A SILLY-SILLY-SILLY Party
On Friday, we celebrated Kirk’s birthday in class.
First, he got to wear a shiny birthday crown all day.
Next, he got to pick a gift from Mrs. Brisbane’s birthday grab bag.
She asked him to close his eyes and reach inside. He pulled out a big sheet of silly stickers.
I was glad it was something funny, since Kirk likes to joke around.
Then we all sang him a birthday song. I happily squeaked along, and I even heard a few BOING-BOINGs coming from Og.
At the end of the day, Kirk’s mom came to pick us up.
“Bye, Og,” I squeaked. “I’ll tell you all about the bash on Monday.”
Og doesn’t leave Room 26 on the weekends because he can go a few days without being fed.
I didn’t like leaving him behind. He didn’t have his own hatchday, and he wasn’t going to Kirk’s birthday hsab.
I guess it’s not easy being a frog.
The next day, it was time for the party. Kirk set me on a big table near the front door. I could see everything.
“Just watch, Humphrey,” he said. “The fun is about to begin.”
Something funny had already begun, because Kirk had his shirt on backwards. There was a pocket on his back!
Most of his clothes were on backwards, except his shoes. I think it would be hard for a human to walk in backwards shoes. It would be hard for a hamster to walk in shoes at all!
The doorbell rang and Kirk ran to open it. “Good-bye,” he said to Richie.
When Richie tried to take a step into the house, Kirk said, “Not like that!” Kirk turned Richie around and said, “You have to come in backwards.”
So Richie came through the door walking backwards.
And that wasn’t the only strange thing. He was also wearing his clothes inside out!
All my friends from Room 26 arrived wearing their clothes backwards or inside out. They all loved the birthday balloons, which were sitting on the floor instead of floating near the ceiling.
And they laughed at the music. It sounded STRANGE-STRANGE-STRANGE because it was playing backwards.
Then Kirk moved my cage to the backyard, where my friends had a relay race.
It was so funny to see them running backwards. They flapped their arms and bumped into each other, laughing all the time.
I laughed, too.
At last, it was time to eat.
All my friends ran inside and gathered around a big table. Kirk put my cage on a little one right next to it.
Kirk’s mom brought out the birthday cake. On top, there was writing in bright red icing.
I had a pretty good idea that those letters spelled out HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIRK—only backwards!
Singing the birthday song backwards wasn’t easy. Kirk’s dad had printed out the words so everyone could read them, but it was still hard.
Then, instead of blowing out his birthday candles, Kirk helped his mom light them.
“Make a wish,” Kirk’s mom said.
Kirk closed his eyes and opened them again. Then he blew out the candles.
But the strange thing was, they lit right up again!
Kirk tried to blow them out again and again, but the flames kept coming back. They were trick candles!
“Backwards candles,” Kirk said. “Awesome!”
Finally, Kirk’s dad put them out. He cut pieces of cake for everyone. Then, Kirk’s mom scooped ice cream.
“Hey, what did the ice cream say to the cake?” Kirk asked.
No one answered, so Kirk said, “‘What’s eating you?’”
I laughed and laughed—it was such a funny joke!
Kirk’s friends gave him presents wrapped with inside-out paper. Some had bows tied on the bottom instead of the top.
He got a toy helicopter, some rocks for his rock collection, a board game and a joke book.
I think the joke book was his favorite present, because he started reading it right away.
“Hey, what does a cat eat for his birthday?” he asked. “Mice cream and cake!”
Everybody laughed except me. After all, mice and hamsters are a lot alike.
I was SO-SO-SO embarrassed because I didn’t have a present for Kirk.
Then I had an idea. I might not have had a present, but at least I could add something to the party.
I decided to put on a show.
First, I started spinning on my wheel.
Richie heard it squeak. “Hey, look at Humphrey go!” he said.
Soon, all my friends were gathered around my cage, watching.
I hopped off my wheel and climbed up the big tree branch in my cage, all the way to the top.
“Oooh,” my friends said.
Then I grabbed onto the top bars and made a daring jump straight down, landing in my soft bedding.
“Aaah!” everyone said.
To finish off the act, I got back on the wheel—but this time, I ran backwards as fast as I could.
It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it because my friends all clapped for me.
When it was time for the guests to leave, everyone said “hello,” which made me giggle.
“Hello!” I squeaked loudly.
After everyone had gone home, Kirk said, “Thank you, Humphrey, for helping make my party turn out so well!”
“Thanks for inviting me,” I squeaked back.
I don’t think I’d ever had so much fun in my life. I only wished Og could have been there, too.
When I got back to Room 26 on Monday morning, I was starting to tell my froggy friend about the backwards bash. But I heard Garth say, “Listen up, everybody.”
He looked over at my cage. Then he glanced at the door, where Mrs. Brisbane was talking to the teacher across the hall.
“I have a great idea. Want to hear it?” Garth asked in a loud whisper.
“Yes!” the other students answered.
“YES-YES-YES!” I squeaked.
“Quiet, everyone,” he said. “It’s a secret.” Garth turned to Richie and whispered something in his ear.
All I could hear were the words surprise and Friday.
I like surprises and wanted to hear more. “Could you squeak up just a little?” I asked.
Richie turned to Miranda and whispered in her ear.
I perked up my tiny pink ears, but all I could hear was the word present.
Miranda smiled. “Oooh, I have an idea!”
“Shhh,” the other children told her.
“Sorry,” Miranda said softly. Then she turned to Gail and whispered in her ear.
Gail giggled, then whispered in A.J.’s ear.
This time, I heard the word birthday.
Next, A.J. whispered in Kirk’s ear. Even when he whispers, A.J. is loud. But I couldn’t hear everything he said. I only heard him say Mrs. Brisbane.
Surprise. Friday. Present. Birthday. Mrs. Brisbane.
So that was the secret! They were having a surprise birthday party for Mrs. Brisbane on Friday!
My whiskers wiggled at the exciting news. But I wished my friends had whispered in my ear, too, so I’d know more about the plans.
Mrs. Brisbane came over to the group. “Why are you all whispering?” she asked.
“It’s a secret,” A.J. said.
Mrs. Brisbane smiled. “As long as it’s a good secret, I guess that’s okay.” She glanced over at my cage and said, “Isn’t that right, Humphrey?”
I wasn’t sure if secrets were ever okay. But this was a good one for sure.
Before I could answer, the bell rang and Mrs. Brisbane started class.
I always try to listen to every word she says. But it wasn’t easy. My mind was racing with thoughts about her surprise birthday party.
Would it be backwards or forward?
Would there be games?
And most important, would there be yummy cake?
