Natalie and the Downside-Up Birthday Read Online Free PDF

word, slinky .
    Granny takes my silvery Slinky out of the box and walks to the basement steps with it. I follow her.
    “Watch this,” Granny says. She turns on the light. She sets the Slinky thing on the top step. And she pushes it.
    “Granny!” I don’t want my new present pushed into the basement.
    “Watch,” Granny says.
    I watch. The Slinky plops one silvery circle onto the next step. It looks like a fat worm doing that. Then the other circles slinky down to that step too. Only the top circle plops to the next step. And the whole Slinky slinks over itself and down to the next step. My Slinky slinks down those stairs all by itself.
    “Wowee! Wow!” I trot down the steps after my present. It’s standing still, like in the box. I pick it up and climb the stairs back to the kitchen. “I love this Slinky thing, Granny!”

    “Better put it back for now, Nat,” Granny says. “This weekend we’ll go to the mall and introduce Mr. Slinky to Miss Escalator.”
    Granny and I get back to work on cupcakes. It takes both of us to stir in chocolate chips. We pour the chocolaty stuff into the wavy paper cups that look like upside-down skirts. Then we wait for the oven to cook.
    Pretty soon the whole kitchen, plus also, thewhole house, smells like cupcakes. This is one great smell. A birthday smell.
    Granny and I make frosting with many secret ’gredients. I lick all the bowls and spoons. Except Granny gets the wood spoon.
    A gazillion minutes happen. Then Granny takes the cupcakes out of the oven. “Not bad,” she says.
    “They look yummy!” I say. “And chocolaty.”
    “And hot,” Granny says.
    We have to wait for them to not be hot before we put frosting on. Another gazillion minutes happen.
    Finally, Granny ’nounces, “They’re all set.” She gives me a not-sharp knife and a bowl of frosting. “Go to it, Nat.”
    I go to it. I dip in the knife and come out with a glob of chocolate frosting. Then I plop it onto the first cupcake. But when I try to spread the frosting, cake globs onto the knife. “Granny, I’m ruining it!” I shout, on account of there’s a big, fat hole in my cupcake.
    “Try another one,” Granny says.
    I try another one. The same thing happens. Cupcake globs hang on my frosting knife. “I’m a terrible cupcake frostinger, Granny.”
    “Nonsense,” Granny says. “You’re doing just fine.”
    I try three more cupcakes. Only I tear theircrumbly heads off. “I hate this stupidhead frosting.”
    “Keep at it,” Granny says. “Practice makes perfect.”
    I keep trying. And I keep messing up. “Granny, practice isn’t making them perfect.”
    Granny chuckle-laughs.
    But I don’t. On account of this is not funny.
    Tomorrow is my school birthday party. And I am in serious cupcake trouble. That’s what.

Chapter 10
Happy Birthday to ME, That’s What!
    I wake up before the sun and moon switch places. I can tell this about the sun and moon on account of I have a window in the wall of my bedroom.
    “Percy!” I whisper-shout. “It’s my happy birthday!”
    Percy doesn’t answer.
    Percy never answers very often.
    He stays curled up where my feet usually go in my bed. The moon pokes light through my window right onto Percy. He looks like a ball of white fluffy down there.
    “Percy?” I say more loud.
    He doesn’t answer again.

    There are some dark shapes left in my bedroom from the night. They look like bad people. And monsters. Only not.
    A night creaky noise happens by my closet.
    Part of me feels like it would be a very good idea to pull up my covers over my head so I don’t see the dark.
    Or hear the dark.
    But the new, six-year-old Natalie 24 in me says to those dark shapes, “Happy birthday to me !” And jumps out of bed.
    “Come on, Percy 24.” I lift up my cat and carry him all the way to Mom and Dad’s room. Percy and I open the door. We tippytoe in.
    There are many snores in Mom and Dad’s bed. Percy and I climb up. We crawl on our hands and knees between Mom