The Thick Fat Pancake

Part 1

A woman who lived in Norway had seven children. They were always hungry. Their favourite food was pancakes, and they always argued about who should get the first pancake.

One day their mother was fed up with all the arguing, so she decided to cook one great big thick pancake for all the children to share.

So she took a big bag of flour and a box of eggs and a jug of milk and some salt, and mixed up a bowlful of creamy batter. She melted some butter in her largest frying pan, and poured all the batter in at once, so the biggest, thickest, fattest pancake you can imagine was soon sizzling in the pan. The children all gathered round.

The first child said, “It looks wonderful!”

The second child said, “ It smells delicious!”

The third child said, “It’s so golden!”

The fourth child said, “It’s so enormous!”

The fifth child said, “It’s the best pancake ever!”

The sixth child said, “It’s nearly ready!”

And the seventh child said,

“Where’s my spoon and fork?”When it heard this, the pancake

said to itself, “Spoon and fork? Oh no! I am much too special to be eaten by these children.” It jumped out of the pan and went roly-poly-roly out of the door and off down the road. The children ran after it, but it rolled too fast to be caught.

Part 2

The thick fat pancake rolled past the farm dog, past the goat and the chickens.

It rolled too fast for the cow to lick it, or the ducks to peck it, or the sheep to nibble it. It rolled over the fields until it reached the river. There the pancake stopped.

A pink piglet who had been chasing it came up and said, “Thick fat pancake, would you like a lift across the river?”

“Yes please!” said the pancake, and flipped itself up onto the piglet’s snout.

The piglet set off paddling to the other side, but when he was nearly there, he suddenly went “Snap!” and took a bite out of the pancake. The pancake leapt high and far, and rolled away over the hills and out of site.

And that’s why piglets are always sniffing with their snouts on the ground – they are still hoping to find the rest of that thick fat pancake.

The end