23 Surprise, Surprise!

Surprise, Surprise! written by Pam Holden illustrated by Samer Hatam

There is something fun about being a twin. Each year, you always get to share your birthday. At last, it was Raj and Jay's birthday! In the morning when they woke up, they were both feeling happy. Raj shouted, "Happy Birthday, Jay!" "Thanks Raj, Happy Birthday to you too!" answered Jay. The boys hopped out of bed and ran to the kitchen. The twins had nothing special planned for their birthday, but they knew they would spend their day together.

In the kitchen, the brothers found a birthday card. Raj opened it and together they read. "Happy Birthday boys! Follow the string and when you reach the other end, you will find your birthday surprise!" Jay pointed at the red string. "I've found the string! Come on Raj, it goes this way!" he shouted. Together, both brothers reached hold of the red string and quickly began to follow it.

The boys' mother and father were watching and thought this was very funny. Both boys were too busy to notice that their parents were quietly following behind. The brothers quickly followed the long red string out of the kitchen. It went over the carpet, down the stairs, along the hall, past the TV room and out through the back door.

The twin brothers went down the steps that took them outside to the back yard. They watched the red string loop along the path. "Look," said Raj, "Follow me. The string is going along the path and through the back of our yard."

The brothers were having a lot of fun following the string and thinking about what they would find when they reached the other end. They watched as the string went over the path and past the garden, along the grass and under a tree. Then, the long red string turned to make a circle, before it went on to the barn. Jay pointed to the string as it made it all the way through the green doors, and on into the barn.