Stefany's Birthday Surprise

Far away from the everyday places you see all the time, there is a place that nobody knows about. That's not entirely true, of course, lots of people know about it; but most of them don't believe it's real. It is a place where all the people are animals and human people like you are the subjects of made-up stories that nobody believes are real. The name of the place is Alta, and one thing is certain: Everyone that lives there believes in it 100 percent.



   It was in the land of Alta not so long ago on a rainy Saturday that a very special resident had her eleventh birthday party. The story really begins a week before Stefany Ursabraun's birthday, on a sunny spring Saturday afternoon. The little brown bear was sitting on the bank of Lewellyn's Pond having a picnic lunch with her bestest friends of all time, Rachel and Alicia.  As unlikely a trio as you would ever see; a bear, a mouse, and a raccoon, they were in the same class at school and had been friends for as long as they could remember. Stefany was the oldest, but just barely; Rachel's birthday was just three weeks after and Alicia's eleven days after that. They had just finished the lunches their mothers had packed for them, and were gazing across the waters of the pond when Rachel asked Stefany about her upcoming birthday.

   "What sort of presents are you going to get?" the young raccoon asked, plucking a dandelion from the ground.

   "I don't know, my parents haven't said anything about what they're getting me," Stefany offered morosely, watching as Rachel blew on the dandelion until it burst into a little cloud and each bit floated away on the wind. Watching the exploding little cloud turned Stefany's attention to the darkening skies above them. In the few moments since they had packed their dishes in their baskets several dark clouds had rolled in from behind the forest on the opposite shore. "We should get going, before we get soaked," she said, helping Alicia get on top of her basket as she placed it on the ground next to the blanket. Stefany and Rachel each took two corners of the blanket and folded it together.

   Stefany leaned down and picked up her basket, holding her arm straight to allow Alicia to walk up it and into her pocket. Rachel continued, "Well, what did you ask for?" Rachel grabbed her basket as Stefany tucked the blanket into the handle of her own.

   "I did tell my mom that I really liked that blue plaid dress in Miss Judy's store window," Stefany offered as they walked up the slope toward home. The Ursabrauns, the Rodounds, and the Amoses all lived next door to one another on Bountiful Lane, and had for most of the young girls' lives. It may seem odd for mice to live amongst such much larger folks, and in fact it was. All of the other mice in Alta lived in their own little village called Malta, not far from Lewellyn's Pond in the other direction. The story of when Alicia's father Alexander disappeared and her mother Shanna and Stefany's mother Brenna became friends is an exciting tale, but that's for another time. Their friendship is what led to the Amoses living in their very own little house built into the front wall of the Ursabraun's house.

   "And I told Poppa that I wanted the rockinghorse that we saw at Toy Palace," Stefany continued. The girls made the turn from the dirt road leading from Lewellyn's Pond onto Pleasant Street.

   "Why would you want that?" Alicia asked from her berth in Stefany's breast pocket.

   "Yeah, that's a baby toy!" Rachel said as they continued walking down Pleasant toward Bountiful. Stefany's expression soured a bit at Rachel's comment; but she didn't say anything. Rachel must have realized that she had upset Stefany because she quickly added, "I'm sorry, it's just that it kind of is a baby toy, right?"

   Stefany thought for a moment, looking at the sky to see the angry clouds quickly moving on
their way without shedding a single raindrop. "Yeah," she offered slowly, "I know it's a baby toy, but it reminded me of my Grandpa Richie from the minute I saw it. When I was little and would stay at Grandma and Grandpa's house, there was a little lamp shaped like a rockinghorse in my room. Mother told me that Grandpa Richie had made it for me when I was a little baby. Since he and Grandma Lala retired and started traveling all over we hardly ever see them; and the rockinghorse would be like having a bit of them with me always." Stefany missed her grandparents terribly since they had begun their extensive travels. "I thought I would lay out my clothes for the next day on it, or even sit on it sometimes when I'm doing homework."

   The young girls continued in silence for a while, above them the skies cleared as quickly as they had darkened. Soon there was no trace of the clouds which had hurried the conclusion of their picnic. Suddenly Rachel exclaimed, "Oh wait, I was supposed to take these other cookies to Poppie at work!"

   Stefany stopped and turned to her friend, "Okay, we can go back; we've only just passed the street." Rachel's father Paul Rodound ran his own store on Profound Street, selling all sorts of things from hard-to-find groceries to hardware items like hammers and nails. It was one of many stores in Profound Square; Miss Judy's store and Toy Palace were there, as well as a dozen or so other stores that sold just about anything you could want or need.

   "I know, I know," Rachel was excitedly twirling around now, "but we can go by Miss Judy's and see if the dress is still there! If it isn't then surely your parents must have gotten it for you!" She was quite giddy by now, impressed with her own cleverness, delighted at the idea of having figured out how to determine one of Stefany's birthday presents.

   Stefany thought to herself that the plan didn't make much sense, seeing as how Miss Judy had lots of customers; it wouldn't have to have been the Ursabraun's that purchased the one in Stefany's size if it were missing. School was out for the next two weeks for Spring vacation so they would have plenty of chances to go shopping before Stefany's party, and Stefany almost pointed this out to Rachel. Then she thought to herself that with the sun shining brightly and nothing else planned; shopping seemed like as good an idea as any. She looked down to the breast pocket of her jumper and by the smile on Alicia's face she knew without asking that she thought it was a good idea as well. She asked anyway to be sure and Alicia nodded her agreement. Alicia actually wasn't very happy about the idea of snooping around about the presents, but she liked going to shops and she liked her friends so she went along with what they wanted to do.

*********************************

   Profound street was about a half a block back from where they had traveled so the three friends turned around and headed in that direction. Profound isn't really much of a street, it starts at Pleasant and goes right into Profound Square and ends. Other than the stores in the square the only thing on Profound is a small coffeehouse on the corner where the two streets met. The coffee place is called Buckstraw's, and is owned by a good friend of Stefany's father Eddie; an enormous black bear named Nathan Buckstraw. The girls crossed the street and as they walked by they waved at Mr. Buckstraw and he smiled, waving back at them. Just past the Buckstraw's lies Profound Square where Profound Street abruptly splits in two, going left and right around the parking lot that lies in the center.

   The girls were learning geometry in school and Profound Square was one of the real-life examples that their teacher Mrs. Oreon had used to teach them the difference between rectangles and squares. The square is actually a rectangle, being narrower at the street and far ends than it is long. Mr. Buckstraw's coffeehouse is actually square, Mrs. Oreon had told them, as it is exactly the same size on all four sides.

   "Promise you won't look at the dresses until I get there," Rachel pleaded as the girls came to a stop at Rodound's General store. The Rodound's store is the second on the left after the stationary store as you go around the U-shaped mall; Miss Judy's and Toy Palace are side-by-side at the end. Mr. Rodound wasn't comfortable having a lot of children in the store at one time since 'The Incident'. That was how Rachel's mother Emily referred to the time their Grandma Helen had brought Rachel's five younger brothers and sisters to the store to look around.

   Paul always called it something different, like 'The Great Raccoon Invasion,' or 'When The Wild Things Came.' It wasn't the best idea ever to have five three-year-olds loose in a store, and after a few broken items and at least as many annoyed customers; Paul, Helen, and Rachel had rounded up the youngsters and Helen had quickly taken them back home. He didn't mind if Stefany and Alicia came inside with Rachel, they were much better behaved than his young quintuplets, but they usually waited outside anyway.

   "We can wait if you like," Stefany offered, and Alicia squeaked her agreement.

   "No, that's okay; I might be a while if Poppie has something he wants me to do," Rachel answered, a bit woefully. She really hoped he didn't, but her parents were always very kind to her; she felt it was more than fair that she help out with the few chores they asked of her.

   "Okay then, we'll met you at Miss Judy's," Stefany said and resumed walking down the sidewalk.

   "All right, I won't be long," Rachel said, 'hopefully' she added in her head as she pushed through the door. The familiar tinkling of the bell attached to the inside door handle announced Rachel's arrival, but she didn't see her father or anyone else for that matter. "Poppie," she called, looking around the store. Most of the time she would find him perched on the stool he keeps behind the counter, which is directly in front of the door; but not this time. On either side of the counter there are three aisles of all the varied merchandise, two shorter aisles behind the counter, and in the back right-hand corner is a small red door that leads to the store's office. Rachel was considering leaving the cookies on the counter when her father appeared in the office doorway.

   "Hi Favorite!" Paul shouted as he walked toward her from the back of the store. "I was just doing some paperwork, haven't seen a customer in over an hour. Must be too nice a day out for shopping." Paul always referred to whichever child he was talking to as 'favorite', and even knowing that Rachel still enjoyed it. "What are you girls up to?" he continued, taking an exaggerated look around. "Aren't my favorite bear and favorite mouse with you?"

   Rachel giggled, "They went on ahead; we're going to Miss Judy's and Toy Palace."

   "I see, well maybe you girls will set a trend and some customers will decide to shop here," her father said as she handed him the small plate of cookies. "Mmmmm, these look great, maybe I'll put them in the window to lure people in!" Rachel didn't always know when her father was kidding around, but this was definitely a joke. He loved her mother's cookies so much they would probably all be gone before the girls left Profound Square. "Don't let me keep you, Rachie, I'm sure there's lots to be seen at some other store," he said, putting extra emphasis on the word 'other' and a pouty look on his face.

   Looking at her father pretending to be jealous of Miss Judy with cookie crumbs accumulating at the corners of his mouth made her giggle more, and then laugh out loud. "Okay, I'll go then, if you don't have any chores for me." She patted Paul on the arm and turned to go when he spoke again.

   "There is one thing," he said not too clearly as he munched another cookie.

   'Oops,' Rachel thought to herself, 'what have I reminded him of for me to do?'

   "Stop by here on your way home and take this plate with you," he said and winked, "I won't have any more use for it in a few minutes."

   Amused and relieved, Rachel jumped to his side and said, "Will do, Poppie-Schmoppie!" She quickly kissed him on the cheek and then the door was tinkling again as Rachel rushed off to catch up with her friends.

**************************************

   While Rachel was in her family's store, Stefany and Alicia made their way past the other shops between it and Miss Judy's. They looked in the windows as they passed each store; the Shoe Tree, the Book Shelf, and so on until they were to the corner. Miss Judy's had an impressive window display, with several outfits displayed in the window along with shoes, purses, backpacks, and other accessories on the shelf at the bottom. "What should we look at while we wait for Rachel?" Alicia asked Stefany. Stefany knew what Alicia wanted to look at, she wanted to look at the hats. In fact, she had at least a dozen hats and almost all of them had come from Miss Judy's.

   "I don't know, whatever you think will be fine. I do hope Rachel isn't long, I'm anxious to see if the blue dress in my size is still there." The one in the window was still there, but they already knew that one was much too big for Stefany. When they had first noticed it and gone inside to check they had found just one in Stefany's size. Alicia surprised Stefany by sharing the same idea that had occurred to her earlier; that if it were missing that wouldn't necessarily mean that her parents had bought it. "I suppose that's right, but we're here anyway," Stefany replied.

   Stefany pushed on the door into Miss Judy's, there wasn't a bell attached to the handle but there was something that made a doorbell sound when you opened the door. Well, it wasn't much like any doorbell that you might hear at someone's house, it was the melody from some old song that Stefany felt like she should know but couldn't quite recall. "Da dee da da da dee Daa didda dada," it went, and the words were always just beyond the reach of her memory. She kept forgetting to ask Miss Judy what song it was, quickly becoming distracted by something or other in the store. It was always on the way home that she would remember that she forgot.

   Unbeknownst to Stefany, Miss Judy definitely knew the name of the song; she had made the recording herself playing on her accordion. With her feet. Miss Judy Tentoza is an orangutan, and like all orangutans she has thumbs on her feet. She never wears shoes and she often moves around her store by way of an intricate series of bars hanging from the ceiling. One foot, one hand, other foot, other hand; she was very adept at moving around this way, as you might assume if you knew anything about orangutans. Miss Judy usually wore brightly colored, short-legged jumpsuits, and this day she was wearing an exceptionally busy one. It had alternating pastel blue and yellow stripes going up and down, with pink and purple polka dots all over.

   "Well, hello down there!" Miss Judy called down from the ceiling as the girls walked inside. "If it isn't the littlest Ursabraun! Can Miss Judy help you find something today?" She was hanging upside-down by one foot, holding several windbreakers on hangers with her other foot as she added them to a rack in the center of the store with her hands. She sometimes did that; referred to herself by name instead of 'I' or 'me'. Just when you got used to it she would stop doing it for a while. It was weird, but not nearly the strangest thing about her, probably not in the top ten.

   "We'd like to look at the hats," Stefany called up to Miss Judy.

   "We? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?" Miss Judy asked as she swung down to land on the ground a few feet in front of Stefany and Alicia.

   "Yes, yes I do," Stefany replied. She knew this was a little joke on Miss Judy's part, but she didn't understand why it was funny. Alicia was almost always with her when she came in the store, and this wasn't the first time Miss Judy had said something like that. She thought to herself that this would be something to ask her older sister Sarah. Sarah was very smart and was always very helpful to Stefany.

   "Oh, well so you do!" Miss Judy said, walking closer and winking to Alicia as she continued, "Perhaps if you were wearing a pretty pink beret Miss Judy would have noticed you there!" She skipped to her right and settled into her rocking chair she kept by the changing rooms. "I don't think I've moved them since the last time you were here; just the other side of the scarves and belts over there," and she waved her hand to her left.

