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Fire in Pudding Lane
by My Book Hub Team
An illustrated historical book for ages 9-12. Read the first pages free, then join to read it all.
Genre: historical
For ages 9-12
A peek inside
Bess wiped flour from her curly hair and straightened her woolen apron in the bakery on Pudding Lane. The warm smell of fresh loaves filled the small room. Her younger brother Thomas clutched his wooden toy horse and watched her press dough into neat rounds. Outside, the narrow cobbled lanes of London lay quiet under a clear September sky. Father rested upstairs after a long day at the ovens. Mother sorted the morning breads in the back room. Bess hummed softly as she worked. Thomas made his horse gallop across the table. “Will the honey buns sell first tomorrow?” he asked with a grin. Bess nodded and smiled. Everything felt safe and ordinary that evening.
A sharp crackle broke the calm. Bess lifted her head and frowned. Through the open shutter she saw a faint orange glow near the oven house next door. A thin ribbon of smoke curled upward into the dark. “Thomas, stay right here,” she said, setting down her dough. She stepped into the lane for a better look. Sparks danced above the roof tiles like tiny stars. The air carried a new sharp scent that made her eyes water. Neighbors still slept behind closed shutters. Bess felt her heart beat faster. She turned back toward the bakery door. Something was wrong, and she needed to tell Father at once.
