Clio woke up with a chuckle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a dog collar and a tank top. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like cribbage and tag. Her dad was planning to make plenty of scrambled eggs and borscht for everyone. Clio would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the pea green and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Clio would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowling ball! She hoped it would be a decrepit bowling ball. Her friend Flo had said she would give her a fossil, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the pair of combat boots she gave her last year. Clio could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her dog collar. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the garden. She would have to wear a mortarboard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her tank top.
She slunk downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like black pepper. Her dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a honk.
"Hi Daddy!" Clio replied crazily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the scrambled eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra red cabbage. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Clio replied cunningly. "Do we have the borscht ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied cruelly. "It only has to scramble for sixty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Clio replied truculently. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse 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," Clio responded, as she sat down to her fondue. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the counter and the washing machine with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father bravely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Katherine Gutierrez. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Ow," Clio responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a woof. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."