   Alicia smiled and laughed, she always had great fun at Miss Judy's. Miss Judy was always joking and playing around with the girls. She thanked Miss Judy and Stefany walked them over past her to the set of shelves with sweaters on the bottom and hats on the top. As you know, all of the people in Alta are much bigger than mice, so all of the clothes in Miss Judy's store are much too big for Alicia. This didn't matter to Alicia because her mother made most of her clothes and the rest they got from Malta. One thing that Miss Judy carried in Alicia's size was hats. Lots and lots of hats. They were actually made for dolls, but that didn't matter to Alicia in the slightest. The hats available in Malta were all too plain for Alicia so it was a wonderful thing that Miss Judy had doll hats for sale.

   Stefany rested her hand on the shelf for a moment while Alicia scampered down her arm and onto the shelf. Her shelf; and she really thought of it as 'her shelf', was positioned between the sweaters on the lower shelves and the big people hats on the top shelf. She didn't realize how right she was about it. She had never considered how odd it was for a clothing store for big people to have a single shelf devoted to doll hats; especially with a whole section of doll clothes in the toy store next door. If she had, she might have asked Miss Judy. The 'why' of it was that Miss Judy was very nice and knew Alicia liked hats but the 'how' of it; how she came to devote a shelf in her store to doll hats for a single little gray mouse; that is a story for another time. As Alicia walked the shelf Stefany tried on a flat white hat. "What do you think?" she asked, turning this way and that looking in the mirror.

   "Uh-uh," Alicia answered; "too flat." She wasn't mean about it, simply stating a fact as the closest thing to a hat expert Alta had; and Stefany agreed. "Oh my, oh my, oh my!" Alicia exclaimed when she got to the far right-hand end of her shelf. Stefany started to ask what was the matter when she saw it. It must have been the hat Miss Judy mentioned; a pink beret with a thin white stripe at the edge and a periwinkle blue pom on top. Alicia was beaming but looked a little nervous as well. "How does it look? I mean, I know it's the most beautiful hat there ever was; but how does it look on me?"

   Stefany nodded in agreement but Miss Judy spoke before she did, "It looks wonderful on you! I thought it would the minute they came in." Miss Judy had her accordion in her lap, fiddling with the strap. "Now where's the missing part of your trio, I have a favor to ask."

**********************************


   The girls were each about to respond when Rachel appeared in the doorway, accompanied by that oddly familiar tune. "I see you are still looking at -- ooh, that hat is cuter than cute, Alicia!" Rachel shouted as she walked toward the other girls. "Oh, sorry, hello Miss Judy, I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

   Miss Judy smiled at her and said, "On the contrary, I was just asking your fellows where you were. I assume you were visiting that rascal Paul down the way." As much as they kidded the children; Paul and Judy were even more fond of teasing each other. "Do give him my best on your way home dear." Rachel nodded as Miss Judy began again, "I was wanting to play a song for you girls while you looked around if you'd like. I've only just finished learning to play it all the way through."

   It would have been rude to decline, but the girls were genuinely interested in hearing the song anyway. Miss Judy was a wonderful singer, and sometimes her songs were very funny. "Yes, please do play your song Miss Judy," Stefany said while Alicia and Rachel nodded their agreement.

   "Is it a funny song?" Alicia asked, still admiring the hat in the mirror.

   "Well that depends on what you think of Miss Judy; is she funny?" Before they could answer she went on, "This song, believe it or not, was written about Miss Judy many years ago." Miss Judy gripped her accordion with her feet, and she pulled her guitar from its stand by the wall and fitted the strap over her shoulder. "Don't mind me, girls, look around while I play," she said.

   "Da dee da da da dee Daa didda dada," sang the guitar and accordion, their different voices harmonizing in an oddly pleasant way. Alicia hung the hat back on its hook and jumped on Stefany's shoulder. The girls made their way to the back of the store where the dresses were. Suddenly Stefany realized that Miss Judy was playing the doorbell song. She was even more certain now that she had heard before.

   "That's the doorbell song," Rachel whispered to her friends as they approached the rack with the blue plaid dresses on it. "Can you believe it's about Miss Judy? I've heard it on the radio lots of times."

   "Me too, but I haven't heard it since Miss Judy made it her door chime though," Stefany whispered back. The girls were in front of the dress rack now. Rachel looked at Stefany, hesitant to move on. Miss Judy's telephone began to ring and the music stopped.

   "Well, can I look?" Rachel asked, reaching for the section of plaid dresses. There were three different kinds, each was white with one other color; there were pink ones, blue ones, and green ones.

   Stefany sighed, "That's what we're here for, right?" She was very nervous, much too nervous knowing as she did that no matter what they found they still wouldn't know for sure if her parents had bought her the dress. If there were none in her size someone else could have bought it. If there was still one there Miss Judy could have ordered one to replace it.

   "Here goes then," Rachel said as she parted the dresses. Her favorite color was pink but they were there for Stefany so she pushed the pink ones aside to get to the blue ones, looking at the tops of the hangers. The top of each hanger had a little colored ring with a size written on it. The different sizes each had a different color to make them easier to sort through. Stefany's size was 12G: Bright yellow. The hangers made a noise when Rachel scooted them from left to right, looking for that single little bright yellow ring they had seen the last time.

 "Shrik, shrik, shrik," the hangers said. It was an annoying sound in any case; Stefany was doubly bothered by it today. Rachel stopped moving dresses and simply stared, a puzzled look on her face.

   Stefany didn't have to ask her why she was puzzled, nor did Alicia. They all saw the same thing: now there were three little bright yellow rings. Three bright yellow rings, attached to three hangers, holding three blue plaid dresses in just the right size for Stefany Ursabraun. "Sooo," Rachel said slowly; "your parents bought it and Miss Judy ordered three more." It was a statement, but she said it like a question. Back at the front of the store the phone was ringing again.

   "Or nobody bought it and she ordered two more, or she got six more and these are what is left. I knew we wouldn't know for sure anyway," Stefany said wistfully.

   "I have an idea," Rachel said, walking back toward the front of the store. Stefany looked quizzically at Alicia, but she just shrugged so Stefany turned and followed Rachel.

*****************************************

   Miss Judy was still on the phone, "That's wonderful Frank, send it on over whenever you're ready. Ok, yeah, bybye." Miss Judy looked up when she set the phone down in its cradle to see the three young girls standing in front of her. "What is it darlings?"

   "Well," Rachel began, "we were wondering about the blue plaid dresses you have."

   Miss Judy interrupted her, "You were wondering how many more I got in since you were here last, specifically the 12Gs; the size of a certain birthday girl?" The girls were stunned. On the way to the front of the store the other girls had no idea what Rachel's idea was, and they would probably have said it was pretty clever to simply ask; but Miss Judy was a step ahead of her. Stefany just stared, Alicia blushed, but Rachel pressed on.

   "Yes, could you tell us?" She asked eagerly.

   "I could, but I won't," Miss Judy replied, replacing the guitar to its stand as she stood up, laying the accordion in her chair. "Just so you know, that sort of pattern is actually called 'gingham'; plaid has more colors. As to your question; each and every one of us knows that you," she looked kindly at Stefany, "have asked your parents for that dress for your birthday. So it wouldn't be a total surprise for you to get that dress on your birthday. However, it would be no surprise at all if I were to tell you; and ruining birthday presents is not something that Miss Judy does."

   Rachel pouted, Stefany laughed, and Alicia grinned. Looking at her friends smiling Rachel couldn't help but cheer up and soon she was smiling too. Miss Judy went on, "Maybe I ordered as many as the factory can send me because I know how popular it is going to be once a certain little bear is seen out wearing it." She smiled at Stefany, "Or maybe I just got in the rest of the ones I ordered in the first place. Really girls, it doesn't serve you to know, so I'm not telling."

   She turned her attention to Stefany's shoulder, or more precisely; to the little mouse sitting there. "I can tell you something, my dear. I've just had a couple of phone calls that might interest you." Alicia perked up, listening intently. "As you girls probably know, I have some things here that are actually from other stores in the square. The shoes in the window are from the Shoe Tree; I just have them here to complete the outfits. That is, if someone wants the shoes they have to go there; since the ones in my window are just for display."

   "And the candles you have on your counter from Poppie's store," Rachel said.

   "Exactly right, dear, the other merchants and I are always looking for ways to keep customers here at the square." The idea was that if the customers knew that Profound Square had everything they needed they would come there first before shopping in another part of town.  "I say all of that to say this, you might not have noticed when you came in today; but there are two holes in the wall on the Toy Palace side." The girls were clearly confused, they were all staring blankly at Miss Judy until she gestured in that direction.

   They had been so intent on investigating the dress situation they had missed more than just a couple of holes. About eight feet off the ground there was indeed a hole in the wall a few feet from the front of the store, and another just like it at the rear of the store. But that was just the beginning; right under the hole was a shelf that went across the front of the store to the opposite wall, ran the length of the wall then turned back across the far wall to the second hole in the wall.

   "What is it?" Stefany asked.

   Miss Judy walked over to the wall as she spoke, "A few weeks ago Frank told me he was getting a new train set." Frank Oreon was a panda bear and the owner of Toy Palace. He was also the girl's teacher's husband. "We talked about it and I offered to let him run it through my store. The train runs the perimeter of my store and Toy Palace continuously. He ran it through the first time this morning and everything is working perfectly. I talked to him just now on the phone and he has added the passenger car for me, or rather, you." Miss Judy was looking at Alicia when she said this, and Alicia smiled even brighter than when she saw the new hat. "What do you say, my favorite mouse friend; would you like to ride the train around my store?" She reached above her rocking chair and flipped a switch.

   Alicia was so excited she could barely speak. "W-w-well, I would have to ask mother."

   "As you should, as you should," Miss Judy said, interrupted by the 'shuka, shuka, shuka' of the tiny train coming through the hole by the front of the store. They all turned to see it, watching as it moved along the track. It came to a stop above Miss Judy's chair. It had a red engine car followed by the blue passenger car, then three green boxcars and a yellow caboose. Above the chair, and the switch that makes the train stop there; there was a platform with a little train station. "In fact, that was the other phone call I had that should interest you. Your mother was calling about some repairs she is doing for me so I took the opportunity to ask her about the train," she reached her arm out to Stefany's shoulder. Alicia climbed on her hand as Miss Judy continued, "and the hat. The ride and the hat are yours if you like." With that she placed the hat in Alicia's hands. Miss Judy was very nimble; none of the girls had even noticed her picking up the hat while they were talking. Rachel even looked back toward the shelf to see if maybe this hat was a different one. It wasn't, the hook was now empty.

   Alicia squealed wordlessly and put on the hat. Miss Judy placed her other hand on the train shelf and Alicia ran the length of both arms and onto the platform. "The second car has a seat in it, try it out," Miss Judy said up to Alicia.

   Alicia was still standing outside of the train looking down. "Do we have time?" she asked Rachel and Stefany. The girls weren't expected home for over an hour according to the clock on Miss Judy's wall.

   Just to be on the safe side, Stefany asked Miss Judy, "How long does it take?"

   "It takes about five minutes to make one trip around," Miss Judy replied. "Alicia's mother was with your mothers when I spoke to her; so they know where you are if that matters." Miss Judy stepped on her chair then reached up to the bars on the ceiling. She hung right next to the passenger car of the train and spoke to Alicia. "There is a safety belt in there, I promised your mother you would always use it, okay?" Alicia nodded and climbed into the passenger car's seat, buckling the seatbelt. "It doesn't go very fast, but you might want to hold onto your hat. If you look on the left side there is a switch, do you see it?" Alicia nodded. "That switch is the same as the one I have on the wall here and the one Frank has on that side. It makes the train stop at the next station. He has a station just like this one over at Toy Palace that you can stop at if you want to get off, okay?" Alicia nodded again, then looked back toward Stefany and Rachel, they were both smiling right back at her.

   "Go on, have fun!" Rachel shouted.

   "Yes, do go ahead, we'll be right here when you get back," Stefany called up to her little friend.

   "Are you ready?" Miss Judy asked.

   "Yes ma'am, I think so," Alicia answered.

   "Just flip that switch whenever you want to start," Miss Judy said as she swung back down to the ground in front of the other girls.

   Alicia was nervous, but much more excited than scared. She reached for the switch, trembling a bit. 'Click' went the switch and the train slowly started moving. Soon the 'shuka, shuka, shuka' started again as the train picked up speed. The train made its way toward the back of the store and wind started pulling at Alicia's new hat. She reached up and pulled the hat off, placing it on the seat next to her. As the train made its way near the back wall the track curved to the right, Alicia squealed with delight. She had ridden in the Ursabraun's car many times, and had ridden with Stefany on her bike; but she had never ridden in a vehicle her own size. The train was now headed across the back wall toward Toy Palace.

**************************************************



   Through the hole in the wall and now Alicia was in Toy Palace, chugging along above the kites and model car kits on the back wall. Above her to the right a bit she got a close look at the model airplanes Mr. Oreon had displayed hanging from the ceiling. Miss Judy had said the train wasn't very fast; but fast and slow are relative terms. Running as fast as she could Alicia could never keep up with Stefany and Rachel, just as neither of them could match the speed of Miss Judy or Mr. Buckstraw. A toy train that wasn't very fast to Miss Judy was very fast and exciting to a certain little gray mouse. It wasn't scary, she had her seatbelt and the track was very level so the ride was not at all bumpy. It was quite exhilarating though, feeling the air rushing all around her. It was the most fun ride she had ever taken.

   Alicia held the side of the car with her right hand and there was a bar across the front that she held with her left. Near the corner the track curved again, this time toward the front of Toy Palace. She noticed a few people now as she looked down, some were looking at puzzles and games, but most of them had stopped what they were doing to look at the train. She waved as she caught the eye of a boy from school and he just stared with his mouth open. He hadn't recognized his tiny classmate at first, he quickly smiled and waved back once he realized it was her and not a toy. Through the station by the counter and the track was curving again, headed now back toward the other hole in the wall and Miss Judy's. Alicia remembered the switch and flipped it, although she wasn't anxious for the ride to end. Just as she was about to leave Toy Palace she saw Mr. Oreon waving and waved back.

