

Lily and Ben were twins who liked to play and share. But they also liked cake very much. One day, their mom made a big cake for their birthday. She put it on the table and told them, "This cake is for later. Do not touch it or you will spoil the surprise. I have to go to the store for a bit. Be good, okay?"
Lily and Ben nodded and said, "Okay, mom." But as soon as mom left, Ben looked at the cake and said, "Let's have a little bite. Mom won't notice." Lily shook her head and said, "No, Ben. Mom said no. We have to wait. It's not fair to mom or to us." But Ben did not listen. He took a knife and cut a small piece of cake. He ate it and said, "Mmm, this is yummy. You should try it, Lily."
Lily was tempted, but she remembered mom's words. She said, "No, Ben. Stop it. Mom will be back soon. She will see the hole in the cake. She will be sad and angry. And we will not get any more cake. Is that what you want?" Ben shrugged and said, "She won't see it. I'll cover it with some frosting. And we'll still get cake later. Come on, Lily. Don't be a baby."
Lily felt hurt and mad. She said, "Fine. Do what you want. But I'm not going to join you. I'm going to play with my dolls. And I'm going to warn mom when she comes back. You'll be sorry, Ben." She left the table and went to her room.
Ben did not care. He ate another piece of cake and another. He felt happy and full. He covered the hole with some frosting and smiled. He thought he was clever and lucky. He did not see the ants that crawled on the table and on the cake. He did not hear the door open and mom come back. He did not hear Lily say, "Mom, look what Ben did!" He did not hear mom say, "Oh, no! Ben, what have you done?" He did not hear mom say, "No cake for you, young man. Go to your room and think about what you did." He did not hear Lily say, "I told you so, Ben. You should have listened to me and mom. It's not fair to eat the cake before the party." He only heard his own tummy ache and his own tears. He wished he had listened to Lily and mom. He wished he had not eaten the cake. He wished he had been good.
