, then five, so one back.
Stretched
- The stand's only costs were lemons, sugar and cups. What we simplified: A real stand also pays for its jug, its table and the time of the people working it; the story leaves those out to keep the sum small.
Made up
- Gullwick, the ferry that sells nails, and a crow, a pelican, a chipmunk and a porcupine who run a lemonade stand are made up.