   Back in Miss Judy's store Alicia rode, the train chanting 'shuka, shuka, shuka' as she went, over the window display and curving back one last time. Slowing just after the curve ended, the train changed its voice to a deeper, slower 'shik, shik, shik' noise. The train came to a complete stop at the station where it had began, and Alicia smiled down at the three that had stayed behind.

   "How was it, my dear?" Miss Judy asked, as she and Rachel and Stefany smiled up to Alicia.

   "It was the most funnest ride I have ever had ever ever!" She answered, smiling as brightly as any of them had ever seen her.

   "The girls tell me you were all on your way to Toy Palace, would you like to take another ride and meet them there?" Miss Judy said as she nudged Stefany.

   "Oh, yes, we can meet you there if you want to ride some more," Stefany offered.

   "Once more all the way then back over to that side is enough though," Miss Judy called up to her. "I don't want you getting train-sick."

   "Yes!" was all that Alicia could think of to say and with that she flipped the switch and she was off. "Thank you!" she shouted back over her shoulder, as her sense of good manners asserted itself over her joy.

   Stefany and Rachel gave Miss Judy their thank-yous and good-byes and walked out the door. That familiar tune played again but neither girl noticed it. "I guess I never thought of how odd it is for Alicia to live here," Rachel said while she and Stefany walked to the toy store. "I mean, she has to ride everywhere we go but it's not the same as a ride ride. None of the things we do are the same for her."

   "I know, I guess it's a lot different, like the difference between riding in Mother's car and driving your own go-kart at Funland," Stefany agreed. "I'm really glad Mr. Oreon and Miss Judy did that for her."

   As they pushed through the door of Toy Palace there was a doorbell-type noise like Miss Judy's, although it sounded nothing like it. This one was very much like one you might hear at someone's house, 'bing-bong' it said once, and 'bing-bong' again when the door swung shut. Alicia and the train were just coming toward the front of the store when the girls entered. They waved to her and she waved back as she whipped through the station and started curving back toward Miss Judy's. "I'll be right back," she called down to them.

   Stefany and Rachel saw the boy Alicia had seen on her first trip around and walked up to him. Jeremiah Bunkler was his name, he was a raccoon. "Isn't that great?" he asked them. "It's probably the first real ride she's ever gone on outside of the mouse village." Stefany thought how strange it was that he had thought of the same thing that Rachel and Stefany had just realized. They were her bestest friends and it had never occurred to them before. It wasn't all that surprising the more Stefany thought about it; Jeremiah was the smartest kid in their class.

   Rachel asked Jeremiah, "What are you here for?"

   "I'm here with my little brother Jason," he motioned toward a little raccoon a few feet away from them sitting on a ball. "I was looking at puzzles but we're here to get him a new kite." He opened the side pocket of his backpack and showed Rachel several brightly colored pieces of fabric. She didn't realize right away what he was showing her but then he continued; "I have these two, but my parents think he is old enough to take care of one of his own. Do you want to come with us and look at them?"

   "I don't think we have time," Stefany said, "we have to get going home soon." Alicia and the train were now back at the rear of Toy Palace, curving toward the station.

   "Okay then, maybe you can come to the park after you check in at home," Jeremiah said to the girls. "We'll be going straight there from here to try it out."

   "Ok, we'll see," Rachel said, and she and Stefany both said goodbye.

   Jeremiah took his brother's hand and together they walked toward the back of the store where the kites were kept. The girls walked over to the train station where Alicia was now climbing out of the passenger car of the train. She reached back in and grabbed her hat, placing it on her head.

   Stefany reached her hand up to the platform and Alicia ran down her arm and into the breast pocket of Stefany's jumper. "Have you seen about the rockinghorse?" she asked, adjusting her hat.

   "Yes, it's still right there by the front of the store." Stefany pointed and turned so that Alicia could see. There it was, just as it had been the last time they had been in the store, or so it seemed. It was about three feet tall at the head, a foot or so across the middle, three feet again from front to back. It was painted a shiny dark green, so dark you'd likely think it was black at a glance, but it also had dozens of other colors on it in different designs. There were teardrop-shaped designs all over it in different colors and there were swirls and flourishes that lead one teardrop thing to the next; it was really ornately done and Stefany thought it was beautiful.

   Stefany knew these designs had a name, she told herself to remember to ask Sarah what they were called. The designs stopped abruptly at the neck and the ankles, it looked sort of like the horse was wearing a jumpsuit. It was solid green from the neck up, save for a few painted features on the horse's face. The whites of its eyes, of course, and the slightly lighter shade of green inside the ears and nostrils. The eyes were the same dark green as its coat, and they were carved magnificently, the rockinghorse was more a work of art than a toy. Looking at the rockinghorse reminded Stefany of her Grandpa Richie and the lamp, of course that was why she had wanted it; but looking at it she couldn't help but wish she could just have her lamp and her grandparents for her birthday instead.

   "Oh my," Rachel said as she examined it closer, "isn't it beautiful?" She ran her fingers through the rockinghorse's mane, a brilliant white fiber that didn't look exactly like a real horse's hair, but it was close enough and very pretty. The tail was the same bright white color, with a dark green ribbon tied in it that matched the head, feet, and the runners. While Rachel was admiring the rockinghorse Alicia asked Stefany where Mr. Oreon was, she hadn't seen him since her first ride around on the train.

   "I don't know, why do you ask?" Stefany responded, still admiring the rockinghorse herself.

   "I wanted to thank him for the train ride before we go," Alicia answered.

   Stefany looked to the side wall where there was an enormous clock with a clown face on it. "Oh yes, we should get going, let's have a look around." She put her hand in front of her pocket and Alicia climbed on, then Stefany held her arm straight up so Alicia could look all around the store.
She spotted him quickly, he was just a few feet away from them on the other side of a shelf full of puzzles that had blocked their view.

   "Just over that way," Alicia told Stefany as she pointed, and Stefany brought her hand back down to her shoulder where Alicia stepped off and took a seat. They walked around the shelf of puzzles to see Mr. Oreon helping a little black bear get a baseball glove off the shelf.

   "Well, hello there Alicia, how was the ride?" He bellowed; neither he nor his wife could hear very well so they both talked very loudly. Probably nobody would hear very well after a few years teaching second grade or working in a toy store filled with screaming children. They were a good match, they likely wouldn't have gotten along so well if one of them was very quiet.

   "It was the best ever, thank you so much!" Alicia squeaked.

   "It's my pleasure, you have to promise to come by and have a ride whenever you like!" Mr. Oreon shouted.

   "Oh certainly I will, every chance I get!" Alicia yelled back over the sudden din of shouting children coming from the back of the store. Mr. Oreon looked over in that direction to see one of the model gliders being yanked around by one of its strings that had come loose from the ceiling.

   "You must excuse me girls, I think I'm needed over there," he said, heading that way. "I'll see you soon, I'm sure!" he said over his shoulder as he left them.

   "Yes sir, see you soon," Alicia said and Stefany and Rachel waved to him.

"Shall we go?" Stefany said to Rachel. Rachel had turned her attention back to the rockinghorse.

   "Hmm," Rachel said distractedly; she was looking at the rockinghorse very intently. "Oh, yes, let's do." With that the girls turned and walked to the front of the store, through the door and back out onto Profound Square. "I have to stop at the store and get the cookie plate," she said as the girls continued back the way they had come. The girls all walked into Rodound's store and heard the tinkling of the bell. The sound reminded Stefany that she had forgotten to ask Miss Judy the name of the song. She had been playing it but before she started singing the phone had interrupted her; she hadn't sung a single word.

****************************************************

   Whether it was the weather or the girls had actually started a trend, Rodound's store was now teeming with customers. Every aisle had several people on it, many of them turning something or other over in their hands examining it. Paul was walking nervously next to a customer carrying a tall, precarious stack of dishes toward the counter. He saw the girls entering and waved to them. When they waved back he caught Rachel's eye and pointed to the counter where the plate was sitting. "Tell mother I'll likely be late Rachie!" He shouted over the bustling crowd's noise.

   "Do you need us to help?" she asked him.

   "No, I'm good, I think your mother is expecting you!" He answered, keeping an eye on the customer carrying the wavering tower. Just at that moment a sugar bowl that had been at the top fell into his hands.

   "Oops," said the old gray bear with all the dishes. "Nice save there, Rodound!"

   Even though Rachel's father had declined their help, Stefany set her basket on the ground and stepped forward to take several dishes off the top of the customer's stack, Rachel was right behind her doing the same. The girls set the dishes on the counter as the old bear spoke to them. "Thank you girls, perhaps this shopkeeper could learn some manners from you youngsters."

   The girls smiled and told the old bear he was welcome, Paul simply sighed and chuckled. He would have explained to the girls how he had practically begged Mr. Greyerhauser to allow him to carry the dishes, but nothing good ever came from arguing with customers. Besides, he knew the girls knew him better than that.

   The old bear winked at the girls then looked at Paul whom was walking around the counter. "Relax, Rodound, just pulling your sails a bit," and he laughed heartily.

   "Yes, Max, I know," Paul replied as he began wrapping the dishes in paper and placing them in a bag. He slid the cookie plate toward Rachel and thanked the girls for their help. "You better get going before someone else starts throwing dishes around." He looked at Mr. Greyerhauser and they both laughed.

   The girls said their goodbyes and Rachel reached out to the counter to retrieve the plate. She slipped it into her basket and the three girls quickly made their way out the door. Walking by Buckstraw's they saw through the windows that business there had picked up quite a bit as well. They crossed the street and made their way toward home.

   At the corner of Profound and Bountiful is Bountiful Park, the largest park in all of Alta. It has pretty much anything you could think of to put in a park. It has slides and swings, a wooden fort, a merry-go-round that you have to have someone on the ground pushing to make it move, picnic tables, tennis and basketball courts and so on. As the girls were nearing the end of the park they saw Jeremiah and Jason Bunkler sitting at one of the picnic tables. They must have left Toy Palace right after the girls did and passed them while they were in Rachel's father's store. Jason was taking the wrapping off of the new kite and Jeremiah was adjusting the crossbars on one of his older ones.

   The girls waved but didn't stop since they were supposed to be home in just a few minutes. As you approach their houses from Pleasant Street the Ursabraun's comes first so it was their habit to stop there first. All of their mothers were good friends; they were almost as constant a trio as their daughters. So it was on this afternoon; when the girls walked into Stefany's house they found their mothers busy around the kitchen table working over several platters of cookies.

   "More cookies? I suppose I could have a few," Rachel joked; she knew the cookies were for the band concert at the middle school that evening. Stefany's sister Sarah was in the eighth grade and played trumpet and violin. Their mother Brenna was a member of the parents group at the middle school, she and Rachel's mother Emily were both members of the parents group at their school. They were often being asked to provide refreshments at different functions. They were good cooks and usually agreeable so it happened a lot.

   "There just may be a few left over, but don't count on it," Emily said. "I'd sooner you girls have them than your father though; he doesn't need so many sweets." She slid the cookies off a baking sheet and onto a cooling rack. She handed the empty sheet to Brenna Ursabraun. Brenna held the sheet in an oven mitt and wiped the top of the sheet with a towel. She set the sheet down on the counter to cool off and began spooning more cookie dough onto another.

   "We're on schedule to finish on time, that's all I care about," Brenna said. "How was your picnic girls?" The girls told their mothers about their picnic and their trip shopping and the train; leaving out the snooping about presents part. While the girls were talking, Emily was sliding cookies off of one of the easels and placing them on a platter. Alicia's mother Shanna was sitting in the middle of the table on a wheeled desk chair between two very wide easels. She had a long paintbrush in her hand and was quickly painting blue frosting onto the cookies on one easel as Emily removed the cookies from the other. When Emily had the other easel emptied, she started spreading orange frosting across more cookies and lining them up on it. The frostings were orange and blue because those were Bountiful Middle School's colors. Dipping the brush into the bowl of frosting in her lap, Shanna was alternately painting treble clefs, eighth notes, and other music symbols on each cookie. When Shanna got to the end of an easel Emily was usually done loading the first and Shanna turned around and started all over again.


   Alicia had climbed down Stefany's arm and was now standing in the middle of the table watching her mother paint cookies. "I'm glad you liked the train, dear, but I do hope you won't make a pest of yourself with Miss Judy and Mr. Oreon," Shanna said to Alicia. She stepped out of her chair and walked over to the edge of the table near the large containers of frosting Emily had made earlier. The women were incredibly organized; Emily was there with Shanna's orange frosting bowl filled and her brush ready at the same exact moment she got there. They were alternating every two dozen between blue on orange and orange on blue.

   "I won't mother, promise," she replied, although she really didn't think it would be a problem. She didn't plan to ask to ride; only to accept when offered.

   Her mother seemed to be reading her mind when she said, "I know you don't plan to Alicia, but I don't think you should hang around waiting to be asked." Shanna saw a wave of glum wash across Alicia's face. "Don't worry, sweetie, I talk to Judy often about the work that I do with her and I'm sure she'll let me know if it becomes a problem. I know you'll be respectful; just do try to remember that Miss Judy and Mr. Oreon are there working not playing." Alicia brightened up a bit and her mother took her hat. Looking it over and then handing it back she said, "I can see why you liked it, it's very nice."

   "Play and work are often quite similar when it comes to Judy," Brenna offered from her station by the oven in their little assembly line. She opened the oven and removed a sheet of cookies, setting them on the stove as she placed the next sheet of cookies in the oven.

   "She's something else, all right," Emily said as she put the lid back on the blue frosting. She picked up her oven mitt and Brenna handed her the newest sheet of cookies. "How many do we have now?" she asked Brenna, handing her a platter of finished cookies. Brenna's part of the cookie making process was mixing the dough, baking the cookies, and boxing the finished cookies once the frosting had 'set'. That is, when the frosting has dried and won't come off on the cookie next to it. The order for the evening was simply 144 cookies; 12 dozen. It had been their idea to add the writing as well as doing half with orange writing on blue and half the other way around. It would be nicer than all one way, Brenna had suggested, and Emily and Shanna had thought so too.

