Magnolia woke up with a gasp. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a sundress and a derby. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Mother May I and hide and seek. Her mom was planning to make plenty of corn on the cob and sauerkraut for everyone. Magnolia would try to blow out all thirty candles on the terra cotta and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Magnolia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rock! She hoped it would be a woven rock. Her friend Norman had said he would give her a painting, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the dollhouse she gave her last year. Magnolia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her sundress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the forest. She would have to wear a pair of boxing gloves instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her derby.
She swung downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rain. Her mom was standing there with a foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a titter.
"Hi Mommy!" Magnolia replied offhandedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the corn on the cob," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Worcestershire sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Magnolia replied accidentally. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied valiantly. "It only has to press for ten minutes."
"Okay," Magnolia replied repeatedly. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried okra in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Magnolia responded, as she sat down to her fried okra. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the workbench and the wooden crate with ivory crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother shyly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Antoinette Lancaster. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Pow," Magnolia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a dope slap. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."