Mr. Morgan decorated his dinning room with balloons and ribbons of all colors. You could hardly find a spot where he hadn't put something bright and colorful. Hanging over the table was a big sign he painted that read, "Happy Birthday Rusty!"

He set the dinning room table with birthday napkins and birthday plates and even birthday cups. In the center of the table he put and a big bowl of red punch and a beautiful birthday cake that read, "Happy Birthday Rusty!" And at every seat he put a party hat so that each of his neighbors would have a hat to wear.

Rusty's dog bowl was on the floor beside the dinning room table, and today it had a big red ribbon around it. Beside Rusty's bowl, Mr. Morgan put other bowls of dog and cat food for the animals his neighbors would bring.

When everything was ready, Mr. Morgan went out on his porch to wait for his neighbors. He had just sat down when he looked up and saw a parade coming down the street. He jumped up and looked again. A parade? Why, they never had parades on his street.

As it got closer, Mr. Morgan could see who it was. Why, he couldn't believe his eyes. At the very front was his neighbor, Grandpa, and right beside him was a goat wearing a bright red coat. Imagine that! A goat wearing a coat!

And right beside Grandpa and the goat was another neighbor, Miss Taylor. And you won't believe this, but she was walking with two lady monkeys! One monkey on her left and one on her right. And they were all dressed in pink, from top to bottom. All three of them! Can you believe that?

Behind Grandpa and the goat and Miss Taylor and her two monkeys Mr. Morgan saw chickens and a duck and sheep and cows and even a horse with a big hat with his ears sticking out of it. And all of the animals were dressed up! Can you believe that? Why, Mr. Morgan hadn't even dressed up Rusty, and it was Rusty's birthday party!

Mr. Morgan didn't know what to do. He had wanted his neighbors to bring their animals for Rusty to play with, but he expected them each to bring maybe a dog or a cat, not a chicken or a duck or a sheep or a cow or a horse or a goat! Or monkeys! Monkeys!! Well, they certainly couldn't all fit in Mr. Morgan's house. He didn't know what was he going to do.

Grandpa and Miss Taylor were the first neighbors to arrive. When they reached Mr. Morgan's house, Mr. Morgan stepped down from the porch to meet them at his gate. He told Grandpa and Miss Taylor that he had only expected his neighbors to bring a few dogs and cats, and that they certainly couldn't all fit in his house. And certainly not chickens and a duck and sheep and cows and a horse and a goat and monkeys! Monkeys!! Certainly not in his house!