   We're at six dozen counting these," Brenna answered. "There's two in the oven, two on the racks; that's two more to go in. From the looks of this dough we'll have an extra dozen or so. How is the frosting holding up?" She filled the third box with the newest cookies Emily had handed her and closed it, taped it shut, and placed it on the stack.

   Emily surveyed the big bowls of frosting. "Looks like more than enough for that extra dozen but I can save what is left. Maybe we can make a blue and orange cake next week." Emily winked at Stefany as she said this and Stefany smiled. She knew that Rachel's mom was joking with her but an orange cake with blue writing sounded beautiful to Stefany and she told her so. "Then it's a deal, that's one thing you can count on for your birthday!" Emily laughed and hugged Stefany. Stefany felt a little strange, it was as if she had known the girls had spent the afternoon worrying over what presents Stefany was going to receive.


   "So can we go to the park?" Stefany asked. The girls had told their mothers about being invited to the park to watch the Bunkler boys fly kites.

   "As long as you're back by 4 o'clock," Brenna answered Stefany; Emily simply nodded and smiled at Rachel.

   "You've had a big day, are you sure you want to go?" Shanna asked Alicia. With Alicia being so much smaller than her friends, their mothers often worried that they were tiring her out. They needn't have worried, Alicia was strong-willed and wouldn't go along if she wasn't feeling up to it. In fact, on occasion she did stay home while the other girls did one thing or another. On this particular day she was feeling fine, and she told her mother so. "All right then, you help keep track of time, 4 o'clock; okay?" Alicia agreed and hugged her mother then ran to the edge of the table where Stefany was waiting to pick her up. She jumped on Stefany's outstretched arm and made her way to Stefany's pocket.

   "Unpack your basket and put everything away before you go," Brenna reminded Stefany, "and do be on time; we'll be leaving at 4:30 for the concert and we want you girls here at the Compound while we're gone." It was Paul that had come up with the nickname 'the Compound' for the area occupied by the Rodound's and the Ursabraun's homes. When none of the parents were going to be home the girls were allowed to play outside; but they weren't supposed to go outside of the yards of either family. Since their houses were next to each other it made for a single area surrounding them both.

   "Okay," Stefany said, already placing her dishes in the sink. She opened the tall cupboard by the sink and put her blanket and basket inside.

   "Oops!" Shanna said suddenly, and the girls turned toward her. She had painted two cookies with large Js on them. "I seem to have forgotten what I was doing, you'll have to take these with you for those boys."

   "Aww, you're sweet, Miss Shanna!" Rachel said as she scooped the cookies up and put them in a small bag Brenna handed to her. The girls said their goodbyes and headed off to take Rachel's basket home before going to the park. They stopped in the Rodound's long enough for Rachel to put her dishes in the sink and her basket in the pantry and then they were off again, hurrying to the park.


**********************************************


   While walking with Stefany and Alicia back to the park, Rachel was thinking about the rockinghorse they had seen at Toy Palace. She had a strange feeling about it the whole time they were there looking at it, but she couldn't figure out what it was that bothered her. She was staring off into the sky thinking about it again when she almost walked into the street sign that announced you were entering Bountiful Park. She stopped abruptly and stared at it exclaiming, "Whoah!"

   Stefany giggled and Alicia asked, "Are you okay?" Alicia had been looking the other way and didn't know if she had stopped or had walked into the sign.

   "Yeah, I'm okay," Rachel said to Alicia.

   Stefany had seen Rachel walking toward the sign not looking where she was going, in fact she was about to say something when Rachel had stopped. She asked her friend, "What are you thinking about so hard?"

   Rachel was looking at the sign. It was really dark blue, almost black, with white lettering. "That's it!" she shouted, startling the other girls. She was wearing an enormous grin and Stefany asked her what she was talking about. "I knew there was something different about the rockinghorse. Remember when we saw it the first time, how it was so dark it was almost black?" The other girls agreed and Rachel went on, "It was so dark that we didn't notice that it wasn't black until we were leaving - when we noticed that it was really, really dark blue!" Stefany turned toward her, staring. Rachel was right; the rockinghorse had been blue before and was green now. It had been so dark it was almost the same but it wasn't.

   Before Rachel got too excited Stefany explained why that didn't help them figure anything out. "We didn't even look around Toy Palace, the blue one could have been somewhere else. For all we know there were two to start with and Mr. Oreon just switched them around." Rachel nodded and they continued on their way. Rachel didn't say anything more, but Stefany could tell by the smile on her face that she wasn't convinced. For that matter, Stefany wasn't sure either, but she didn't see any way to find out. They couldn't keep going to Toy Palace to snoop around, and it wouldn't really prove anything if the blue rockinghorse wasn't there. Realizing that the rockinghorse they had seen today was a different one had only served to make her more curious.


   When they got to the park they didn't see Jeremiah or Jason right away. They went to the table where the boys had been earlier and saw their bikes standing there, and Jeremiah's backpack was on the table. "Over there!" Rachel shouted, pointing in the direction of the baseball diamond. The baseball field faced Bountiful and the outfield was the closest part of it to where the girls were standing. Running across it was Jason Bunkler, quickly looking back and forth over his shoulder and then forward as he went. Following his eye-line they could see his new kite in the air behind him. It was a very nice kite, with blue and green alternating squares like a checkerboard and a blue and yellow tail. It wasn't very high up but it was flying; although Jason seemed to be doing most of the work keeping it up with his running.

   "Hya!" Jeremiah called out, and the girls looked to their left, which was far right-field on the baseball field. Jeremiah was a very experienced kite-flyer so he was having a lot less trouble keeping his kite flying. He was standing still in fact, and yet his kite was so far up it took the girls a moment to find it in the sky. They walked toward Jeremiah and as they got closer they saw that he wasn't just standing there as it had seemed. He was winding and unwinding the kite's string, making little adjustments here and there to keep the kite where it was. It looked rather easy, but that just showed how good he was at it. He was able to steer the kite in and out of the different up-drafts and down-drafts to keep the kite right where he wanted it to be.

   "Here, try it for a minute," Jeremiah said, handing his spool of string to Rachel as the girls walked up to him. Way off to their right Jason had turned back and was running in their direction. He had managed to keep his kite in the air while he turned around; but just barely. It was turning back and forth about thirty feet over his head, threatening to nosedive and then veering quickly back in the other direction.

   "I don't know how," Rachel protested, but she took the string anyway.

   "It's easy, now that it's up there," Jeremiah replied. "Keep the string tight, if it starts to fall you'll know even before you see it because the string will loosen. Just pull the string tighter; an up-draft will be along to take it back up again." Rachel understood everything that he had said, but she felt that it was a little easier said than done. She was ready for the challenge though.

   Stefany and Alicia watched as their friend flew a kite for the first time. Jeremiah had been right, it was a lot easier to fly a kite that was already way up in the air. Alicia looked past Rachel and Jeremiah to see Jason coming closer. He was still running but his kite was much lower, it was coming close to hitting the ground each time it sailed from one side of him to the other. "Uh-oh," Alicia said, anticipating what was about to happen. Sure enough, just as the rest of them turned their attention to Jason the kite made one big looping swoop from right to left and hit the ground a few feet behind him.

   "Aaaugh!" he cried out, stopping abruptly. He looked back to see that his kite had come apart, the cross pieces on either side of the fabric.

   "I'll be just a second, don't worry; you're doing great!" Jeremiah said to Rachel and hurried off to help his little brother. Rachel nodded and looked at the string in her hands. In the time that she had been holding it she had pulled the string in only twice, but had let it out several times. The kite was higher up now than when Jeremiah had handed it to her. She noticed that there wasn't very much string left and realized she had no idea what to do when it was all played out. Worrying wasn't her strong suit so she decided not to think about it until it happened.

   "I couldn't get it high enough," Jason said to his brother as he walked up. Jeremiah noticed on closer inspection the kite wasn't broken, it had just come apart when it hit the ground.

   "That's lucky," Jeremiah said, snapping the cross pieces back together. "I broke my first kite into a million pieces on my very first run. The thing to remember," he went on as he helped Jason reassemble the kite, "is that you can't run as fast as the wind, and the wind is the only thing that can keep the kite in the air. If you run halfway across the field and it isn't up yet you might as well stop and try again." They had the kite back together now, and aside from a few spots of dirt it looked the same as it had the first time they put it together.

   "I know, I know," Jason said. He was wearing a rather sour expression now; he had really wanted to get his first kite up all on his own. Jeremiah seemed to understand that, as he didn't offer to help him get the kite in the air; just gave him advice.

   "As soon as you feel the wind take hold; speed up," Jeremiah called out to Jason as he took off on his next attempt. "If the wind really has it you shouldn't have to run much more, just start letting out string. If it doesn't then start over." Jason was running and looking over his shoulder as before and Jeremiah walked back over to the girls.

   Rachel had let out all of the string, but the kite was still flying high and not giving her any trouble. She had pulled this way and that when it felt like the kite was going to fall; so far everything she had done had worked. She looked at Jeremiah when he walked up and said to him, "Do you want to take it back now?"

   "Only if you want, or maybe Stefany would like to have a go?" he said looking at Stefany.

   Stefany looked rather thoughtful for a moment, then Alicia spoke up and said, "Sure!" Stefany laughed and reached out to Rachel and took the spool.

   "Just like I told Rachel; keep the string tight and it will tell you what the kite is going to do before it does it." Jeremiah stepped closer to Stefany as he spoke to her, "Just pull tighter if it loosens, or from one side to the other if it seems like the right thing to do." Stefany thought of asking how in the world she would know what the right thing would seem like on her very first time, but she didn't say anything. She simply nodded and tried to do what he had said.

   "Just 153 hours to go," Jeremiah said to Stefany as he stepped over to stand next to Rachel. While he had never said anything, it wasn't much of a secret that he liked Rachel. Not that he didn't like Stefany and Alicia and the other girls in class; but he liked her liked her. It was all innocent enough, they were too young for boyfriend/girlfriend things, but Rachel sometimes felt fluttery in her stomach when he was around. If she had ever thought about it she had certainly never said anything to anyone, but more than a few people thought she liked him liked him right back.

   Stefany thought for a moment then laughed, "Until my birthday?"

   "Yeah, so do you know what you're getting?" Jeremiah asked.

   Rachel and Stefany exchanged a glance and a grin before Stefany spoke. "Well, we sort of spent the afternoon trying to figure that out." She went on to tell Jeremiah about their detective work at Miss Judy's and Toy Palace. The kite suddenly fell several feet and Stefany turned her attention to the spool of string she was holding. She turned the handle and wound the string around the spool as fast as she could. The kite caught a breeze and she felt it pulling back now, the string tightened as the kite reached upward. "You better take this back," she said, handing the spool to Jeremiah.

   "Okay," he said taking the kite from Stefany. "Have you looked around your house for the presents?" Jeremiah continued, winding the string a bit and giving it a yank to his left.

   Alicia straightened a bit, but said nothing. "No, I don't think I could do that," Stefany answered.

   "Well, it's only a week from now; they are probably in your house somewhere," Jeremiah said, then his eyes brightened. "Look at that!" he said, pointing toward left field. The girls looked to see Jason casually strolling toward them, his kite way above him slowly swaying back and forth. He was smiling brightly as he walked, clenching his kite's string in his hands. Soon he was standing with the rest of the kids and they were congratulating him.

   The boys stood a few feet apart, not wanting to cross strings and get their kites tangled together. Rachel was watching the two kites dip and sway when she realized she was still holding the bag of cookies. "Oh, I forgot; our mom's are making cookies for the concert tonight and they sent these," she said, handing the bag to Jeremiah. He thanked her, putting the spool under his arm and taking the bag with both hands. He reached in and handed one of the cookies to his brother. Jason thanked the girls and munched away on the cookie. Jeremiah folded the bag around the other cookie and put it in his jacket pocket. He was a little embarrassed to eat in front of Rachel, but he told her he wanted to save it for later.

   They watched the kites for a while talking about school and things but before long Jeremiah looked at his watch and said, "Uh-oh, we have to get going. Our parents want me and Jason home before they go to the concert." Like Stefany, Jeremiah had an older sister that was in the band at the middle school. Amber Bunkler was in Sarah's grade and played the trombone. Apparently, also like Stefany; their parents wanted them at home when they were away.

   "Oh, us too; what time is it?" she asked him.

   "It's 3:45, so we're going to be late. Jason, start reeling it in." Jeremiah was quickly and methodically winding his own kite's string around the spool. To Jason he said, "Be careful, don't do it too fast." Jason nodded as he reeled in his own kite. Everyone exchanged goodbyes and the girls hurried off toward home.

**************************************************************



   They walked quickly, but not too fast. Alicia would get fuzzy in the head if Stefany walked too fast. It had happened before and since then Stefany was careful not to jostle Alicia around too much. Rachel was thinking about what Jeremiah had said about looking for the presents around Stefany's house. The dress could be just about anywhere but the rockinghorse would be hard to hide. Stefany was thinking about the same thing, of course neither girl knew what the other was thinking. Stefany had dismissed the idea initially when Jeremiah had suggested it, but curiosity was getting the better of her. She knew the best place for her parents to hide the presents. The only place in the house that she and Sarah were not allowed to go without an adult was the cellar. If the presents were at her house they were probably in there.

     Rachel was the first to express her thoughts, "You know, your presents are probably in the cellar."

   Stefany stopped walking and looked at Rachel. "I know, I was just thinking that," she said, "but I'm not supposed to go into the cellar without one of my parents."

