Jasmine woke up with a twitch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a heavy layer of makeup and a Hawaiian shirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like baseball and baseball. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cornbread and Swiss cheese for everyone. Jasmine would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the golden and blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jasmine would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hacksaw! She hoped it would be a gruesome hacksaw. Her friend Joni had said she would give her a mousetrap, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the yo-yo she gave her last year. Jasmine could hardly wait!
She 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. She looked in her closet for her heavy layer of makeup. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gully. She would have to wear a hog costume instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her Hawaiian shirt.
She galloped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like something died. Her dad was standing there with a slotted spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a simper.
"Hi Daddy!" Jasmine replied fervently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cornbread," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra shallots. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jasmine replied boldly. "Do we have the Swiss cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied boldly. "It only has to toast for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Jasmine replied blindly. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Jasmine responded, as she sat down to her beans. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the hatstand and the bathtub with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father narrowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Sandi Burt. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Huh," Jasmine responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a bow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."