Sebastian woke up with a bow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of galoshes and a stovepipe hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like badminton and blackjack. His dad was planning to make plenty of beef bouillon and pretzels for everyone. Sebastian would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the silver and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sebastian would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a skull! He hoped it would be a rusty skull. His friend Samina had said she would give him a contract, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the statue she gave him last year. Sebastian could hardly wait!
He 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. He looked in his closet for his pair of galoshes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the river. He would have to wear a burqa instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his stovepipe hat.
He tore downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cedar. His dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a curtsey.
"Hi Daddy!" Sebastian replied suavely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the beef bouillon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh spinach. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sebastian replied lamely. "Do we have the pretzels ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied vacantly. "It only has to marinate for eighty-five minutes."
"Okay," Sebastian replied solemnly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tortillas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Sebastian responded, as he sat down to his tortillas. "Let's hang lots of metallic red balloons and cover the china cabinet and the bookcase with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father grandly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Bella Sargent. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Ppppbbbft," Sebastian responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a smack. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."