Art work for this story. It's for family only.
Budget: $250 – $750 USD
The Giant Surprise Lollipop Adventure (of 2025)
The Surprise Lollipop Adventure
One day, two people — Uncle Steve and Aunt Shirley — flew hundreds of miles to Mexico from their home in Chicagoland, United States. Uncle Steve had been born there but had traveled all over the world before meeting Aunt Shirley and getting married. Aunt Shirley had been born in the Philippine Islands, but she was Chinese, and she traveled everywhere in the world and met lots of nice people but got stuck with Uncle Steve.
Now the two of them were headed to see the Giant Lollipop Factory in Las Sugarosa, Mexico.
Las Sugarosa was famous for its suckers.
“Gringos come to be suckered,” said the locals. “They are never disappointed.”
The factory was said to be many thousands of years old and had been rebuilt and added to so many times that it looked like a huge child’s fort stretching from the center of town all the way out to the desert sands behind it. Smoke poured from a dozen chimneys of all shapes and sizes, and none of the 22 doors matched. Only four of the doors worked. The walls were painted so many colors that it was hard to tell where the walls ended and the doors began. Smiling workers waved from open windows, clearly riding on their sugar highs.
To the right of the factory stretched a farm filled with fruit trees of every kind as far as the eye could see. Far off in the distance to the left loomed an old volcano, wisps of white smoke drifting from its top. A thick jungle sprawled below it. The air of the entire town smelled of sweet sugar.
Uncle Steve and Aunt Shirley hadn’t come just to tour the factory — they were there to buy three very special lollipops for three of their favorite little girl relatives: Shea, Roe, and Sloan. Only in Las Sugarosa could you order lollipops with names printed inside the candy. It was to be a surprise gift.
After they landed in Mexico, they hopped on a bus to Las Sugarosa and went straight to the factory. When they got there Aunt Shirley spoke Spanish to a woman sitting outside in a chair. Aunt Shirley spoke many languages; Uncle Steve just grunted a lot.
“It looks like a bunch of tree houses all piled together.” Uncle Steve said.
“Don’t be rude.” Aunt Shirley warned him.
Just then a man appeared through a small door. “Ola! Sigueme!” and led them inside. They stopped at a small table to fill out some paperwork. One form was to order their lollipops with the three names inside — 5,000 pesos each. Aunt Shirley said they’d be ready in about an hour. Uncle Steve wasn’t sure how much 5,000 pesos was in dollars but guessed, “about a million bucks to get suckered.”
The second paper was a waiver stating that if they got hurt during the tour, they wouldn’t “return with the American army to demand a refund.” Since neither of them was in any army, they gladly signed and followed the guide.
The first room was filled with huge, round wafers that looked like super-skinny waffles and smelled like pineapples. A long hose dropped from the ceiling and poured fruit onto the wafers, then another wafer dropped on top. The massive press slammed them together so fast and hard the whole room shook.
As they passed through each room, things became more complicated and harder to understand. Aunt Shirley continued to listen and nodded yes. Uncle Steve kept looking around and grunting.
The guide spoke Spanish, so Aunt Shirley had to translate for Uncle Steve — but he was too distracted by the shiny bright colors.
“What did he say that time?” he asked for the tenth time.
Finally, Aunt Shirley, exasperated, said, “He said the whole place is run by monkeys.”
“Ha ha,” Steve muttered. “Fine, don’t tell me.”
After six more rooms, each with different machines doing different lollipop jobs they reached the Alphabet Room. Letters from every language hung from the ceiling. Long rows of vowels and consonants were lowered into vats of steaming goo. Each letter eventually sorted it’s self into lollipop molds and the names of people who’d ordered them. Names like Lucenzo, Matilda, Angelena and Bob floated in the air — each one destined to be encased in a sweet, shiny lollipop.
They were just about to look for Shea, Roe, and Sloan when a thunderous boom shook the entire factory. The ground rumbled, walls cracked, and the guide screamed,
“The volcano! ¡Vámonos, vamoose, muchacho y Chica!”
He bolted through the doorway and disappeared.
The ceiling came crashing down, spilling spiders and deadly scorpions. Uncle Steve threw himself over Aunt Shirley as debris rained down. “Are you alright? I think it’s time for us to go!”
“Go?” Aunt Shirley said fiercely. “Over my dead body!”
She began clawing through the wreckage like a madwoman. She was throwing debris and digging through rubble with a passion, “We have come all this way — I’m not leaving empty-handed!”
Clouds of thick black smoke shot fireballs of molten rock out from the volcano, and they crashed around them. “Shirley! For God’s sake!”
“No!” she shouted, still digging. “Not until…A ha!” After ten minutes she had found the lollipop mold marked Shea, Roe, and Sloan.
“Got it!” she cried triumphantly. “Still in the mold!”
“Great, Dora the Explorer,” Steve joked. “Let’s run!”
They sprinted over the rubble in time to catch the last bus out of town as hot lava rolled over what was left of the factory. It burst into flames just as they passed the sign:
“Welcome, Suckers, to Las Sugarosa!”
Strangely, the whole bus was cheering. Aunt Shirley, puzzled, asked why everyone was so happy after losing their homes and jobs.
“They were insured for fifty million,” she was told.
“Pesos?” Uncle Steve asked.
“No,” Aunt Shirley said. “Dollars.”
When they got home, they opened the sucker mold. But the names hadn’t made it into the lollipops, instead, scorpions had.
