Kept 'thirty'? Change it to forty and it is the same story. Take away 'last' and there is no story, just children eating ice cream. The van breaking down is why it happened, not what happened.
Every word, accounted for
Theglue. never in the answer
lastno more after these. that is the story. stays
giantthe size that made them worth it. stays
sundaesthe thing itself. stays
wereglue. never in the answer
lickedwhat happened. stays
byglue. never in the answer
thirtya count. forty children, same story
cheeringhow they sounded. not what happened
childrenwho did it. stays
afterglue. never in the answer
theglue. never in the answer
vanwhy it happened. not what happened
brokewhy it happened. not what happened
downpart of the breakdown. not the news