Pippa's Very Big Birthday: story transcript
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Pippa's Very Big Birthday
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Princess Pippa had a birthday plan: a parade from the palace gate to the little bridge, with drums, ribbons, and a cake waiting at the end. She drew a star beside one name. "Nell will walk right next to me!"
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Nell came to see the plan. "I love the cake part," she said. "But I don't want to march. Too many people will be watching." Pippa's pencil stopped. She had imagined Nell beside her so clearly that the empty space felt enormous.
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"What if you carry the biggest ribbon?" Pippa asked. She stretched her arms wide. Nell shook her head. "You can have a bell, then! A tiny one." "No, thank you." Pippa pressed her lips together. Why wouldn't Nell come, just for her?
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The next morning, Pippa arrived with a glittering invitation as tall as Nell. "You can lead the whole parade!" she said. "Everyone will cheer!" Nell stepped back. "That's the part I don't like." Pippa rolled up the invitation so tightly it wrinkled.
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At rehearsal, Pippa tried to make the parade impossible to refuse. She asked the horn players to honk their silliest honks. HONK went one horn. HOOOONK went another. Someone honked through a watering can. Even the palace pigeons hurried away.
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Nell stood by the gate, hands over her ears. Pippa waved from the middle of the street, but Nell did not wave back. When the last honk faded, Pippa looked at Nell's face. Then she looked at the crumpled invitation in her hand.
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Pippa went to sit beside Nell on the quiet palace steps. "I thought you didn't want to be with me," she said. Nell leaned against her. "I do. I just can't enjoy you when everyone is cheering around us." Pippa let that settle.
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"What would you like to do on my birthday?" Pippa asked. Nell thought for a moment. "Could I put the cake plates out before the parade? Then, when everybody goes home, could we sit by the bridge together?" "I'd like that," said Pippa.
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On Pippa's birthday, Nell set out the plates, one by one, while Pippa tied on her sash. Then the parade swept through town: drums tapping, ribbons flying, Pippa waving until her arm grew tired. Nell watched from a peaceful upstairs window.
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After the last drum had gone home, Pippa found Nell by the bridge. They shared the final cake crumbs and watched a pigeon tuck its head beneath its wing. "It missed my best wave," Pippa whispered. "Good," said Nell. "That one needed practice."
