Wednesday Writing Prompt: The Incredible Candy Machine

Here’s a special Wednesday Writing Prompt, written by my very own daughter, Ella.

Enjoy… and try not to eat too much candy while you write!

“Becca Davis goes to a carnival with her great-aunt Kacey and can’t wait to see the Incredible Candy Machine. She reaches out out to touch it but accidentally falls in! 

Thanks for the writing prompt, Ella!

If you would like to see your own prompt featured here, let me know.

7 thoughts on “Wednesday Writing Prompt: The Incredible Candy Machine”

  1. “Becca! Becca…”

    I could hear Aunt Casey’s worried voice in the distance as I fell, my hands scrambling helplessly along the smooth sides of the chute. Why didn’t I listen to her? She told me not to get too close, but my curiosity got the better of me. Like it ALWAYS does.

    WHUMP!

    I hit the bottom with a crash, then sat up dizzily, brightly-colored candies mashed in my curly hair and sticking to my nervous, sweaty hands. Without thinking, I peeled one off and popped it into my mouth. I mean, if you’re stuck in a candy machine, you might as well enjoy the benefits, right? With a lemony fizz, the candy exploded pleasantly against my tongue. I squeezed my eyes shut, and then it was as though the rest of my body squeezed shut with it. I looked up and saw that either the world was getting really large, or I was getting really small. Before I could make any sense of it, the bottom dropped out from underneath my feet and I was falling again. This time was considerably more exciting…and more dangerous. The once-tiny candies were now gigantic, fruit-flavored boulders whizzing past my head. I crouched down and held tightly to the orange sphere below me. I could make out a light below, and then my candy vessel crashed into a curved wall that spit it – and me – into a clear plastic egg. The machinery closed the lid overhead, and then a gigantic hand reached in and grabbed the egg. The dirt-smeared face of a massive toddler grinned down at me, then scrunched up in frustration as she tried fruitlessly to open the egg. Disoriented, I tried to hold onto the side as she shook it up and down.

    Suddenly, behind her I could see Aunt Kasey! I beat on the side of the egg and screamed as loudly as I could.

    “Aunt Kasey! Help!” But there was no way she could hear my now tiny, insect-sized voice through the heavy plastic. I was going to have to escape all on my own.

  2. “Becca!” called Kacey. But Becca was gone. Kacey walked around the Incredible Candy Machine. It had rows and rows of all the kinds of candy you could imagine – hard candy, caramels, lollipops, gummy bears, jelly beans, and numerous varieties of chocolate! The machine also held things that Kacy couldn’t imagine – rainbow-colored sculptures of unicorns and dragons the size of tables that were being manufactured by robots. Eight cotton candy spinners spun in a bin of cotton candy mix – that was where Becca had fallen in.
    Kacey weighed her options. There was no person attending the Incredible Candy Machine. She could call the police, but she doubted they would know what to do. She could go in herself, but she wouldn’t be able to navigate the maze of candy inside, and she didn’t know anything about candy. She was more of a salad-type person.
    But she knew that Becca loved candy. She might eat it a little bit too much, and she knew that Becca would be able to identify and avoid any type of candy that might swallow her up instead of the other way around. You never knew with the Incredible Candy Machine.
    Suddenly the bin of liquid sugar bubbled. The spinners were drawn out automatically. It foamed again, sending bits of pink sugary mixture across Kacey’s shirt.
    Suddenly Becca was spat out of the mix, feet first, and sailed through the air until she crashed into the ground with a Thud!
    “Becca?” Kacey rushed forward and cradled her niece in her arms. “Are you okay?”
    A voice from behind Kacey rumbled in anger. It was a very deep voice. “She tastes very bad,” came the voice from the cotton candy bin. “You should add some sugar.”
    Becca looked at the cotton candy. “It’s talking?” she asked in a very small voice. The cotton candy bubbled again.
    “Of course I can talk, but I’m surprised you can.”
    Becca just sat, bewildered, in a puddle of cotton candy glop. The cotton candy stopped talking and after a long silence, Kacey thought it was safe.
    “Um, do you want some candy?” Kacey asked. “I’ll buy you some, if you think that’ll make you feel better.”
    But Becca promptly shook her head. “I am never going to eat any candy again in my entire life!”
    Kacey nodded slowly. “That’s probably a wise decision,” she muttered. She looked around the carnival and saw a couple of other games, wondering if the usually-exuberant girl would want to play. But now Becca was pale and quiet, and Kacey wondered if she would ever be herself again. “How about some broccoli, then?” she asked.
    Becca nodded slowly. “Sure.” Kacey scuttled over to a stand with lots of greens, and picked out a big head of broccoli. She paid for it quickly and brought it over to Becca.
    “Here,” she said, handing it over. Becca muttered a low, “Thank you,” and was about to shove the broccoli in her mouth when it started speaking.
    “Don’t eat me,” it said, “please don’t eat me!”
    Becca didn’t say a word. She just dropped the broccoli and ran.

  3. Just when Becca had the thought that she was going to be falling forever she hit a floor made of delicious candy. She could still hear a faint voice calling her name and she knew it was Aunt Kasey’s voice. She popped some gum into her mouth and glanced at the opening she’d fallen in through. As her eyes adjusted, she could see a red licorice ladder leaning against the wall. Becca moved it against the opening and climbed up toward her aunt. Before she climbed out of the machine, she broke off a piece of red licorice and saved it for later in her pocket.

    1. Great job, Laurel! I love that Becca can save herself in your story. Thank you!

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