Cinderella woke up with a hug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of galoshes and a pair of bell-bottoms. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like volleyball and Simon Says. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cornbread and enchiladas for everyone. Cinderella would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the scarlet and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cinderella would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Band-aid! She hoped it would be a primitive Band-aid. Her friend Wes had said he would give her an advertisement, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the houseplant she gave her last year. Cinderella could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of galoshes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a dunce cap instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of bell-bottoms.
She hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like airplane glue. Her mom was standing there with a dull knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snigger.
"Hi Mommy!" Cinderella replied vigorously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cornbread," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanut butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cinderella replied carefully. "Do we have the enchiladas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her mother replied happily. "It only has to heat in microwave for fifteen minutes."
"Okay," Cinderella replied wearily. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Cinderella responded, as she sat down to her sushi. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the casket and the hatstand with sparkly crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother deftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Doralene Curie. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"W00t," Cinderella responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."