失敗的蛋糕

One particular Sunday， my boys decided that an angel food cake would be nice. It would be 2)fluffy and sweet， iced to perfection with dark chocolate 3)dribbles cascading down the sides. They 4)cajoled my elderly mother into helping them find the recipes and lay out all of the ingredients. Once she 5)got into the swing of things she was cracking open eggs and separating the whites. White clouds grew in the bowl and soon the batter was slipped into the oven and began 6)rising to the occasion.

Now in order for an angel food cake to remain really tall and fluffy it must be cooled upside down. Many years ago， my mother had a special 7)stand on which to put the cake. However， through the years that was lost so we improvised and balanced the cake on the 8)edges of tall glasses. The cake would come out of the oven and everyone would be ready with a glass to prop underneath， careful not to pierce the top of the cake.

The cake came out of the oven and we were armed with the glasses as my mother proceeded to 9)flip the cake over. Caleb， my youngest son， held his glass solemnly， making sure the edge was just right. Joshua， the oldest， studied his glass for a moment then shrugged his shoulders and

10)shoved in his glass. Caleb looked over at him and started to protest about its placement when Joshua

11)scowled at him and said， “Caleb， I DO know what I’m doing. I AM sixteen years old!”

Oh dear， the same old teenage argument. What else was new?

With the cake propped up， my mother， now weary， went upstairs for a rest. Later， when the cake was cooled， the boys decided that they would ice it themselves as a surprise. I sat in the living room listening to their 12)banter. I heard cupboards banging and refrigerator doors slamming. I heard bowls 13)clanking and spoons 14)tinkling. Soon the 15)mixer was roaring away. Mixing done， they giggled in excitement and then suddenly it was very， very quiet. I heard Caleb whisper， “Oh NO， Joshua. There’s a big hole in there. I TOLD you that the glass was in the wrong place!” I heard a choke in his voice. I started to go out and see what the 16)commotion was about but then sat back down. Better to let them 17)sort it out themselves.

Still dead quiet in the kitchen except for renewed clanking and scraping and the beating mixer again.

Finally， almost an hour later my two

18)disheveled boys 19)trotted into the living room. Caleb had powdered sugar on his nose. Joshua had chocolate on his new shirt.

“Well， guys，” I said. “How’s the cake looking?”

“Well we filled up the hole，” 20)piped in Caleb. “With LOTS of 21)frosting!”

I walked in the kitchen and looked at the

22)drooping cake. It 23)sagged to one side with icing and chocolate now settling at the bottom of the serving plate. Behind it sat the cooling glasses. One glass held the remains of a tube of cake that had come out when the boys had lifted off the cake. The cake was solidly stuck in the glass.

Innocently I asked， “So what’s that part of the cake in the glass?”

Joshua gave me a 24)chagrined look and said， “Well， I guess I didn’t really know how to prop up the cake. I put the glass right in the cake rather than on the side.”

“Well at least there will be extra 25)icing!” 26)chattered Caleb.

I could contain myself no longer and burst into laugher. It was contagious and soon we were literally

27)slumped down on the floor in hysterics. What fun to have with the kids!

My mother came down stairs during all the 28)hoopla and 29)assessed the damage. Then she too began to laugh. The cake turned out to be delicious when served and sent us on a sugar high for the rest of the afternoon. 30)True to nature， Caleb turned adversity into triumph and had extra icing to scoop out and serve with each piece.

There’s a lesson somewhere in that. One we can all learn.

一個特別的周日，孩子們決定要做一個白蛋糕。那將是一個既松軟又香甜，經冷卻完成后四周點綴著瀑布狀的黑巧克力的蛋糕。孩子們以甜言蜜語哄騙我那上了年紀的母親幫忙找出了蛋糕制作配方并擺放好所有的原料。母親一旦積極投入此事，就立即開始著手打雞蛋，把雞蛋清分離開來；接著，碗里被攪起團團白泡，很快，雞蛋面糊就調制好了并被放進了烤箱，開始烘烤。

現在，為了使白蛋糕確實能保持外形高聳且口感松軟，必須把它倒過來面朝下冷卻。多年以前，母親有一個專門用來放蛋糕的架子。而事隔多年，如今那個架子已經遺失了，于是我們臨時準備了幾個高腳玻璃杯，打算用它們的底部來保持蛋糕的樣子不變形。蛋糕即將出爐，每個人都準備了一只玻璃杯從下面支撐起蛋糕，這時要很小心以免刺破蛋糕的頂部。

蛋糕出爐了，我們幾個拿著玻璃杯準備著，母親敏捷地把蛋糕翻轉過來。我最小的兒子凱萊布一本正經地握著杯子，確保杯子的底部擺放正確。最大的兒子喬舒亞先端詳了一會手中的杯子，然后聳聳肩把杯子放在了蛋糕下面。凱萊布注視著喬舒亞的舉動并開始抗議他那杯子的擺放位置。喬舒亞一邊瞪他一邊說道：“凱萊布，我知道我在做什么。我已經16歲了！”

哎呀，又是老套的孩子們之間的爭論。有沒有別的新話題？

蛋糕被支撐好了，此時母親感到有些疲憊，于是上樓休息去了。隨后，當蛋糕放涼時，孩子們決定由他們動手冷卻蛋糕來給我們一個驚喜。……