Penelope woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an Eton jacket and a bandana. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like bridge and Simon Says. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and fondue for everyone. Penelope would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the red and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Penelope would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dead parakeet! She hoped it would be a woven dead parakeet. Her friend Alberta had said she would give her a whistle, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the rose she gave her last year. Penelope could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Eton jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the canyon. She would have to wear a pair of Oxfords instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bandana.
She reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Lancôme. Her dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Penelope replied cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra raisins. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Penelope replied tenderly. "Do we have the fondue ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied daringly. "It only has to spread into container for eleven minutes."
"Okay," Penelope replied deliberately. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tacos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Penelope responded, as she sat down to her tacos. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the computer and the filing cabinet with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father hysterically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Maria LaSalle. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Nope," Penelope responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grunt. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."