by Alysha A.

Amelia Bedelia was making a chocolate cake in the kitchen.  She mixed a little of this, and a little of that in a bowl.  She stirred and stirred and then put the batter into a cake pan.  She put the pan in the oven and set the timer.  Just then, Mrs. Rogers came into the kitchen.

“Happy Birthday Mrs. Rogers!” said Amelia Bedelia. 

“Thank you Amelia,” said Mrs. Rogers, “but I am not very happy.” 

“Why not?” asked Amelia. 

“I am sad because Mr. Rogers forgot my birthday,” said Mrs. Rogers.

“Oh no!” said Amelia.

“Oh yes! Now he’s in the doghouse!” responded Mrs. Rogers.

Mrs. Rogers left to go upstairs. 

Amelia went outside to speak with Mr. Rogers. 

She crawled on her hands and knees and looked in the doghouse. 

She did not see Mr. Rogers, she saw Rover chewing on a bone.  

“I thought Mrs. Rogers said Mr. Rogers was in the doghouse!” thought Amelia.

 She asked the dog, “Do you know where Mr. Rogers is Rover?”

Rover ran out of his doghouse, through the doggy door, and into the kitchen. 

Amelia chased after him as he ran through the kitchen and into the den.   

Mr. Rogers was sitting at his desk.

“Thanks for helping me find Mr. Rogers,” said Amelia to Rover. 

“Mr. Rogers! Mrs. Rogers is very sad that you forgot her birthday.  We need to do something to cheer her up!” said Amelia.

“I don’t want her to be blue, but Amelia I did not forget her birthday.  I am actually planning a surprise party for her.  It’s tonight!” said Mr. Rogers.  “Will you help me by taking her out shopping, and then bring her back to the house at 6:00 o’clock?”

“Of course!” replied Amelia.

“Thank you, and please don’t spill the beans, I want to keep her party a surprise!”

“You’re welcome,” said Amelia.

“Remember, be back by 6:00 o’clock, and be sure not to let the cat out of the bag!”

Amelia called up cousin Alcolu, “I need help with something, will you please come over?”

“I’m on my way,” said Alcolu.  Just then the oven timer went off.  Amelia took the cake out of the oven and iced it with chocolate frosting.  She decorated it with pink and purple flowers, Mrs. Rogers’ favorite. 

When Alcolu showed up, Amelia had three jars of beans on the kitchen counter. 

She also had glue, pillows, and thick tape.  “What are you doing Amelia?” asked Alcolu.

Amelia answered, “Mr. Rogers said he didn’t want me to spill the beans, so I need your help to make sure I don’t!  Can you help me glue the lids on all the jars of beans?”

Amelia and Alcolu glued all the lids on the jars of beans. 

“What are the pillows for Amelia?” asked Alcolu.

“Just to be safe, let’s wrap the pillows around the jars and tape them up,” said Amelia.

Amelia and Alcolu wrapped the pillows around all the jars with the thick tape.

“The beans will never spill now!” said Alcolu.

“I’m glad that’s done, now I need to find Whiskers and put him in a bag,” said Amelia.

“Why do you need to put Whiskers in a bag?” asked Alcolu.

“Mr. Rogers said not to let the cat out of the bag, can you get a bag from the garage while I look for Whiskers?” asked Amelia.

Alcolu went into the garage to find a big bag while Amelia looked in the living room for Whiskers.   She found him sitting on the green chair. 

Just then, Alcolu came into the living room with a big bag. 

“Will this do?” asked Alcolu.

“That looks like it will work!  Let’s poke some holes in the bag and then tie it up with string,” said Amelia.

Alcolu and Amelia put Whiskers in the bag and tied it up with string.

“That takes care of that!”

While Amelia and Alcolu were in the living room, Mr. Rogers walked through the kitchen. 

“What are our pillows doing in here?” he thought.  He took the pillows and put them back on the bed.

Just as Amelia and Alcolu finished putting the cat in the bag, Mrs. Rogers came downstairs. 

“Mrs. Rogers, will you come shopping with me this afternoon?” asked Amelia.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Rogers, “I want to buy myself a present since Mr. Rogers forgot to get me a gift.”

Amelia and Mrs. Rogers went shopping.  They had a fun time going from store to store.  Mrs. Rogers bought a new hat. 

Amelia looked at her watch, it was 5:00 o’clock. 

“Can we go to the paint store before we go home Mrs. Rogers?”  asked Amelia.

“Of course, why do you need to go to the paint store?” asked Mrs. Rogers.

“It’s a secret,” said Amelia. 

Amelia went into the paint store and walked out with a can of red paint. Mrs. Rogers looked confused. 

Amelia and Mrs. Rogers arrived home just at 6:00 o’clock.

Just as Mrs. Rogers was opening the door, Amelia poured the red paint on her.

“Surprise!” shouted Mr. Rogers and all of the birthday party guests.  Everyone gasped at Mrs. Rogers covered in red paint.

“Amelia!” screamed Mr. and Mrs. Rogers.  “Why did you do that?”

“You said you didn’t want Mrs. Rogers to be blue!”  said Amelia.

Some of the guests started to laugh.

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers started to laugh too.  Mrs. Rogers smiled and said, “I should be upset, but I am just so happy that Mr. Rogers and all my friends are here to celebrate my birthday!” 

Mrs. Rogers left to go clean herself up as Amelia brought out the birthday cake.  Mrs. Rogers came back downstairs wearing her new hat.  All the ladies said the hat was very pretty which made Mrs. Rogers very happy.  Amelia lit the birthday candles and everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Mrs. Rogers.

Mrs. Rogers sat on the green chair to eat a piece of cake.  She thought it was strange that Whiskers was not in the chair.  “Amelia,” said Mrs. Rogers, “do you know where Whiskers is? He’s not in his favorite spot.”

“He’s in the bag of course,” said Amelia.

“The bag?” asked Mrs. Rogers.

“Mr. Rogers said not to let the cat out of the bag, so Alcolu and I put Whiskers in a big bag.  It's in the kitchen.”

“Amelia!” shouted Mrs. Rogers, “let Whiskers out right this minute!  He needs room to run around!”

Amelia went into the kitchen and untied the bag.  Whiskers went running into the living room, knocking over a few of the party guests.  He jumped onto the green chair, bumping into Mrs. Rogers.  She threw her cake up in the air and it landed right on his head. 

(Insert humorous illustration of Whiskers with a piece of cake on his head with a candle sticking out of the top.)

Everyone laughed at Whiskers! 

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers and their guests danced and laughed and had a good time.  “What a lovely time,” said Mrs. Rogers, “but I hope there are no more surprises today!” 

Once the guests left, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers went to bed.  Amelia started to clean up when she heard Mr. and Mrs. Rogers scream from their bedroom, “Amelia! Why are there jars of beans in our pillows?!” 

Amelia rushed upstairs, “Mr. Rogers, you told me not to spill the beans, so I wrapped them up nice and tight.  Now they will never spill!” 

Mrs. Rogers smiled, “what a nice way to end my birthday, with a good laugh!”  Mr. and Mrs. Rogers laughed as Amelia wished them a good night.