Winnie woke up with a shrug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of knickerbockers and a pair of cycling shorts. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like roulette and tennis. Her dad was planning to make plenty of wienerschnitzel and ramen noodles for everyone. Winnie would try to blow out all six candles on the beige and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Winnie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fishing pole! She hoped it would be a crisp fishing pole. Her friend Sydmo had said she would give her a pinwheel, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the fishing rod she gave her last year. Winnie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of knickerbockers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gulch. She would have to wear a sundress instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of cycling shorts.
She trekked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like curry. Her dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hiccup.
"Hi Daddy!" Winnie replied stupidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the wienerschnitzel," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra black olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Winnie replied fearlessly. "Do we have the ramen noodles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied gratefully. "It only has to boil for twenty minutes."
"Okay," Winnie replied cruelly. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dirty rice in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Winnie responded, as she sat down to her dirty rice. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the chair and the ping-pong table with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father roughly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Rose Ullman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Meow," Winnie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."