Dax woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gown and a bonnet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like croquet and Scrabble. His dad was planning to make plenty of refried beans and French fries for everyone. Dax would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the red and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dax would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed owl! He hoped it would be a coarse stuffed owl. His friend Carmen had said she would give him a dog biscuit, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the teddy bear she gave him last year. Dax could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the field. He would have to wear a pair of gloves instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bonnet.
He marched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a dusty attic. His dad was standing there with a melon baller in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smack.
"Hi Daddy!" Dax replied cleverly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lima beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dax replied joyously. "Do we have the French fries ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied clumsily. "It only has to heat in microwave for eighty-six minutes."
"Okay," Dax replied primly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Dax responded, as he sat down to his cabbage rolls. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the beanbag chair and the fainting couch with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father arrogantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Joanie Frizzlewump. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Isht," Dax responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."