Wilbur woke up with a grin. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a ribbon and a coat of mail. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like jacks and follow the leader. His mom was planning to make plenty of wienerschnitzel and French fries for everyone. Wilbur would try to blow out all three candles on the white and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Wilbur would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of soup! He hoped it would be a petite can of soup. His friend Samuel had said he would give him a napkin, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the flowerpot she gave him last year. Wilbur could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his ribbon. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gully. He would have to wear a wig instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his coat of mail.
He breezed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a skunk. His mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shiver.
"Hi Mommy!" Wilbur replied haughtily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the wienerschnitzel," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra red lentils. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Wilbur replied diligently. "Do we have the French fries ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied sadly. "It only has to press for thirty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Wilbur replied coolly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young man, 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 living room first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Wilbur responded, as he sat down to his fried okra. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the pool table and the chair with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother bitterly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Susie Burns. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Crackers," Wilbur responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."