Emily woke up with a backward glance. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of jackboots and a blouse. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like volleyball and ring around the rosie. Her dad was planning to make plenty of Froot Loops and hamburgers for everyone. Emily would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the aquamarine and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Emily would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a map! She hoped it would be a brightly-colored map. Her friend Marvella had said she would give her a towel, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the crayon she gave her last year. Emily could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of jackboots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hillside. She would have to wear a pair of moccasins instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her blouse.
She strolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like liver and onions. Her dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a chuckle.
"Hi Daddy!" Emily replied sleepily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Froot Loops," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra hot water. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Emily replied dubiously. "Do we have the hamburgers ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied diligently. "It only has to whirl for thirty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Emily replied gingerly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mulligan stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Emily responded, as she sat down to her mulligan stew. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the windowsill and the ottoman with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father gingerly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nellie Sanders. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Holy frijole," Emily responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a belch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."