   "That's why it's the perfect place to hide your presents!" Rachel replied, her tendency to get very excited very quickly in full effect. "Since they know you and Sarah won't be going in there then your parents wouldn't even think about where to put them, they would just put them in there!" She was confident they would soon know for sure as they approached the Ursabraun's home.

   "I suppose, but I'm not sure about doing it," Stefany said as the girls walked up the pathway to her house. As the girls walked in they were almost knocked down by their mothers on their way out.

   "Oops, careful dear!" Emily said to Rachel, deftly stepping around her with a stack of cookie boxes in her hands. Brenna was holding the door for her with one hand and the remaining cookie boxes in the other. Shanna was sitting in a little pouch that hangs from a necklace that Brenna wears whenever they go somewhere together.

   "Just on time girls, we're on our way," Brenna said as she walked by them. "Behave yourselves while we're gone." She leaned toward Stefany so that Shanna and Alicia could say their goodbyes.

   "Where's Dad and Sarah?" Stefany asked.

   "Sarah has been at the school all day practicing, dear, I thought you knew that." Stefany thought to herself that she did already know that, but she was just fully realizing that they were about to be home alone. Thinking about it was making her reconsider searching the cellar for her presents. Her mother continued, "Your dad is with Rachel's dad at the store, they're going to ride together as soon as Jim gets there." Rachel's uncle Jim was her father's partner in the store. Her uncle Jim or her aunt Penny worked at the store whenever Paul or Emily weren't there. Of course, since the quints were born Emily almost never worked at the store anymore.

   "There are cookies on the table for you girls," Emily said, and added to Rachel; "The quints are with your Grandma Helen and she'll be bringing them back at seven o'clock. If we're not home yet she'll wait for us, but you be sure to help her anyway you can, okay?" Rachel agreed and hugged her mother and then the three mothers were climbing into Brenna's car and driving off to the middle school.

   The girls walked into the kitchen to the plate of cookies on the table. There were two cookies the same size as all the rest had been and one teeny tiny Alicia-sized cookie. Alicia climbed down Stefany's arm and walked across the table to the plate. She grabbed her cookie and started eating and Rachel did the same. Stefany got three glasses, (two regular glasses and one teeny tiny one), and poured the girls lemonade and sat down at the table. They ate their cookies and sipped their lemonade in complete silence. All three of them were thinking about the same thing, that is; the cellar.

   The Ursabraun's cellar was a room in the basement that was entered from the outside. The door had a latch on top like you might see on a fence gate; the kind that rocks forward and back across a peg coming out of the door. The key to the lock was by the front door of the house, on one of a set of hooks set into a big piece of wood shaped like a key. The Ursabrauns kept all sorts of different things in the cellar. There were shelves with canned goods and boxes of Sarah and Stefany's old clothes. There were toys that the girls didn't play with anymore and tools that Eddie needed sometimes for work. It was filled with things they didn't need often enough to keep in the house or in the garage. Brenna was always talking about going through the cellar and getting rid of all the things they didn't really need. She wanted to clear it out and make a place for the children to play when the weather was bad.

   "What are you thinking about?" Rachel asked, placing her glass in the sink.

   Stefany had her dishes and Alicia in her hands. "You know what I'm thinking about," she answered as she placed the glass and plate in the sink and Alicia jumped off her hand and over to the Amoses small basin at the back edge of the sink. As you know already, there were little adjustments made here and there to make it easier for Alicia and Shanna to live around such larger people. They had little dishes in a small cupboard that sat on the counter of the Ursabraun's kitchen. Since they were so small and would go right down the drain if put in the sink, Eddie and some mouse friends from Malta had installed a mouse-sized basin at the back of the Ursabraun's sink. Back when Alicia's dad had disappeared her mother and Stefany's mother had decided that they would come and stay with the Ursabrauns, Eddie and Shanna's brother Roger and a whole bunch of other mice had built a mouse-sized house right into the wall by the front door. It had a door to the outside and everything else that the Ursabraun's house did. It had two bedrooms, a living room, two bathrooms, and even a kitchen; although half the time they ate with the Ursabrauns. Just as Alicia had her own bedroom but sometimes slept in a bed she had on Stefany's nightstand.

   "Well, I'm thinking that we should go and look in your cellar to see if your presents are in there," Rachel said plainly enough as Stefany and Alicia washed their dishes.

   Stefany placed the clean dishes in the drainer and turned to face Rachel, "I'm thinking the same thing, but I just don't know if we should."

    "There is always someone around," Rachel said, "this might be our only chance."

   Stefany was conflicted. She very much wanted to know if her parents had gotten the presents she had asked for, but she also didn't like the idea of disobeying them. She and Rachel stared at the kitchen floor. After a few long, silent moments Stefany decided, "Let's go, we'll just take a quick look around and come back in."

   "I don't think we should go in there without permission," Alicia offered nervously. "It's just not right, whether we get found out or not we'll still know we did something wrong."

   Rachel countered, "But we won't get caught and we're just going to see the presents she's going to get anyway; they're her presents." She felt that she made a compelling argument, although she too knew it wasn't exactly the right thing for them to be doing.

   Stefany reached out to the counter and Alicia got on her arm. She climbed up Stefany's arm to her shoulder and said, "I wish you wouldn't do this but I don't know what to say to stop you."

   "It'll be okay, like I said, we'll just have a quick look around and then it'll be done," Stefany said, trying to reassure her little friend. They walked into the entryway where the big wooden key with all the key hooks was hanging on the wall. Stefany reached up and took the key with 'cellar' written on the tag.

Rachel was opening the door when Alicia shouted. "I'm not going!" she yelled. "I don't want you to either, but I don't have to go along!" With that she jumped off Stefany's shoulder and slid down the seam of Stefany's jumper, coming to a stop hanging from the hem. She was about to jump to the ground when Stefany stopped her.

   "Okay, okay, I'll set you down!" Stefany said to her, taking Alicia in her hand and setting her on the ground. Alicia ran to her little house by the door. She didn't say another word, she simply opened the door and went inside.

   Neither Stefany nor Rachel had any idea what to say. Alicia was very small, but she had very big ideas about right and wrong. She was quite attached to her friends, but when she felt something was wrong that was that. Stefany hoped Alicia wouldn't be upset for long. The girls went out the door and turned to the left, walking around the corner and down the slope toward the cellar. Once there Stefany reached up to the lock with the key in her hand, but it was no use; she wasn't tall enough to reach it. There were twelve thin slats at the bottom of the door for ventilation and Stefany tried to step on the top one to get higher but it was too narrow. Looking around Rachel saw a wooden box next to the wall; she grabbed it and handed it to Stefany. "Stand on this," Rachel said.

   "Thanks," Stefany said, wondering for a moment why the box had been left there. She set it next to the door and climbed on top. She slid the key into the lock and turned it. The lock came open and she took it off the latch, putting it and the key into her pocket. "Well, here goes," she said, putting the box back against the wall and opening the door. The wind caught the door and it made a 'whump' as it slammed against the wall.

   "Be careful; there's four steps," she said as Rachel took the lead into the cellar. The girls stepped carefully, counting down the steps until they were on the ground.

   "Is there a light?" Rachel asked, she was surprised at how dark it was just a few feet inside.

   "I don't know," Stefany answered, "Poppa usually has the door propped open." As she was saying this she remembered seeing the wooden box before. It was the wooden box that Eddie used to prop the door open when he went into the cellar. She had always thought it was so he would have both hands free to carry stuff out, but it must have also been to let light in so he could see what he was doing.

   "Should we do that so we can see?" Rachel asked. It was light enough to see now that her eyes were adjusting, but only because there was some light coming in through the door.

   "I can see okay now, let's just have a look around and go," Stefany said, she was starting to feel bad about being in there at all. As their eyes fully adjusted to the darkness they were able to see rather well. There was a set of shelves with cans and jars filled with various vegetables on the left wall, and straight ahead there was a neat stack of boxes with writing on the side of each box. Rachel stopped to read a couple; 'S & S baby clothes' one of the boxes said, 'Sarah school papers' another one said. To the right of the boxes was a work bench with assorted tools on it. There was a pegboard behind it with even more tools hanging on pegs. Rachel noticed a round light shield with a light bulb in it hanging from a wire over the table.

   "Over here!" Stefany said from the right side of the cellar. She was standing in front of a tall, narrow cabinet. It was at that exact moment that a gust of wind caught the cellar door and slammed it shut, the latch locking firmly into place.


******************************************************


   While the other girls were venturing into the cellar, Alicia had gone upstairs in her little house to her bedroom. She was sitting at her desk looking through one of her photo albums. Seeing herself and her two friends at various happy times made her sadder at first, but then she started feeling better. They were the best of friends, and they had been able to remain friends through disagreements in the past. Alicia had never known her father, she was just a little baby when he disappeared, but her mother was always telling her things about him and things that he had said. One of the things that Alexander had been fond of saying, and Alicia had taken to heart, was: 'Two cannot walk together unless they agree.' While Alexander Amos was a wise and thoughtful mouse; this was probably not his own thought but rather something he had heard somewhere or read in a book. In any case, Alicia was thinking of this when she decided she couldn't go into the cellar with the other girls. She would do just about anything for her friends, but being true to herself was one of the qualities that made her a friend worth having.

   A loud 'whump' from outside startled Alicia. She recognized the sound; it was the sound of the cellar door hitting the wall. She decided to go back downstairs and into the Ursabraun's house to wait for her friends. She wasn't sorry that she didn't go with them, but she was starting to feel guilty about making a fuss. She could have asked Stefany to put her down instead of being dramatic, but she had been very upset at the time and it just happened. When she got downstairs she suddenly felt very tired so she sat down on the living room couch. After all the picnicking and shopping and train rides and kite flying and arguing: she was worn out. She had brought her photo album with her and started looking through it again. In less than two pages of photos Alicia drifted off to sleep.


*********************************************************************

   Rachel inched slowly forward in the dark, hoping not to stumble over anything that might be on the ground in front of her. "There's a light over the workbench," she called out to Stefany; "if I can find the bench I think I can turn it on."

   "Okay, be careful," Stefany called back. She couldn't see anything but she still had the cabinet door in her hand. She closed the door carefully and turned to lean against the cabinet while she waited for Rachel to get the light turned on. When she had called out to Rachel it was because she had seen a plaid, or actually a gingham dress hanging inside it. In the split second before the cellar door slammed shut she had noticed that it wasn't the blue one they had been expecting to find; it was a pink one. Standing there in the dark she realized what was probably going on. Her parents were hiding the dress for Rachel's parents; it was Rachel's birthday present not her own. Her eyes adjusted to what little light was shining through the slats at the bottom of the door, but not enough to see more than a few feet in front of her.

   Rachel called out to her again, "All right, I found the table. Stay where you are, I'll have the light on in a minute."

   Standing there in the dark with only her thoughts to occupy her mind, Stefany considered what had happened in the last half an hour. She had upset one of her dearest friends, disobeyed her parents, gotten stuck in the dark, and had found out one of her friend's birthday presents. After a whole day of wondering and snooping she suddenly couldn't believe her own actions. She didn't know how she ever could have thought it would be a good thing to find out about her presents; she felt awful knowing about one of Rachel's. Miss Judy had been right; knowing about her presents would have ruined them.

   "Awesome!" Rachel said as she clicked the switch and the light came on. They both squinted at the sudden brightness. Rachel walked toward Stefany, "What did you find?" she asked.

   Stefany thought quickly, "Oh, there's a dress in there; but it was a different one." That wasn't lying, she thought to herself. She wasn't about to tell Rachel about finding the pink dress. "Let's get going, I'm not feeling right about this anymore."

   "Well, the rockinghorse doesn't seem to be here either, it's too big to be hidden and I sure don't see it," Rachel said, putting her arm around her friend. "I'm sort of feeling kind of guilty too, let's go."

   The girls walked up the steps and stopped. "Um, Stef, I think I know what that box was for now," Rachel said as she surveyed the locked door with the latch that neither of them could reach.

***************************************************

   The sound of the cellar door slamming shut woke Alicia and the vibration of it knocked the photo album out of her lap onto the floor. She was refreshed by her little nap but a little disoriented. Like so often happens after going to sleep without meaning to, she didn't realize where she was or what time it was, she didn't even know what had awakened her. The day came back to her as she sat up and she thought again about how she had reacted to the other girls going into the cellar to snoop around. She started feeling guilty again and decided that she wouldn't wait for them to come back inside, she would go and apologize to them right away.



*****************************

   Stefany stepped down off the steps and walked over to lean against the work bench. "So now we know why they don't want us in here." She was right, of course, her parents didn't feel the need to hide anything from her or her sister. They simply had never gotten around to changing the lock on the cellar door to a knob that could be opened from the inside. Her parents had told her and her sister not to go into the cellar alone because neither of them was tall enough to reach the latch and could get locked in. They hadn't explained all of that to them because; well, it had never occurred to them to explain. Parents just don't think the same way as kids. Kids are new to the world, learning new things all the time, and wondering why things are the way they are is what drives them to keep learning. Parents make their rules for their children's own good, they often don't consider what the children might think of them.

   "You know, they probably would have told me that if I had asked," Stefany said to herself as much as to her friend. "Now we're stuck in here until everyone comes home and we're going to get into trouble." Stefany was on the verge of tears as she continued, "Now everything is ruined, I'll be grounded or maybe I won't even get a birthday party!" Stefany started crying now and Rachel put her arm around her again.

   "It'll be all right, maybe my Grandma will get here first and let us out," she said, trying to comfort Stefany. "She won't tell." Rachel's grandma was very sweet and understanding, but Rachel was mistaken about her keeping this secret. She was always giving her and her brothers and sisters extra candies and things and not telling their parents, but this was different. Grandma Helen was a parent too, of course, she was Emily's mom. Extra desserts or staying up late was one thing, but being somewhere they knew they weren't supposed to be wasn't something that Helen would keep to herself.

