Lucille woke up with a raspberry. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of briefs and a moustache. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like musical chairs and Mother May I. Her dad was planning to make plenty of mashed potatoes and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Lucille would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the pink and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lucille would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an air compressor! She hoped it would be a ridiculous air compressor. Her friend Marya had said she would give her a pack of gum, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the cracker she gave her last year. Lucille could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of briefs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountain. She would have to wear a Hawaiian shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her moustache.
She galloped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a saloon. Her dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Lucille replied sadly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mashed potatoes," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lucille replied flightily. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied obediently. "It only has to fry excitedly in miniature skillet for seventy-four minutes."
"Okay," Lucille replied ruefully. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cookies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Lucille responded, as she sat down to her cookies. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the desk and the pillow with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father pitifully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Beverly Allison. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Diddly bunk," Lucille responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a beam. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."