“Surprise!”
The Surprise Lollipop Adventure
One day, two people — Uncle Steve and Aunt Shirley — flew hundreds of miles to Mexico from their home in Chicagoland, United States. Uncle Steve had been born there but had traveled all over the world before meeting Aunt Shirley and getting married. Aunt Shirley had been born in the Philippine Islands, but she was Chinese, and she traveled everywhere in the world and met lots of nice people but got stuck with Uncle Steve.
Now the two of them were headed to see the Giant Lollipop Factory in Las Sugarosa, Mexico.
Las Sugarosa was famous for its suckers.
“Gringos come to be suckered,” said the locals. “They are never disappointed.”
The factory was said to be many thousands of years old and had been rebuilt and added to so many times that it looked like a huge child’s fort stretching from the center of town all the way out to the desert sands behind it. Smoke poured from a dozen chimneys of all shapes and sizes, and none of the 22 doors matched. Only four of the doors worked. The walls were painted so many colors that it was hard to tell where the walls ended and the doors began. Smiling workers waved from open windows, clearly riding on their sugar highs.
To the right of the factory stretched a farm filled with fruit trees of every kind as far as the eye could see. Far off in the distance to the left loomed an old volcano, wisps of white smoke drifting from its top. A thick jungle sprawled below it. The air of the entire town smelled of sweet sugar.
Uncle Steve and Aunt Shirley hadn’t come just to tour the factory — they were there to buy three very special lollipops for three of their favorite little girl relatives: Shea, Roe, and Sloan. Only in Las Sugarosa could you order lollipops with names printed inside the candy. It was to be a surprise gift.
After they landed in Mexico, they hopped on a bus to Las Sugarosa and went straight to the factory. When they got there Aunt Shirley spoke Spanish to a woman sitting outside in a chair. Aunt Shirley spoke many languages; Uncle Steve just grunted a lot.
“It looks like a bunch of tree houses all piled together.” Uncle Steve said.
“Don’t be rude.” Aunt Shirley warned him.
Just then a man appeared through a small door. “Ola! Sigueme!” and led them inside. They stopped at a small table to fill out some paperwork. One form was to order their lollipops with the three names inside — 5,000 pesos each. Aunt Shirley said they’d be ready in about an hour. Uncle Steve wasn’t sure how much 5,000 pesos was in dollars but guessed, “about a million bucks to get suckered.”
The second paper was a waiver stating that if they got hurt during the tour, they wouldn’t “return with the American army to demand a refund.” Since neither of them was in any army, they gladly signed and followed the guide.
The first room was filled with huge, round wafers that looked like super-skinny waffles and smelled like pineapples. A long hose dropped from the ceiling and poured fruit onto the wafers, then another wafer dropped on top. The massive press slammed them together so fast and hard the whole room shook.
As they passed through each room, things became more complicated and harder to understand. Aunt Shirley continued to listen and nodded yes. Uncle Steve kept looking around and grunting.
The guide spoke Spanish, so Aunt Shirley had to translate for Uncle Steve — but he was too distracted by the shiny bright colors.
“What did he say that time?” he asked for the tenth time.
Finally, Aunt Shirley, exasperated, said, “He said the whole place is run by monkeys.”
“Ha ha,” Steve muttered. “Fine, don’t tell me.”
After six more rooms, each with different machines doing different lollipop jobs they reached the Alphabet Room. Letters from every language hung from the ceiling. Long rows of vowels and consonants were lowered into vats of steaming goo. Each letter eventually sorted it’s self into lollipop molds and the names of people who’d ordered them. Names like Lucenzo, Matilda, Angelena and Bob floated in the air — each one destined to be encased in a sweet, shiny lollipop.
They were just about to look for Shea, Roe, and Sloan when a thunderous boom shook the entire factory. The ground rumbled, walls cracked, and the guide screamed,
“The volcano! ¡Vámonos, vamoose, muchacho y Chica!”
He bolted through the doorway and disappeared.
The ceiling came crashing down, spilling spiders and deadly scorpions. Uncle Steve threw himself over Aunt Shirley as debris rained down. “Are you alright? I think it’s time for us to go!”
“Go?” Aunt Shirley said fiercely. “Over my dead body!”
She began clawing through the wreckage like a madwoman. She was throwing debris and digging through rubble with a passion, “We have come all this way — I’m not leaving empty-handed!”
Clouds of thick black smoke shot fireballs of molten rock out from the volcano, and they crashed around them. “Shirley! For God’s sake!”
“No!” she shouted, still digging. “Not until…A ha!” After ten minutes she had found the lollipop mold marked Shea, Roe, and Sloan.
“Got it!” she cried triumphantly. “Still in the mold!”
“Great, Dora the Explorer,” Steve joked. “Let’s run!”
They sprinted over the rubble in time to catch the last bus out of town as hot lava rolled over what was left of the factory. It burst into flames just as they passed the sign:
“Welcome, Suckers, to Las Sugarosa!”
Strangely, the whole bus was cheering. Aunt Shirley, puzzled, asked why everyone was so happy after losing their homes and jobs.
“They were insured for fifty million,” she was told.
“Pesos?” Uncle Steve asked.
“No,” Aunt Shirley said. “Dollars.”
When they got home, they opened the sucker mold. But the names hadn’t made it into the lollipops, instead, scorpions had.
“Surprise!”