Madeline woke up with a grin. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a miniskirt and a loincloth. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and tennis. Her dad was planning to make plenty of pot roast and popcorn for everyone. Madeline would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the pea green and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Madeline would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cowbell! She hoped it would be a hand-made cowbell. Her friend Delores had said she would give her a blanket, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the blank check she gave her last year. Madeline could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her miniskirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hayfield. She would have to wear a pair of knickerbockers instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her loincloth.
She sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hot cocoa. Her dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a dope slap.
"Hi Daddy!" Madeline replied coolly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra poppy seeds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Madeline replied sagely. "Do we have the popcorn ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied thoughtfully. "It only has to press for fifty-one minutes."
"Okay," Madeline replied accidentally. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Madeline responded, as she sat down to her ham. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the hammock and the credenza with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father fearfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Veronica Popper. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Mommy," Madeline responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."