Marysia visits Granny Zosia and discovers that the kitchen is full of talking objects, secret plans, and a mysterious cupboard that is starting to open.
One afternoon Marysia went to visit her grandmother Zosia. Grandma lived in a little yellow house with a big garden, and birds sang so loudly outside the windows that it sounded as if they were greeting everyone by name.
Marysia loved coming there. The house always smelled of warm cake, sweet apples, and something special that she could never quite name.
That day, Grandma had baked an apple pie. She put it on the table to cool and let Marysia peek into her bright kitchen. There were colourful pots, shiny spoons, a curtain that kept fluttering by the window, and a row of porcelain cups in every colour.
Marysia climbed onto a chair and looked around. The kitchen was quiet for one tiny second.
Then she heard a soft whisper. "Psst!"
Marysia froze. Grandma was far out on the veranda, humming to herself.
"That must have been the wind," Marysia murmured. But just then, something rattled inside the cupboard.
A small white cup with blue flowers peeked out from behind the sugar bowl. "Over here," it said in a squeaky little voice.
Marysia’s eyes went round and round.
A silver spoon slid across the table and gave her a quick wink. The big pot on the stove gave a sleepy groan, lifted its lid a little, and clanged it shut again. "At last," the pot said. "We’ve been waiting all morning."
Marysia slid off the chair and crouched down so she could see better.
Now everything in the kitchen seemed to wake up at once. The salt shaker did a tiny dance. The cream jug swayed side to side. The jam jar twirled its lid like a hat.
"Come and play!" they called.
Marysia took a breath, smiling despite herself, because she had never seen a kitchen like this before. She was about to ask what kind of game they wanted when the voices dropped to a whisper.
"Hush," said the cup.
"It’s opening," whispered the spoon.
The cupboard door creaked slowly inward, and from the dark space inside came a soft, shuffling murmur....