   The girls stood leaning against the work table for a few minutes in silence. Rachel finally spoke, "There has to be something in here we can climb on to reach the latch!" she said loudly. She was getting upset at the idea of waiting to be found just to get into trouble.

   Stefany had stopped crying and was now looking around. "The steps aren't very wide, I don't want to fall," She said, looking for anything that would be tall enough that she could reach the latch from on top of it. She was afraid anything they found would be too big to fit on the step. Rachel looked around on top of the work bench but only found a spool of string, some hand tools, and broken parts of tools. There was a stool just under the edge of the table, she reached under and pulled it out.

   "What about this?" she asked, showing it to Stefany.

   "Well, it's tall enough," Stefany answered, walking back over to the work bench. She took the stool in her hands and flipped it over, looking at the legs. "But I don't think it will fit on the step." The girls walked over and Stefany set the stool on the top step. It didn't fit; with two legs on the step the other two were way out above the lower steps.

   "Maybe we can find something to put under there to hold up the other two legs?" Rachel offered, but she wasn't very confident. Stefany took the stool off the step and put it on the ground in front of her. She sat down on the steps and folded her arms, it was beginning to look like they were going to be there until someone came home and let them out. "Do you think there's anything in these boxes?" Rachel asked, walking toward the boxes next to the work bench.

   Stefany stood up and walked over to where Rachel was. "I don't think so, it seems to be clothes and toys and papers and stuff like that," she said, reading the sides of the boxes. She remembered having a wooden box when she was really little that had holes cut into it in different shapes. There was a star-shaped hole, and a circle, and a square, and some others. It was a sort of puzzle; there were wooden blocks cut into the same shapes and each one only fit into the hole that was just like it. She thought that might be just the thing to put on the lower step under the stool, if they could find it. She told Rachel and the girls set about taking down the boxes they could see that had 'toys' written on the side.



**********************************************************

   Alicia picked up her photo album and put it on the table. She looked back to the couch and saw her hat where it had fallen off her head while she was napping. She grabbed it and put it on and headed out the front door into the front yard.

   She didn't go out by herself very much, it was quite an effort for the little mouse to travel very far on her own. It was about fifteen feet to the corner and another twenty feet to the cellar. It wasn't really that much of a distance for Alicia especially since she had rested. Plus, there was a ledge on the house's foundation that was wide enough for her to walk on comfortably so it wouldn't take her very long at all.

   She made her way to the corner pretty quickly but when she got there she realized that the downspout of the rain gutter was in her way. She saw that there were grooves running along the pipe less than an inch apart. If she could get a grip on the ridges of the grooves she would be able to climb around the gutter easily, or so she thought to herself. It started out well enough, one hand over the other and she was almost around to the other ledge when she slipped. She lost her grip with her left hand but was able to hold on with her right long enough to get hold with her left again. Her heart was racing but she kept calm and continued on her way. She got to the other side of the pipe and dropped down to the ledge.



**************************************************************

   Stefany and Rachel sat on the ground and each opened one of the three boxes they had found with 'toys' written on the side. Rachel's box was a bust; it was filled with dolls and toy cars. She stood up and put it back on top of one stack of boxes, then turned her attention to the third toy box. "Here it is!" Stefany shouted from the floor. It was just as she remembered it, only a little dirty. She handed it to Rachel, "It's solid on the bottom so we can put it upside down on the second step."

   They walked over and Rachel set the puzzle box on the second step while Stefany grabbed the stool and put it on the top step and the box. The puzzle box wasn't as tall as the step so the stool leaned back a bit. "I think I can do it if you can hold it still for me," Stefany said.

   "Sure!" Rachel said and stood next to the steps. She put one foot on the puzzle box and both hands on the stool. Stefany put one hand on Rachel's shoulder to steady herself and climbed up onto the stool. The stool started wobbling when she tried to stand up so she crouched back down.

   "Are you okay?" Rachel asked her.

   "I'm scared, it's wobbling!" Stefany answered. She stood up and leaned against the door. Rachel held the stool with all her strength but it still wobbled. Stefany was afraid to reach up for the latch, afraid that the stool would slip or she would lose her balance and fall off. She slowly turned around to face the door and the stool responded by wobbling more. Once the stool settled down she starting to reach up for the latch when she heard a voice from below.


*************************************************

   "You're going to get hurt if you fall, you know!" Alicia shouted up from between the top two slats at the bottom of the door. Stefany was so surprised to hear her voice that she almost fell anyway.

   "Alicia!" Stefany and Rachel shouted together. Stefany quickly got down off the stool and to the ground.

   "What are you doing here?" Stefany asked, leaning down to her little friend.

   "I came to say sorry for yelling and running off." Alicia said as she climbed out between the slats and down to the top step. "You got locked in?"

   "Yeah, we should have propped the door open with that wooden box outside but we didn't think of it." Rachel said. "We're sorry we ever came in here in the first place, you were right."

   Stefany corrected Rachel; "Well, you did think of propping the door open but I thought we didn't need it." Then to Alicia she said, "It's okay that you got mad, I'm sorry too. You were right; we shouldn't have been snooping and now we're stuck in here until someone gets home." She took the stool down and put it on the ground next to the steps and then sat down next to Alicia.

   "Maybe not," Alicia said, looking around the cellar. "Is there any string or wire around; maybe ten feet or so?"

   Rachel mentioned that she saw a spool of string on the table. "What can that do?" she asked Alicia.

   Stefany knew what Alicia was thinking and ran over to the work bench to get the string while Alicia explained her idea to Rachel. "I'll climb up the door from the outside and put the string through the latch, then you can pull down on the string through the slats and open the door!"

   "Aren't you afraid you'll fall?" Stefany asked Alicia when she got back with the string.

   "It should be easy, the door frame has all these grooves in it; it'll be just like a ladder." Alicia answered. She had noticed the door frame when she first got to the cellar. The door was wooden but the frame was some kind of metal and it had horizontal grooves in it that went all the way up.

   Stefany shrugged her shoulders and started pulling string out of the end of the spool. When she had twelve feet or so unwound she handed the end to Alicia. "Please be careful," she said to her little friend. "Promise if you get scared or don't think you can do it you'll come right back."

   "Promise," Alicia answered her. "Oh, can you cut a piece about three inches off the end?"

   Rachel scrambled over to the bench and looked for scissors or a knife. She rummaged and found something that looked like a screwdriver but with a sharp edge at the end. Stefany held the string while she cut it and soon Alicia was ready to go. She had the extra bit she asked for wound up and over one shoulder and the end of the spool tied through a belt loop on her jumper. "I'll be right back," she said and then climbed through the slats in the door.

   Alicia heard the other girls calling out to her to be careful while she was climbing out and onto the ground. She walked to the left side of the door; where the latch would be when she got to the top. Taking a closer look at the framing she felt even braver than she had made herself out to be in front of the other girls. She hadn't been sure but didn't want them trying to talk her out of it. On closer inspection it looked like it was going to be very much like going up a ladder, and she set to it.

**************************************************

   Stefany and Rachel sat for a few minutes in silence. "Do you think this is going to work?" Rachel asked.

   "I don't know, Alicia seems pretty convinced," Stefany answered. She herself was not so sure. She stood up and carried the puzzle box back to the box she had found it in. Rachel joined her and together they packed up the boxes and put them back in place.

   Outside the cellar, Alicia made short work of climbing to the top of the door. She untied the string end from her belt loop and threaded it through the hole in the latch. She knotted it twice and then took the small piece of string she had on her shoulder and tied it around her waist and then to the string on the latch. She made a loop that she could tighten and loosen by how tightly she pulled on the ends. Grabbing a hold of each end in one hand she took a deep breath and jumped. Unconsciously she squealed as she zipped down to the ground. She pulled tightly on the string to slow herself down and coasted to a stop a few inches off the ground. Letting go of the string, she dropped to the ground and climbed up the slats in the door. At the top she climbed through to see Stefany and Rachel finishing with the stack of boxes.

   "Hey!" Alicia called out. The other girls turned around and came right over.

   "That was quick!" Stefany told her, picking up the spool of string. "So all I do is pull the string and the door opens, right?"

   "The latch should come down and unlock the door when you pull down on the string," Alicia answered.

   "Here goes then," Stefany said and she pulled on the string. As simply as it had clicked shut when the door slammed, the latch opened. Stefany pushed on the door and it swung open, the sunlight streamed back in and filled the room, overcoming the dim bulb hanging over the table. As suddenly as they had become trapped they were free again. Stefany and Alicia smiled at each other. Stefany extended her arm and Alicia climbed up and back to her usual place in Stefany's pocket.

   "Yesssss!" Rachel yelled, running up the steps and out the door. She was running around toward the front of the house when Stefany called her back. Or so Stefany had thought, she was actually running around in circles. She hadn't heard her anyway, so when she circled back around Stefany called again.

   "Help me get everything back the way it was!" Stefany yelled and Rachel stopped her spinning.

   "Oh, right," she said, "I was just so glad to be out of there!" Rachel followed Stefany back inside and they checked out the stack of boxes to see if they were how they found them. Rachel put the sharp-ended screwdriver thing back on the workbench as best as she could remember where it had been. "The string!" She said, looking at the table.

   "We'll have to go out and shut the door so I can climb up and untie it," Stefany said, heading out the door. Rachel followed and grabbed the wooden box from against the wall as Stefany shut the door. After placing the box by the door Stefany climbed up and got the end of the string off of the latch. Rachel had picked up the spool and wound the string back on. Rachel returned the string to the table and came back outside. Stefany climbed on the box one more time to return the lock to the latch. Stefany stepped down off the box, picked it up, and placed it against the wall where they had found it. "There, we're done, and I don't even want to think about any of this ever again!" But as the girls walked toward the front of the house to go inside and wait for their parents Stefany couldn't think of anything else.


************************************************



   The girls went inside and sat in the living room on the sofa. They sat quietly for a while and then Rachel suggested playing cards. Stefany was having trouble thinking of anything but their misadventure in the cellar and welcomed the idea of having something else to think about. It wasn't much trouble for them to play cards with Alicia, again thanks to a little handiwork by Stefany's dad Eddie. He had made a little block to hold the cards up, when they dealt Alicia's hand they took the cards and stood them up for her in the block. The cards were just a little bit taller than Alicia so she sat on a little chair behind them and pointed out which cards she wanted to play. They played a few games of "Tic-Tac-Drat" and one game of "Table Top" before they got bored. Stefany was just putting away the cards when everyone got home from the concert.

   "Hello, hello!" Eddie Ursabraun said as he came in the door. Following him inside came all the parents and Stefany's sister Sarah.

   "How was it?" Stefany asked.

   Paul Rodound answered first, "Fantastic, it was the best concert I've ever seen! The girl on the trumpet was the best!" Sarah smiled at him, placing her trumpet case in the front hall closet.

   "You really did very well tonight, Buttercup," Eddie said to his oldest daughter, giving her a quick hug. Sarah, blushing now, almost said something but didn't. She had messed up on her solo and inside she was very upset but didn't think it was the right time to mention it. She didn't know that she and her music teacher Mrs. Monson were the only ones at the concert that had noticed when she played the wrong intro to her piece. She had played the beginning of an entirely different composition but she realized almost immediately and transitioned into the correct music in just a few notes.

   "We've got to get home," Paul said to Emily; "your mother will be there any minute now and I'm sure she's had quite a day with the quints." Everyone said goodbye and congratulated Sarah again on her performance. The Rodounds went home and soon after the Ursabrauns and the Amoses had dinner together at the kitchen table. After dinner Shanna and Alicia went home to their little house. They would stay with the Ursabrauns until bedtime most nights but Shanna had a project at home and she wanted Alicia's help with it.

   After dinner Sarah and Stefany helped their mother wash the dishes and put everything away. Sarah and Stefany both seemed rather distracted as they chatted with their mother about the concert and other everyday things. "Stefi, can you help me with something?" Sarah asker her little sister.

   "Sure, okay," Stefany answered, "if you don't have anything you need us to do Mama?" she directed at Brenna.

   "No, no, go ahead girls, I can finish up here," Brenna said, putting the last of the dishes in the cupboard. "Don't stay up too late." The girls each hugged their mother and after stopping in the living room to say good night to their father they made their way upstairs to Sarah's bedroom.

   Sarah's room was the first door on the right at the top of the stairs. The girls walked in and sat on Sarah's bed. "What's up?" Stefany asked. She was glad Sarah had wanted her help with something because it would give them the chance to talk. She had really wanted to talk to her about everything that had happened earlier in the day.

   "Well, I just wanted someone to talk to," Sarah began. She went on to tell Stefany about how she had messed up at the concert and how bad she had felt. "Everyone was so happy and proud I couldn't really say anything. You know how Mom and Dad are; they would have told me that nobody noticed and how good it was."

   Stefany understood completely. Their parents were very supportive and always had good things to say but that sometimes wasn't what the girls needed or wanted. She didn't think they could be any other way, and really didn't know what it would be like if they were any different. She was glad that she and Sarah had each other to talk to about things that they didn't feel like they could really talk about with their parents.

   "They would probably be right, you know," Stefany offered. It was odd that even though she and Sarah didn't think their parents always understood how they felt, the girls usually echoed what their parents said when they had these little private conversations. 'Maybe they understand more than we know,' Stefany thought to herself.

   "Yeah, I know, probably nobody did notice, but I sure did!" Sarah replied to her sister. She felt much better just for having talked about it. "So what's up with you, what have you been thinking about so hard all night?" Stefany gave her sister a puzzled look. "I know when something is bothering you, Stef, spit it out."

   Stefany hesitated, not knowing what to say. Her sister had always been helpful so she told her everything, from the shopping to deciding to snoop, to getting locked in and rescued by Alicia. Sarah didn't say anything for a few minutes. "So, what is the problem?" she asked. "I mean, you didn't find anything and you didn't get caught; why not forget all about it?"

