One day, Kate decided to surprise her family by baking a pie. She carefully followed the recipe, trying to do everything right, and had already prepared the dough, spreading it on the baking sheet. Now, she just needed to add the filling. Kate eagerly took out the fresh berries she had prepared earlier. “Mmm... They smell so good!” she thought, imagining how beautiful and delicious her pie would be.

But then her little brother Anton appeared in the kitchen. He was very curious and always wanted to try whatever Kate was cooking. While Kate turned around for a spoon, Anton couldn’t resist and started sneaking berries one by one, thinking Kate wouldn’t notice.

When Kate finally turned back, she saw an almost empty bowl with only a few berries left. “Anton! Where did all my filling go?” she exclaimed, trying not to get upset. Her brother, with his mouth full, just shrugged.

Kate felt a bit disappointed but then realized that scolding her brother wouldn’t help, and the pie filling was gone anyway. She sighed and thought, “What should I do now?” After all, the dough was ready, and she still wanted to bake the pie. Then an idea came to her. “What if I come up with something new?” she thought.

With that thought, she began searching the fridge for something that could replace the berries. And there she found a bit of cottage cheese, some sugar, and even a piece of chocolate.

Kate smiled—this could be even better than the original recipe. She mixed the cottage cheese with sugar, chopped up the chocolate, and carefully spread the filling on the dough. It looked good, and Kate’s mood brightened again. “This will be great!” she thought.

When Anton saw that Kate had found a new filling for the pie, he was surprised. He felt a bit guilty for eating all the berries, but he couldn’t help but admire his sister’s creativity. He came up to her and quietly said:

– Sorry, Kate, I didn’t mean to eat it all. I just couldn’t resist.

Kate smiled and patted him on the head:

– That’s okay, Anton. Now we’ll bake a special pie that you helped me invent! Let’s cook together next time.

They put the pie in the oven together. While it was baking, the kitchen filled with the warm aroma of cottage cheese and chocolate. Anton eagerly peered into the oven, trying to guess when the pie would be ready. Kate watched his anticipation with a smile.

Finally, the pie was done. It was golden brown and looked even better than Kate had expected. They carefully took it out of the oven, and Anton looked at his sister with admiration.

– What a beautiful pie! Thank you for not getting mad at me, Kate, he said quietly, feeling very grateful.

Kate put a piece of pie on a plate and handed it to him:

– Try it and tell me how you like it! This is our special pie!

Anton took a bite and immediately smiled. It was delicious! The creamy cottage cheese with chocolate was a wonderful substitute for the berries, and the dough was perfectly baked. They happily ate the pie together, and Anton realized how important it is to find solutions in any situation.

And so the story of the missing pie came to an end. Kate learned that sometimes unexpected things happen, but with creativity and improvisation, you can always come up with something even better. And her brother Anton now knew that it’s best to ask before taking something. They became even closer, and from then on, they often cooked together.

This story taught them that even in a difficult situation, you can come through with a smile and a great result if you act with patience and creativity.