by Jennifer Metcalf –
Penny pouted at the ten candles on her plain vanilla birthday cake. It was a flat white rectangle without decoration. There were no pretty pink frosting roses. Not even any fancy cursive writing spelling out her name. It was so boring compared to the extravagant purple polka-dotted, seven-layered, store-bought one she had asked for.
As her friends sang “Happy Birthday,” Penny tried to think of the perfect wish. What about a mansion full of life-size dolls? Or a sparkly disco ball made out of colorful jewels? Or a silver motorcycle that converts into a twenty-passenger limousine? Penny sighed. She wanted so many things. How could she pick just one?
“Penny! What are you waiting for?” her mother asked, throwing her hands up in the air. “Blow out your candles, for goodness sake.”
Penny realized the singing had stopped, and she heard a commercial blaring from the TV in the next room. “Call now to order your limited-edition copy of How to be Filthy Stinking Rich in only ten days!”
That’s it, Penny thought. Filthy stinking rich. That’s like the richest you can be!
Penny took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and blew the candles out. Her friends cheered. Her mother immediately snatched the cake away and began cutting it into large slabs. She dumped the pieces onto paper plates and told Penny to hand them out so she could go clean the kitchen.
Penny took a bite of the tasteless cake and held it in her mouth. It felt like a dry sponge on her tongue. She wrinkled her nose. What was that horrible smell? Did a skunk spray outside?
Her guests groaned and put napkins up to their noses. One after another the girls got up from the table and said goodbye, each coming up with a different excuse as to why she had to leave early. They all gave her funny looks on the way out, as if she was the cause of the stink.
When everyone had left, Penny sighed and looked at her pitiful pile of presents—a pair of long white athletic socks, a bag of grapefruit, a package of thumbtacks, a travel size toothbrush, a can of spray cheese, and a tube of wart remover. All useless junk! Where was the electric glow-in-the-dark scooter? Or the rhinestone-studded bass guitar? Or the smartphone loaded with a ton of cool games?
Penny swiped away a tear and caught a glimpse of her hand. It was covered in a thick brown crust. She held out her arms and gasped. The crud was all over her. She was the stinky one! She smelled like a dead fish covered in sour chunky milk! She was a filthy stinking mess!
Penny thought of her wish. Maybe it had come true. But where was the money? She did a quick search of the house and stopped at her bedroom door. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
“Yes, yes, triple yes!” she squealed. Her entire floor was covered in a sea of cash. Her bed, dresser, and everything in between were buried in hundred-dollar bills.
Penny took a giant leap and dove into the money like it was a swimming pool. She tossed fistfuls of bills into the air and watched them flutter back down around her. She rolled onto her back and swished her arms and legs, making money angels. Now she could buy anything she wanted! She couldn’t wait to go shopping. But when Penny stood up, the money stuck to her arms and legs. The brown crust covering her had turned to a sticky slime.
She plucked off all the bills and went to the bathroom to take a shower. She scrubbed her skin until it was sore, but the smelly goop would not come off. What was she going to do? Maybe she could un-wish her horrible wish. She closed her eyes and whispered, “I don’t want to be filthy stinking rich. I want to be clean and sweet-smelling and poor again.”
She opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. Penny trudged back to her room to think. She had to get rid of all this money. If she wasn’t rich anymore, then she wouldn’t be filthy either. But how?
Penny jammed her backpack with wads of bills and looked around for a disguise. She put on her long fuzzy lime-green bathrobe, tucked her wet hair under a faded red baseball cap, and slid on some large round sunglasses. She doused herself in perfume and slipped on her winter gloves. She looked in the mirror and sighed. She looked like a freak, but it would have to do.
While her mother watched fake wresting on TV, Penny sneaked out of the house and jogged to the Gotta-Get-More-Stuff Superstore. She pushed a shopping cart up and down the aisles, scooping up random merchandise and dumping it into the cart. She didn’t care what she bought, she just wanted to fill the cart as fast as she could and get out of there.
At the checkout, the other shoppers let her take their place in line and moved to other longer lines. The cashier scanned the items as fast as Penny could place them on the counter. It was as if she was trying to win the world record for ringing up a sale.
Wow, what service, Penny thought. Maybe being stinky has its advantages. She dumped out all the money in her backpack onto the counter with a smile. “Keep the change,” she said to the cashier.
She dragged fifteen plastic bags of stuff behind the store and tossed them into the dumpster. Next time she would buy the small expensive electronic gadgets. They would be much easier to carry and dispose of.
Penny went home to get more money, but when she got to her room, she could barely inch open the door. The dollars she spent had been replaced by even more cash.
“Yowzers! How will I ever rid of all this money?” Penny wailed. She wondered if she had to keep all the things she bought.
She blew her nose on a $100 dollar bill and sat down to rest. The low mumbling of the TV suddenly turned loud and blasted a commercial. “Call now to donate to this very special charity for sick children.”
That’s it, Penny thought. She re-stuffed her backpack with money and returned to the store.
At the entrance, a man and a girl were holding out cans to collect money. Most people going in and out of the store ignored them. Penny slowly approached the girl. Her hair was in pigtails and she was wearing a shirt with a cute kitten picture on it. The girl smiled, not seeming to care that Penny smelled or was dressed strangely.
“Would you like to donate to the local animal shelter?” she asked. “There are so many pets without homes that need your help. Whatever you can give would be greatly appreciated.”
“I’d love to,” Penny said, unzipping her backpack and handing it to the girl. “But I think you’re gonna need a bigger can.”
The girl looked inside the backpack. “Wow, thanks,” she said, her eyes round as quarters. “Where did you get all that money?”
“I just wished for it,” Penny replied. “I’ll be back with more.”
As she turned to go, she saw her reflection in the window. Small patches of clean skin glowed on her face. “Yes, yes, triple yes!” she squealed. “Giving the money to a good cause is working!”
Penny pranced home, grinning all the way. Next year, she would just wish for a limousine instead.
the end.
Question Time:
1. What was Penny’s birthday wish?
2. What happened when her wish came true?
3. How did Penny try to get rid of the money?
4. What finally worked?
