“Freddy! What happened to your shirt?” my mom asked when we walked out of the petting zoo.

“You see that brown-and-white-spotted goat over there?” I said, pointing.

“Yes,” said my mom.

“Well, I guess he didn’t get enough breakfast this morning, so he needed a little snack, and he decided to eat my shirt!”

“That’s hilarious!” Suzie said, laughing.

“No, it’s not,” I said, frowning.

“Yes, it is!”

“No, it’s not! This is one of my favorite shark shirts!”

“Ha, ha, ha!” Suzie continued laughing.

“Stop it! Stop laughing!” I yelled.

“All right. Enough,” said my dad. “Suzie, leave Freddy alone.”

“Why don’t we all go get something to eat?” suggested my mom.

“Great idea, Mrs. Thresher,” said Robbie. “I’m starving, and I don’t want to eat Freddy’s shirt!”

We all walked over to the food area.

“I want a hamburger!” said Robbie.

“I want a hot dog,” said Suzie.

“I want a chili dog,” said Kimberly.

“What do you want, Freddy?” asked my mom.

“I want cotton candy, a caramel apple, taffy, and a snow cone, and …”

“That’s for dessert,” said my mom. “What do you want for lunch?”

“Cotton candy.”

“Cotton candy is not lunch. You need to eat something else first,” said my dad.

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll have a hamburger like Robbie.”

The kids went to sit down while the parents got the food.

“I think we should go on the rides after lunch,” said Kimberly.

The rides! I almost forgot all about the Giant Swing and Jessie and Max’s bet. My stomach felt sick again.

“I don’t think we should go on the rides right after lunch,” I said.

“Why not?” said Suzie. “Are you being a fraidy-cat again?”

“No, I’m not being a fraidy-cat. I just don’t want to throw up my hamburger all over you!” I said. “Remember, you are going on the Giant Swing with me. I don’t think you want me barfing in your lap, do you?”

“No, I don’t,” said Suzie. “You’re right. We’d better wait a little bit after we eat before we go on the rides.”

“Okay, here we go,” said my dad, as he put the food down on the table. “Two hamburgers, one hot dog, and one chili dog. Enjoy!”

“Hey, Dad. Did you get any of those little ketchup packets?” I asked.

“Yes, I did,” he said. “They are right here in my pocket.”

He pulled about six ketchup packets out of his pocket. “Here you go, Freddy. I think this should be enough. Do you need help opening them?”

“Nope. Thanks, Dad. I can do it myself.”

My dad went to sit down with my mom and Robbie’s parents.

I grabbed a ketchup packet. “I love, love, love ketchup!” I said.

“Really?” said Kimberly. “Do you love it so much that you are going to marry it?”

Suzie and Kimberly burst out laughing. “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

“No, I’m not going to marry it,” I said, struggling to tear open the packet. “I’m going to put it on my hamburger.”

The packet was really hard to open. I was twisting it and trying to bite it with my teeth. All of sudden, without warning, the top ripped off and squirted ketchup all over my face and my shirt.

Robbie, Kimberly, and Suzie thought it was so funny that they almost fell out of their chairs.

“Look! It’s the ketchup monster!” said Robbie.

“You’d better be careful, or he might eat you up,” said Suzie.

“Great! Just great!” I muttered to myself. “First the goat chews a hole in my shirt, and now I spill ketchup all over it.”

I grabbed some napkins and wiped off my face and my shirt. Then I sat and ate my hamburger in silence.

My mom came over to the table. “Why are you so quiet, Freddy?”

“Nothing,” I mumbled.

“I know how to cheer you up. How about some dessert?” she said.

I smiled.

“I knew that would make you smile,” said my mom. “What would you like?”

“Cotton candy, a caramel apple, taffy, and a snow cone.”

“You’ll be sick if you eat all of that,” my mom said. “Choose one.”

“But it’s so hard to choose,” I whined. “I can’t choose just one!”

“I want a cherry-flavored snow cone,” said Kimberly.

“I want cotton candy,” said Robbie.

“I want a caramel apple,” said Suzie.

“Freddy, how about you? Have you decided yet?” said my mom.

“No. They’re all so good. I still can’t decide,” I said.

“Don’t take all day,” said Suzie. “Make a decision.”

I hit my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Think, think, think.”

As I was thinking, someone came up from behind me and grabbed my shirt. I reached around and smacked a hand.

“Hey, what did you do that for, Freddy?” said Jessie.

“Oh, Jessie, it’s you,” I said. “Sorry about that. I thought you were a goat.”

“A goat? What are you talking about?” said Jessie.

“This morning a goat chewed a hole in his shirt while we were in the petting zoo,” said Robbie.

“Really?” said Jessie.

“Yep.” I nodded. “So when I felt something pulling on the back of my shirt, I thought it was the goat!”

“No goat. Just me,” said Jessie. “What are you guys doing?”

“Waiting for Freddy to decide what he wants to get for dessert,” said Robbie.

“Why don’t you have one of these?” said Jessie, holding up the treat she had in her hand. “It’s delicious!”

“What is it?” I said.

“It’s a churro.”

“A what?”

“A churro. It’s from Mexico. My abuela knows how to make really good ones. It’s a stick of fried dough that’s rolled in cinnamon sugar.”

“I’ve never had it before, but it sounds yummy,” I said. “I think I’ll have that!”

“You’re going to love it,” said Jessie. “You can get them right at that booth over there. Why don’t you get one, and then meet me at the Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest? It’s going to start really soon.”

“Okay,” I said. “See you there!”