shouted.
Six of us rubbed sleep from our eyes before obeying Marcia's insanely early summons. We weren't supposed to get up for school for another forty minutes. One of the Eights, Jackie, was nowhere to be seen.
We followed Marcia's shouting voice down to the kitchen.
"Look!" she cried, pointing at the window.
"What?" Annie asked. "Is there another pigeon out there with a note?"
"No!" Marcia said excitedly. "Can't you see it? There's a horse's behind right outside the window."
" What? "six Eights cried, hurrying to look out the window.
Huh. There was nothing there.
"Happy April Fools' Day!" Marcia gloated with glee.
"Fine. You got us," Rebecca said sourly. "But don't think you can get us again."
"As long as we're all up early," Durinda said, "I may as well start breakfast. Jackie, could you please get me the—Oh dear. Where is Jackie?"
"I can help you with breakfast this morning," Zinnia offered.
"That's great," Durinda said, looking meaningfully at Georgia and Rebecca. "It's always nice when someone around here helps out."
"Hey!" Georgia said. "Don't look at me! I haven't said anything awful."
"Yet," Annie provided.
"Yet," Georgia admitted with a blush.
"Okay, Zinnia," Durinda directed, "you get the milk out of the fridge—I think we'll make pancakes this morning—while everyone else gets dressed."
Zinnia opened the refrigerator door. The rest of us weren't even out of the room when we heard Carl the talking refrigerator announce: "All out of tasty worms. Must buy more."
"Did Carl just say we needed more tasty worms?" Durinda asked.
Before anyone could answer her, Carl spoke again. "And slugs," he said. "Must buy more juicy slugs."
"Juicy si—? But we don't eat—"
"And slimy caterpillars," Carl said, cutting Durinda off, "and crunchy dead leaves and hairy spiders and—"
"Oh no!" Petal shrieked. "Carl the talking refrigerator has gone mad! If we follow his shopping instructions and then eat all those awful things, we will all be dead by nightfall! We will—"
"Ha-ha," Carl laughed dryly. "April Fools' on you."
"This is insane." Rebecca was disgusted. "We're even being mocked by our own refrigerator today."
***
"That's odd," Marcia said as five of us headed back downstairs after we'd gotten dressed. There was still no sign of Jackie. "Durinda and Zinnia said they'd cook breakfast, but I don't smell anything."
We took our places at the table and looked down at our plates. The pancakes didn't look quite right. Annie was the first to try to cut hers, but the fork wouldn't even make a dent. None of us could make a dent.
"I'm starving," Rebecca said, giving up on the fork and resorting to her fingers. But when she went to take a bite—
"Ugh!" she cried. "This pancake isn't made out of pancake! It's made out of rubber!"
"April Fools'!" Durinda and Zinnia shouted, high-fiving each other.
"I don't think it's very funny," Rebecca said. "Some of us are starving here, you know."
"Oh, where's your sense of humor?" Durinda said. Then, when it was clear Rebecca hadn't any, at least not where rubber food was concerned, Durinda added, "Why don't you have some pink frosting?"
"And why don't the rest of us adjourn to the front room while Durinda makes us all some Pop-Tarts?" Annie suggested. "It's about all we have time for now."
"Oh no!" Petal cried as we entered the front room. Then she fainted.
We all looked around to see what had bothered her so, and there it was: Daddy Sparky, the suit of armor we usually dressed up in Daddy's quilted smoking jacket and fedora hat to make nosy parkers believe there was a real man in the house, was wearing Mommy Sally's sleeveless purple dress and pearls, while Mommy Sally, the dressmaker's dummy we dressed up so people would believe there was still a proper lady of the house, was wearing Daddy Sparky's smoking jacket and hat. We must admit, the corncob pipe in her hand looked very elegant there.
"April Fools'?" Annie winced out the words as we tried to bring Petal
Six of us rubbed sleep from our eyes before obeying Marcia's insanely early summons. We weren't supposed to get up for school for another forty minutes. One of the Eights, Jackie, was nowhere to be seen.
We followed Marcia's shouting voice down to the kitchen.
"Look!" she cried, pointing at the window.
"What?" Annie asked. "Is there another pigeon out there with a note?"
"No!" Marcia said excitedly. "Can't you see it? There's a horse's behind right outside the window."
" What? "six Eights cried, hurrying to look out the window.
Huh. There was nothing there.
"Happy April Fools' Day!" Marcia gloated with glee.
"Fine. You got us," Rebecca said sourly. "But don't think you can get us again."
"As long as we're all up early," Durinda said, "I may as well start breakfast. Jackie, could you please get me the—Oh dear. Where is Jackie?"
"I can help you with breakfast this morning," Zinnia offered.
"That's great," Durinda said, looking meaningfully at Georgia and Rebecca. "It's always nice when someone around here helps out."
"Hey!" Georgia said. "Don't look at me! I haven't said anything awful."
"Yet," Annie provided.
"Yet," Georgia admitted with a blush.
"Okay, Zinnia," Durinda directed, "you get the milk out of the fridge—I think we'll make pancakes this morning—while everyone else gets dressed."
Zinnia opened the refrigerator door. The rest of us weren't even out of the room when we heard Carl the talking refrigerator announce: "All out of tasty worms. Must buy more."
"Did Carl just say we needed more tasty worms?" Durinda asked.
Before anyone could answer her, Carl spoke again. "And slugs," he said. "Must buy more juicy slugs."
"Juicy si—? But we don't eat—"
"And slimy caterpillars," Carl said, cutting Durinda off, "and crunchy dead leaves and hairy spiders and—"
"Oh no!" Petal shrieked. "Carl the talking refrigerator has gone mad! If we follow his shopping instructions and then eat all those awful things, we will all be dead by nightfall! We will—"
"Ha-ha," Carl laughed dryly. "April Fools' on you."
"This is insane." Rebecca was disgusted. "We're even being mocked by our own refrigerator today."
***
"That's odd," Marcia said as five of us headed back downstairs after we'd gotten dressed. There was still no sign of Jackie. "Durinda and Zinnia said they'd cook breakfast, but I don't smell anything."
We took our places at the table and looked down at our plates. The pancakes didn't look quite right. Annie was the first to try to cut hers, but the fork wouldn't even make a dent. None of us could make a dent.
"I'm starving," Rebecca said, giving up on the fork and resorting to her fingers. But when she went to take a bite—
"Ugh!" she cried. "This pancake isn't made out of pancake! It's made out of rubber!"
"April Fools'!" Durinda and Zinnia shouted, high-fiving each other.
"I don't think it's very funny," Rebecca said. "Some of us are starving here, you know."
"Oh, where's your sense of humor?" Durinda said. Then, when it was clear Rebecca hadn't any, at least not where rubber food was concerned, Durinda added, "Why don't you have some pink frosting?"
"And why don't the rest of us adjourn to the front room while Durinda makes us all some Pop-Tarts?" Annie suggested. "It's about all we have time for now."
"Oh no!" Petal cried as we entered the front room. Then she fainted.
We all looked around to see what had bothered her so, and there it was: Daddy Sparky, the suit of armor we usually dressed up in Daddy's quilted smoking jacket and fedora hat to make nosy parkers believe there was a real man in the house, was wearing Mommy Sally's sleeveless purple dress and pearls, while Mommy Sally, the dressmaker's dummy we dressed up so people would believe there was still a proper lady of the house, was wearing Daddy Sparky's smoking jacket and hat. We must admit, the corncob pipe in her hand looked very elegant there.
"April Fools'?" Annie winced out the words as we tried to bring Petal
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