Morton woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a coat of mail and a pair of moon boots. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like blackjack and Candy Land. His mom was planning to make plenty of lasagna and lasagna for everyone. Morton would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the grey and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Morton would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a yo-yo! He hoped it would be a clean yo-yo. His friend Hugh had said he would give him a Bunsen burner, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the apple she gave him last year. Morton could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his coat of mail. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the valley. He would have to wear a flour sack instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of moon boots.
He darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pesto. His mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shrug.
"Hi Mommy!" Morton replied solemnly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lasagna," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra basil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Morton replied miserably. "Do we have the lasagna ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied ruefully. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Morton replied carefully. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Cheerios in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family room first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Morton responded, as he sat down to his Cheerios. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the safe and the buffet with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother rapidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Darcy Rush. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Maybe," Morton responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raspberry. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."