   "That's just the thing," Stefany said, "I can't forget about it. It's all I have thought about ever since it happened. I feel guilty and I don't know how to stop thinking about it." Stefany wasn't crying, but she looked as if she was going to start at any moment.

   Again Sarah was quiet for a few minutes. When she spoke again it was very slowly and deliberate. "The only thing that will make you stop feeling guilty would be to tell mom and dad."

   Now it was Stefany's turn to sit silently. "I know, but I really don't want to, especially with my birthday coming up. What if they don't want to have my party because of this?"

   "You know that won't happen, I don't think it's that big of a deal. Besides, you'll get 'First Choice' of punishment, just think of a good one ahead of time." 'First Choice' was something Grandpa Richie and Grandma Lala had always done with Eddie and his brothers when they were growing up. How it worked was, when you got into trouble you got to suggest what your punishment would be and if both parents thought it was fair then that would be it. If they didn't think it was appropriate they would decide on something else. Eddie felt that it had made him more responsible so he and Brenna used it with their daughters. The trouble with 'First Choice', for the kid anyway; was trying to pick something bad enough for the parents to agree with but hopefully not as bad as what they would have decided.

   "What should I pick?" Stefany asked. "I don't know what would be good."

   "Oh no, I'm not getting in on it. If I pick you'll never know if it was too harsh and besides," Sarah said, getting up to hug her sister; "picking the punishment is part of the punishment."

   "I know," Stefany said, and thanked her sister for her advice. They said good night and Stefany went to her room. After getting ready for bed she sat for a few minutes, thinking about telling her parents about snooping around the cellar and what she should choose as a punishment. She thought the sooner she told them the sooner she would be able to get it off her mind so she decided to tell them first thing in the morning. She got into bed thinking she would have a hard time getting to sleep, but she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.


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   Eddie had already left to run some errands by the time Stefany had come down to breakfast in the morning. Brenna and Sarah were about to sit down when she got to the kitchen. The three of them had breakfast together and then Sarah was off to her friend Caitlyn's house to practice a song they were learning together. Stefany thought about telling her mother then but decided she should wait until she could tell both her parents at the same time. When Shanna and Alicia came out of their little house the four of them went to the Rodound's house. The girls had agreed a few days before to watch the quints while their mothers went shopping.

   "I think it's best that you don't take them outside, all right?" Emily said to the girls; "We won't be very long."

   "Sarah is at Caitlyn's house and Rachel's dad is at the store if you need to call someone," Brenna said to Stefany. Soon the girls were alone with all five of Rachel's younger brothers and sisters. They were all very cute and fun to be around. That isn't quite right. Charlotte, Aaron, Beth, Audrey, and Caleb were each very cute and fun to be around individually, but as a group they were a huge mess waiting to happen. They didn't talk very much, which was normal for raccoons at their age. That isn't quite right either. They didn't talk to anyone else very much; but to one another they talked a lot. What was unusual was that what they said to each other nobody else could understand. To Rachel it all sounded the same, lots of finger pointing and grunting: "En-doot en-doodin" point point point, "Zha-gin gah-gin" point point point.

   The five of them were in what used to be the Rodound's living room, but was now their dayroom. When the quints had come along they had basically taken over the house. Rachel had her bedroom and her parents had theirs; the rest of the house had become dominated by the quints. Five children all the same age have a tendency to take over, even before they can walk. Rachel's parents had found out soon enough that you have to keep them together if you want any hope of keeping track of them all. "What do you want to do?" Rachel asked Alicia and Stefany. The girls were standing in the doorway watching the quints point and grunt at each other.

   "Simon Says?" Alicia offered. There were lots of games they could play with the quints but most of them were pretty tiring. Rachel and Stefany agreed that 'Simon Says' would be easy enough. They played for a while but the quints started getting distracted and trying to wander off. Stefany had been Simon, and Rachel had been watching for when one of them tried to wander off from the game. She was bringing Charlotte back from her attempt to walk into the kitchen when Charlotte looked up to her and said, "Nap?"

    When the quints heard something they liked they would all repeat it. A lot. Within a few seconds there were five little voices saying "Nap, nap, nap!" While it was a little overwhelming to listen to, it was a welcome idea.

   "Who wants to take a nap?" Rachel asked them and they all started nodding and pointing toward their mats in the corner. "Okay, find your places," she told them. The quints scrambled over and lay down on their mats. A few minutes later the girls were sitting at the kitchen table, facing the dayroom so they could see if any of the quints woke up. They started talking about the previous day and Stefany told the other girls that she was going to confess.

   "But I'll get in trouble too!" Rachel protested. She was worried that her parents would ground her, making her stay in her room without even being allowed to have anyone over. "We won't be hanging out, that's for sure! Why can't you just forget about it?" Her parents didn't give 'First Choice'; they usually put her on restriction.

   "I can't and I don't think I'll ever be able to if I don't tell!" Stefany answered her. She had known Rachel would be against the idea and didn't really blame her. She probably would get in trouble too, but there wasn't any way for Stefany to tell the truth and not have her parents find out Rachel was involved. Her parents would never believe that she went on her own, the girls were together so much they were like each other's shadows. Besides, she couldn't tell half the truth if she wanted to clear her conscience. "I'm sorry, but I can't say you weren't there."

   "I'm sorry too Stef," Rachel said and then stared off into nowhere, thinking about the possibilities. Her face suddenly brightened up, "Wait, if you tell then I should tell at the same time. If my parents find out from your parents I'll be in even more trouble."

   Stefany had been worried about how she would react. She had expected Rachel to be mad so she was very pleased that she was already over it and thinking about what to do. "We should tell as soon as possible," she said.

   Alicia was sitting on the table listening, watching the quints as they slept. "Maybe you should both tell all your parents together?" she offered. She was a little uncomfortable that her friends were going through this without her and wanted to help. "We're all having dinner here tonight, right?"

   Stefany and Rachel looked at Alicia and then at each other. It would be the perfect time to have all four parents together. Stefany thought to herself that it might be easier than confessing alone, having Rachel by her side. Rachel was also thinking that it would be much easier to do together.

   Rachel spoke up, "We'll do it tonight then, after dinner?"

   Stefany nodded but before she said anything she saw that Charlotte was up and stumbling in their direction. The quints were all the same age but they had distinct personalities and definite roles in their group. Charlotte was the fastest learner, she'd been the first to be able to stand on her own, the first to walk, the first to talk. Perhaps it was because she was always the first to do things that the other four always followed her lead. Or maybe that was a coincidence and she was just a natural born leader. Whatever the case, wherever she went there was usually one of her siblings bringing up the rear.


   "That wasn't a very long nap," Rachel said and sighed as Audrey and Beth stood up and waddled off in opposite directions. She took Charlotte by the hand and went after Beth while Stefany pursued Audrey. Once they had gathered all the quints back together they played games with them until their mothers got back. They all had lunch together and after that Stefany and Alicia and their moms went home for the rest of the afternoon.

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   That evening, the families joined together at the Rodound's house and had a wonderful dinner. Stefany had talked to Sarah that afternoon about her and Rachel's decision. Sarah had agreed it was a pretty good idea for them to tell at the same time. Stefany had asked her if she would watch after the quints while they did it and Sarah agreed to that as well. After the girls had cleared the table Sarah asked to be excused to look after the quints in the next room.

   "Of course, Sarah, how sweet of you," Emily said. She and Brenna met eyes for a moment, then both looked at their husbands. Paul looked surprised, but Eddie seemed to have something on his mind.

   "I'll go with you," Alicia said and hopped on Sarah's arm and up to her shoulder. Sarah took Charlotte's hand and they walked into the dayroom, quickly followed by the rest of the quints.

   "I asked Sarah to watch them so Rachel and I could tell you something," Stefany began. She and Rachel had stood when Sarah left the table and were together facing their parents. She told them the whole story, from just thinking about the presents to looking around at the stores; and finally about going into the cellar to look around. For her part, Rachel interrupted Stefany to admit that she was the first one to suggest looking in the cellar. She even said that she didn't think Stefany would have gone if she hadn't been so excited about it. Rachel didn't like getting in trouble, but she was a good friend and felt she had to take responsibility for her part in the whole mess.

   Stefany was about to tell about getting locked in the cellar when her father interrupted. "So how did you get out?" he asked, surprising everyone at the table.

   Stefany had been getting rather upset while telling the story but Eddie's question caught her off-guard and snapped her out of her sadness. She stared at him for a moment then asked, "How did you know we got locked in?"

   "I think I can tell the rest of the story, if you don't mind," Eddie said, Stefany and Rachel just nodded, both quite confused. "You used the wooden box to reach the latch but didn't think about using it to keep the door open. The wind blew the door closed and you got trapped inside in the dark. You found your way to the table and turned the light on, but how you got out I don't have a clue." Everyone at the table continued to stare blankly at him, so he continued. "When I went in to get some tools this morning, the light was on. When you two started telling your story I figured the door must have shut on you or you wouldn't have turned on the light."

   The girls were stunned at how much Eddie had figured out just from the light being on. Stefany finished telling the story, how Alicia had rescued them and so on. Rachel had her head down and Stefany was simply looking straight ahead when Brenna spoke, "So now you know we didn't want you in the cellar because it's not safe, not because we hide things from you down there. Besides the latch that you can't reach, your father has all sorts of dangerous tools and there are stacks of boxes that could fall; we just didn't want you to get hurt." Brenna sighed looking back and forth between Rachel and Stefany. "I wish you would take our word for it that it's for the best when we tell you things to do or not to do."

   This made Stefany feel worse than she already did, knowing that her mother was disappointed in her. Rachel was still looking at the ground as if there were something very interesting about her shoes. She was sad that they were getting in trouble and mad at herself about the whole thing. She knew that Stefany wouldn't have gone alone and that made her feel worse than any punishment she was going to get. She repeated to their parents that Stefany probably wouldn't have gone without her but Brenna shushed her by interrupting. "I'm certainly glad you're owning up to your part in this, but Stefany knew as well as you did that you were doing something wrong." She looked at Eddie and then to Stefany. "Do you have something in mind for 'First Choice'?" she asked Stefany.

   Stefany had thought and thought about what to punish herself with but all she could think of was to give up whatever presents they were going to give her, so that is what she told them was her 'First Choice'.

   "Maybe we should discuss this without the girls for a few minutes," Paul said and gave Eddie a look across the table and they both looked at their wives. The four of them exchanged glances and nodded.

   "Yes, I think that's a good idea," Emily said. "Why don't you girls go and help Sarah while we talk about this." The girls said okay and left to help Sarah with the quints but then Stefany turned and came back to the table. She told them about finding the pink dress and that she was the only one that had seen it.  Rachel's parents looked relieved and thanked her and she went to join the other children.

   Sarah didn't seem to need any help, somehow she was always able to keep control of the quints all by herself. They were playing some game where they sat in a circle while one of them walked around the outside patting the others on the head. Beth was the one walking when the girls walked up. "What did they say?" Sarah asked as Stefany and Rachel sat down outside of the circle. Alicia hopped from Sarah's shoulder to Stefany's and sat down.

   "They sent us away while they talk about it," Rachel told her.

   "What was your 'First Choice'?" Sarah asked Stefany. The game the quints were playing ended without Rachel or Stefany figuring out what the point was and most of the smaller children had moved on to playing with their building blocks in the corner of the room. Beth was still sitting in front of them and Stefany picked her up and put her on her knee so she was facing Alicia. When they were younger Alicia had kept her distance from the quintuplets, they had thought she was a toy and everyone was afraid that she would get hurt. In the last few months they had come to realize she was real and they were even more fascinated with her. For her part Alicia was quite intrigued by the little raccoons.

   "I offered to give back whatever presents they were going to give me," Stefany said.

   "That's no good, Stef, they would never do that!" Sarah said, getting up off of the floor to sit on the couch. "Why not offer to be grounded for two weeks or something?"

   "I didn't know what else to do. I don't want to do that; what if they say okay and I don't get to have my birthday party?" Stefany answered.

   "I'm sure mom and dad wouldn't cancel your party," Sarah reassured her little sister. Caleb had followed her to the couch and was pointing and saying some sort of something. Sarah reached down and helped him up on the couch and he sat and looked around smiling. "I guess that meant he wanted on the couch!" she said and the girls all laughed. Alicia was carrying on a similar conversation with Beth, that is; lots of sounds and pointing but no words that Alicia understood.

   Brenna called from the kitchen, "Please come back in here girls." Stefany leaned toward the couch so that Alicia could walk off her shoulder onto it. She placed Beth on the couch next to Sarah and Caleb then she and Rachel walked back and stood in front of the table.

   "We've talked about it and decided that we won't be giving you your 'First Choice' this time Stef, since Rachel is involved. Not to mention that I think taking your presents away is a little too harsh of a punishment. We wanted to punish both of you girls equally so you're going to spend the next week cleaning out the cellar. First thing in the morning your father is going to put a doorknob on the door so nobody ever gets locked in again." Eddie looked at the table, embarrassed. He worked very hard building things every day so when he was home the last thing he thought of doing was what he did at work. He had planned to change the latch for a doorknob since they had moved in when the girls were little, he had just never made the time.

   The girls didn't notice Eddie's reaction, they were just happy to have it over with. It wouldn't be fun losing half of their vacation to working but it could have been worse. In fact, it was worse; their parents weren't done. Emily picked up where Brenna had left off. "Also, when you aren't working this week you will be in your rooms. Since you seem to be having trouble thinking for yourselves maybe you need to spend some time apart." This made everything a lot worse and Rachel took a breath to say something in protest, but the look in her mother's eyes told her it was not a good idea to argue.

