Rumpelstiltskin woke up with a flinch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gown and an armband. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like musical chairs and charades. His dad was planning to make plenty of lamb curry and cabbage for everyone. Rumpelstiltskin would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the olive drab and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rumpelstiltskin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a radio! He hoped it would be a leather radio. His friend Loretta had said she would give him a bucket, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the flag she gave him last year. Rumpelstiltskin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plateau. He would have to wear a belt buckle instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his armband.
He swaggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like moldy leftovers. His dad was standing there with a mixing spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a guffaw.
"Hi Daddy!" Rumpelstiltskin replied sorrowfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lamb curry," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground lamb. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rumpelstiltskin replied gently. "Do we have the cabbage ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied intensely. "It only has to melt for thirty-one minutes."
"Okay," Rumpelstiltskin replied briskly. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some brownies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest room 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," Rumpelstiltskin responded, as he sat down to his brownies. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the TV and the recliner with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sheepishly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jeanne Cohen. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Oh," Rumpelstiltskin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a twitch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."