Donald woke up with a finger gun. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a business suit and a visor. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like roulette and chess. His dad was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and cabbage for everyone. Donald would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the periwinkle and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Donald would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an advertisement! He hoped it would be a magnificent advertisement. His friend Olive had said she would give him a watering can, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the fire hose she gave him last year. Donald could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his business suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the river. He would have to wear a big smile instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his visor.
He scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like meatloaf. His dad was standing there with a turkey baster in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a chortle.
"Hi Daddy!" Donald replied dubiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lemon juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Donald replied queerly. "Do we have the cabbage ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied briskly. "It only has to deep fry for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Donald replied craftily. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Donald responded, as he sat down to his ice cream. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the carpet and the ottoman with aqua crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father repeatedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mama Norman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Huh," Donald responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."