   Paul spoke up, "It might seem pretty awful girls, but it's only a week and we have a birthday party to look forward to at the end." He always had a way of seeing the good side of things and putting it that way did make Stefany and Rachel feel a little better. "But for now, why don't you say good night to everyone and go to your rooms."

   The girls weren't very happy, but they were relieved. They had each been so worried about what was going to happen that is was good just to have it over with. They each said good night to their parents and the other children and then split up; Rachel going upstairs to her room and Stefany heading out the door to home.

***************************************************************

   The next morning Eddie went to the cellar and cut holes in the door and the doorjamb. He put in a doorknob and took off the old door handle and the latch. He also hung a long string from the lamp across the ceiling and down right next to the door so that you could turn the light on and off there. Inside the house, Rachel had come over to have breakfast with Stefany and Alicia before they went to work. Their parents had said that Alicia could go in the cellar with the girls if she wanted, it seemed like they would be punishing her to keep them apart for the whole week. 

   Eddie walked back in the house and called to the girls, "Okay, we're all set. The cellar has a regular old doorknob so nobody should be getting locked in there anymore." He leaned down to the table and spoke directly to Alicia; "You're welcome to hang out with them while they work, but try not to help them out too much, okay?" He winked and she smiled up at him.

   "I won't pick up the first box!" she said and they both laughed. Alicia climbed on his hand as he offered it and together with Rachel and Stefany they all went to the cellar. Eddie slid the key into the doorknob and unlocked it. He pulled the door open and showed the girls the little button on the inside doorknob that locked and unlocked the door when you turned it.

   "With this little button you can unlock the doorknob even if it has been locked with the key from the outside. You don't need a key so nobody can ever get locked inside. This one is yours for the week," he said as he handed Stefany the key; "and we'll keep one on the key hook in the house." They walked down into the cellar and Eddie gave them instructions on what they were going to be doing for the next week. He wanted them to take all the boxes down and organize them. They were supposed to go through the boxes of toys and make new boxes, ones with toys the quintuplets might like and ones that could be given away to the charity shop. He wanted the rest of the boxes organized in different ways, the jars and bottles organized; he wrote down a whole list and tacked it to the wall over the work bench. He stayed most of the first morning organizing his tools and other things he didn't want the girls to have to bother with. When he finished he told them not to work too hard and left them on their own.

   The next few days were long ones, spending the first part of the day in the cellar working went by quickly enough; but the evenings were boring for Stefany and Rachel each confined to her own room on restriction. It really was sort of unfair that Alicia couldn't be with either of her bestest friends when she hadn't done anything wrong, but there was no way around it. She spent her evenings with her mom and the remaining Ursabrauns except for Thursday when she went with Sarah to babysit the quints while Emily and Paul went out to dinner. It was odd being at Rachel's house with Rachel stuck in her room, but she had fun with Sarah and the curious little raccoons. Stefany spent her evenings reading and rearranging stuff in her room, Rachel spent hers much the same way only more coloring and puzzle books than reading.

   As long as the days had seemed, they did pass, one by one, and soon it was Saturday morning, just twelve more hours until Stefany's birthday. Her party was going to be at six in the evening and all the girls were very excited. Rachel and Stefany had worked hard all week and really didn't have very much left on the list to do. When they got down to the cellar that morning Stefany walked over to the work bench to let Alicia down and looked at their chore list. She turned to Rachel, "You know, we don't have anything left but to dust off the last of those jars and put them back in place," she said, pointing to the jars on the ground that the girls had taken down earlier in the week.

   "That shouldn't take too long, but then I'm in no hurry to get back to my room," Rachel answered. The girls went about their task, Rachel wiping off the jars and handing them to Stefany as she found the proper place for each one on the shelves. After an hour or so they were finished cleaning and lining up all the jars and sat down for a moment. "We can sweep up, I guess," Rachel said and Stefany agreed. Rachel grabbed the broom and swept while Stefany held the dustpan for her and emptied it in the trashcan. They were just finishing up when Eddie walked in.

   "Oh wow, this place looks great!" he said. It had seemed like there was plenty of room in the cellar when they had started but now it looked twice the size it had been. In the course of the week they had moved a few boxes of toys and old clothes out but most of the new space came from organizing everything that was still there. Once the girls had emptied them, Eddie and Paul had moved the shelves right against the wall. After looking through the boxes and organizing them the way they had been told, the girls had stacked them back up against the wall next to the shelves. They had taken a large table that had been on its side against one wall and pulled it down and cleaned it up. The table took its place in the newly created open space in the center of the room. There was a bed covered in plastic in the far corner next to the cabinet that they had uncovered and made up with fresh linens then recovered it with the plastic. All of these things had been on the list, but the girls didn't quite understand everything they had done.

   Eddie seemed to understand the girls curiosity because he started explaining some of the things  they had done. "We had you make up the bed because we are having visitors next week and now that you've cleaned this place up it will make a fine guest room. I thought the table would be nice for when we want to get together somewhere besides the kitchen or dining room." Stefany wondered who could coming to stay with them but it didn't seem like her father wanted to say.

   "Who is coming to visit?" Rachel asked and Stefany smiled at her friend's curiosity.

   "I'm not supposed to say, we'll all know soon enough," Eddie answered her with a smile. "So, it looks like you're done with everything on the list. Why don't you go to the store and get a bottle of that floor cleaner your mom likes so you can mop the floor and we'll be done?" He reached in his pocket and tried handing some money to Stefany.

   She waved it off saying, "That's okay, there's a brand new bottle upstairs; I'll go get it."

   "No, I want a bottle to keep down here so we don't have to go back and forth with it," Eddie said to her, putting the money in her hand. "In fact, why don't you get a new mop and bucket while you're at it." With that he was off leaving the girls standing there looking at the money in Stefany's hand.

   "Great, it'll be nice to get outside for a while," Stefany said as she walked back to the work bench and picked up Alicia. At the door Rachel turned off the light and they walked out and Stefany locked the door behind them. 

   "Yeah, I feel like I haven't been outside since forever!" Rachel said, running around in a circle.

   "We better take umbrellas, it's going to rain," Stefany said, looking up into the rapidly darkening sky.

   Rachel looked up and agreed, "Yep, or maybe someone will give us a ride." They walked into Stefany's house and into the kitchen where their mothers were all huddled around the table again. Eddie was in the kitchen doorway and stopped the girls.

   "What can I help you girls with?" he said. "I don't think you should be in there right now," he said, hustling the girls into the living room. "There's birthday party things going on in there."

   "Oh, right, okay," Stefany stammered, a little excited, "we just need umbrellas ... or maybe a ride?"

   "Sorry sweetie, umbrellas I have but time for a ride I do not." Eddie said, and he walked with the girls to the hall closet blocking their view of the kitchen. He opened the closet and fished out two umbrellas, his big blue one and a smaller yellow one Sarah had gotten from band camp. "One or both?"

   "Both, so Rachel can spin around in circles and we can stay dry," Alicia answered and they all laughed because it was so true. Rachel didn't mind getting wet, she loved playing in the rain, but she didn't want to get completely soaked. She took the yellow one and Stefany took the other and they set off on their errand.

   "Be careful!" they heard Eddie calling out to them as they walked along the walkway from the Ursabraun's house to the sidewalk. They had only gotten that far when the bottom of the sky fell out. Luckily, they both had already opened their umbrellas or they would have been drenched by the time they were able to get them open. As they neared the park they could see a few kids running for the shelters. Rachel wondered to herself if Jeremiah was one of them, and then she wondered why she would be thinking of him at all. 'It's just because he was at the park the last time we were there,' she thought to herself, but she didn't find herself very convincing.

   The rain let up a bit just in time for the wind to pick up, pulling and stretching their umbrellas. Rachel folded her umbrella and they huddled together under the big one. The umbrella squealed as the wind tried to force it inside out. Just after they made the turn onto Pleasant both the wind and the rain lightened considerably; by the time they were to Profound Street there was almost no wind at all. The rain had slackened off to a light drizzle and Rachel spun around, "This I can deal with!" She said, giggling. She spun around a few more times before she noticed that her clothes were getting pretty wet and decided to open her umbrella again.

   They crossed the street and made their way by Buckstraw's and the stationary store to Rodound's. When they walked inside Rachel's father Paul wasn't there, her uncle Jim was behind the counter checking out a lady buying a bunch of scented candles. Rachel thought it was odd that her dad wasn't there since he had worked every Saturday as long as she could remember. The girls said hello and made their way to where the cleaning supplies were kept. Rachel found the floor cleaner and carried it while Stefany picked out a mop and bucket just like the ones they had at home.

   Once they had made their purchase the girls set off back toward home. Both the wind and rain had picked up again while they were inside the store so they were back to huddling together under the big umbrella. When they got to the park all of the children they had seen hiding under the shelter had gone. They must have all run home when the rain had lightened up. "So, what sort of presents are you going to get?" Rachel asked. Stefany stopped walking and she and Alicia stared at Rachel. The three friends burst out laughing and started walking again.

   After a few more failed attempts by the wind to take their umbrella away, the girls were back home walking up to the cellar door. When they got there Stefany could see through the slats that the light was on inside. She didn't remember them leaving it on, and as she unlocked and turned the knob she realized they hadn't. "Surprise!" everyone in the cellar yelled.

   Stefany was certainly surprised, she couldn't believe it. As the girls walked in someone took the umbrellas from them and someone else took the things that they had bought at the store. Everyone was laughing and hugging them and wishing Stefany a happy birthday. Almost everyone Stefany knew was there; her family and Alicia's mom Shanna; the Rodounds, Jeremiah and several other kids from school; even Miss Judy was there. As they got over their surprise and saying hello to everyone the girls started noticing what had been done while they were gone. The floor had been cleaned and there was a fine white table cloth on the table. There were chairs all around the table and Stefany was ushered over to the head of the table and given a seat while Rachel was seated next to her; there was even a chair for Alicia on the table. As Alicia hopped down to take her seat they continued looking around. There were more chairs around the outside to accommodate everyone that didn't fit at the table.  In the center of the table there was a pile of gift-wrapped boxes. There were decorations hanging all over, balloons and streamers and crepe paper in every color you could think of, maybe more.

   Before Stefany could say anything someone turned off the light. In a moment her eyes adjusted and she could see a dim glow coming from the back corner of the cellar. It was the candles on her birthday cake, and it was slowly moving toward her. Miss Judy strummed her guitar and started singing "Happy Birthday" and before the first verse was over everyone had joined in.  When the cake got closer Stefany got an extra special surprise present she hadn't even thought to ask of her parents. His face lit only by the glowing candles; Stefany recognized her Grandpa Richie carrying the cake with Grandma Lala at his side.

   "Make a wish and blow out the candles," he said as he set the cake down in front of Stefany.

   Instead Stefany leaped up and hugged her Grandpa, tears coming to her eyes. "I don't know anything to wish for now that you're here!" she said, squeezing her grandpa harder. She only let go of him to grab a hold of her Grandma Lala and hug her. "I've missed you both so very much!" she said through her tears. "I didn't think you'd be here, this is the best surprise of all!"

   As Stefany settled down from her excitement and finally finished hugging them they took their seats next to her. "We've never missed your birthday yet dear," Grandma Lala reminded her.

   "And we weren't about to miss you turning eleventy!" Grandpa Richie added, taking Stefany's hand in his. "We love you dearly and wouldn't have missed it for the world. In fact, we're staying the whole week to visit you and Sarah and Brenna." He paused for a moment and then added, "Oh, and what's-his-name, my boy, him too." He winked at Eddie and everyone laughed. "Now blow out your candles; they're melting all over the cake!"

   Stefany wiped the tears from her eyes and turned her attention to the cake. She saw that the candles were indeed running down. She quickly thought of a wish and blew the candles out. Everyone cheered and someone turned the lights back on. Stefany got her first good look at the cake and saw that Emily and Shanna had frosted it beautifully in the orange and blue frosting. It had 'Happy Birthday Stefany' written on it and had all sorts of swirly decorations. "Hand that over to me Richie and I'll start serving while Stefany opens her presents," Brenna said.

   Richie did as she asked and grabbed a box from the pile while he was up. "I hope nobody minds if Stefany opens the present from me and Lala first," he said setting the box in front of Stefany.

   "It's enough of a present to have you here!" Stefany said to her grandfather, but she tore into the package all the same. Emily had given Rachel a bag to put all the wrapping paper in and she stuffed it in the bag as Stefany handed it to her. Inside the box was a lot of wadded up paper and Rachel helped her pull it out and stuffed it in the bag. Sitting at the bottom of the box was the little rockinghorse lamp from Stefany's room at her grandparent's old house. Stefany squealed at the sight of it and hugged her grandparents again. "I asked Dad for a rockinghorse I saw at Toy Palace because it reminded me of this lamp!"

   "I know," Richie said, "he told me a couple of week ago so we stopped by the old place and got it on our way back into town." For a moment Stefany forgot all about the other presents and the party and was just happy to have her grandparents there. That was the best part of her birthday, the best present by far. Her parents got her the dress and she got a lot of other nice presents, but she would always remember that moment when she thought of her best birthday ever.

   After Stefany opened all her presents and everyone had cake Brenna asked them all to turn their chairs toward the doorway. Sitting on Eddie's work stool Miss Judy had her guitar and accordion. As everyone quieted down she started strumming her guitar and squeezing her accordion. She was playing the song from the doorbell at her store; the song Stefany had always forgotten to ask about. Miss Judy started singing and after a few words almost everyone else was singing along.

   "Down in the old country town of Jamocha, I saw a girl with ten toes on her feet.
Never before had I seen such a creature, dancing and turning cartwheels in the street.
So silly yet lovely she juggled and sang, If I knew her life could not be sweeter.
 I asked a friend if he knew what her name was, decided right then I had to meet her."

The song goes on to tell about the singer meeting Miss Judy and a whole great adventure that they had together, but that is a story for another time.


THE END