7. The Giant Pink Box

Chapter 7 The Giant Pink Box But the kids never made it. As they passed Polly's stall, the door flew open. A bunch of people burst out of the stall, yelling, "SURPRISE!" Pal was suddenly there, running in circles and barking like mad. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose began throwing streamers and confetti all over Lucy. "HAPPY

BIRTHDAY, LUCY!" everyone yelled. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Bradley's mouth fell open. Brian's mouth fell open. Nate's mouth fell open. Lucy began to cry. Everyone gathered around Lucy, giving her birthday hugs. Officer Fallon was there, and Mr. Linkletter. Even he was smiling at Lucy. Ellie was there, and Mrs. Wong, with her tall nephew, Leonard. Josh was grinning like a monkey, standing with Dink and Ruth Rose. Bradley looked at his parents and Dink's and Nate's parents. "You tricked us!" he said. "Yes, we did," his mother said. "And it was fun!" "I thought this was supposed to be a New Year's Eve party," Brian said. "It is, but it's also for Lucy's birthday!" her aunt said. "We're celebrating both." "Cool!" Nate said. "So why is she crying?" "I know why," Ruth Rose said. "She misses her parents. Right, Lucy?"

Lucy nodded. She tried to smile, but the tears kept coming. "Well, she'll feel better when she opens her present," Bradley's mother said, pointing at the tall pink box. "Here are some scissors. Cut the paper, Lucy." Lucy took the scissors and walked up to the pink present. It was three feet taller than she was. "Where should I cut?" she asked. "It's so big!" "Let me help you," Josh said. He stepped over and made a big rip right in the middle. Then Dink and Ruth Rose came over. They began ripping all the paper. Underneath was cardboard, and they tore that off, too. Then Lucy screamed. Out of the ripped box stepped a tall man in a cowboy hat. The woman with him no longer wore the ski mask. "Mommy! Daddy!" Lucy yelled. "You came!"

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Everyone in the barn began whistling and laughing and yelling, "Happy birthday, Lucy!" "Of course we came!" Lucy's mother said. "We would never miss your birthday!" Lucy's father scooped Lucy up and gave her a big hug. "I guess I can stop limping now," he said. "Well, I'll be a kangaroo's cousin," Nate said. "It was them all the time!" "We had fun leading you kids all over town," Lucy's mother said. "And everybody knew?" Bradley asked. "We certainly knew," Mr. Linkletter said. "But we love keeping secrets in Green Lawn!" "The only ones who were clueless were you four!" Josh said. "Dink and Ruth Rose and I knew all week!" "We got to go to the airport yesterday to pick up your parents," Ruth Rose told Lucy. "But… but… so there was never a burglar at all?" Nate said. He looked at Mrs. Wong. "No one stole your laptop?" "Oh, someone took it all right," Mrs. Wong said. "My big, sweet nephew took my laptop to be

cleaned, as my Christmas present. But he never told me!" Leonard blushed. "Yeah, it was supposed to be a surprise for Aunt Mary," he said. "So everyone was looking for a burglar who didn't exist," Officer Fallon said. "But why were you guys peeking in places and taking pictures?" Nate asked Lucy's parents. "We're going to make a scrapbook for Lucy," her mother said. "So we took pictures and made notes about Green Lawn." "We decided to have some fun with you," Lucy's dad said, giving Lucy a squeeze. "So we acted like mysterious strangers doing weird things. But we didn't know you'd mistake us for burglars!"