by Mike Thaler
Eric is a four-leaf clover. It’s great
to see them, and they all have
presents.
Then Mrs. Green arrives.
She’s dressed as a rainbow and
she’s carrying a pot of gold that
turns out to be chocolate candy
kisses.*
50
*Mr. Hershey was born on
September 13th, too.
51
They hand me their presents.
I weigh them and shake them. I
guess it would be rude to open
them now. I’ll wait until they’re
all in the door. Mom takes all
the presents and puts them on a
table. Killjoy.
She says, “Hubie, be a good
host.”
CHAPTER 13
THE HOST
WITH THE MOST
I say, “Won’t you all please sit
down?”
Everyone sits down and stares
at me.
I say, “Simon says, ‘Stand up.’”
Everyone stands up.
52
I say, “Simon says, ‘Everyone
open your presents.’”
Mom says, “Simon says, ‘Be a
good host.’”
“But, Mom, Simon wants to
know what presents he got.”
“HUBIE!” insists Mom.
“Okay, okay, Simon says,
‘Forget it.’”
54
Instead, we play lots of games,
like hide-and-seek. Freddy tries
to hide in my closet and we have
to dig him out. We also play Pin
the Tail on the Donkey. Randy
pins it on a lampshade; Eric pins
it on Randy.
Then we play musical chairs.
Eric and Penny are the only ones
left. Penny loses because she tells
Eric, “Ladies first”—but Eric just
sits down.
55
Then Mom brings out hot dogs
and potato salad. I don’t really like
coleslaw. I like macaroni salad a
little, but I love potato salad. It’s
great to be the birthday boy.
57
CHAPTER 14
MY LUCKY DAY
After we finish eating, Mom
turns out the lights and brings
in the cake with all the candles lit.
Everyone sings “Happy Birthday.”
Then they all say, “Make a wish.”
I close my eyes and think to
myself, I wish I could have a
birthday every day.
Then I take a big breath and
blow.
58
60
“What did you wish for?” asks
Doris.
“He can’t tell or it won’t come
true,” says Randy.
The cake is chocolate with
chocolate frosting—my favorite.
I eat the cake fast to get to the
frosting. Then everyone opens
their party favors and blows their
horns, and they sing “Happy
Birthday” to me again.
61
We all run around the table and
fall down on the floor, laughing.
“Hey, open your presents,”
says Eric.
You know, I forgot all about
the presents. We were having so
much fun, I hated to stop.
I finally did open them and
they were fine. I got the new
video game I wanted, a cool pair
of sunglasses, and lots of other
stuff. But you know, I learned
something on my birthday.
62
I learned that the best present
is the presence of my friends, and
the joy that they bring every day
to my life.
63
This is my best birthday party
ever, and I even blew out all of
the candles. That means I’ll have
good luck for a year!
64
®
The scariest day of the year . . .
Hubie has planned a fantastic party for his
birthday. There’s only one problem—he didn’t
know it was on Friday the 13th. Now that’s
bad luck! What if nobody shows up? What if
nobody brings presents? Hubie better wish
for some good luck!
DON'T BE SCARED!
READ THESE OTHER ADVENTURES.
Become a Lagoony: www.MikeThaler.com
www.scholastic.com
More leveling information for this book:
www.scholastic.com/readinglevel
APPEALS TO
READING LEVEL
GRADE 2
1
ST
–3
RD
GRADERS
