Giggle Book Two Read online

Giggle Book Two

  By Bobby A. Troutt

  Copyright 2012 Bobby A. Troutt

  Table of Contents

  A Gift for Leggs

  Blue Frog

  Jungle Fever

  One Croak, Two Ribbits and A Splash

  The Shoemaker and the Sandals

  Gordon the Goldfish

  Tommy’s Shell

  The House on Dark Hollow Road

  *****

  Giggle Book Two

  A Gift for Leggs

  In the old tool shed behind the Walker’s house, Leggs the Spider hung from a thin thread in the window. As she dangled back and forth, and swung around and around, she stared out the window and thought about her upcoming birthday. I wonder what my friends will get me for my birthday, she thought. Slowly, Leggs twirled herself around in the window as she laughed and sung to herself.

  “Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me,” she giggled. “I must tell my friends about my birthday and let them know, lest they forget. But how?” she questioned. “How can I let them know without being so obvious?”

  Suddenly, Miss Myrtle Moth flew in through the broken window.

  “How are you doing today, Leggs?” asked Miss Myrtle.

  “Oh, I’m doing fine,” she replied as she laughed and twirled around and around.

  “You sure are awfully happy today.” Is there something special about today that I don’t know about?” inquired Miss Myrtle.

  “Oh, no, today is nothing special,” uttered Leggs. “But in a couple of days it will be a special day for me.”

  Then Miss nosy Myrtle darted here and there. She flew around Leggs several times before she stopped and whispered in her ear.

  “What day is it?” she asked. “What is so special about it?”

  “Oh, nothing,” replied Leggs. “It’s nothing.”

  “It must be something, Leggs,” pleaded Miss Myrtle, “or you wouldn’t have said it was a special day.”

  Finally, Leggs broke down and told Miss Myrtle why the day was special to her.

  “Well, Miss Myrtle, if you must know, my birthday is coming up in a couple of days,” she cried. “I am excited about it.”

  “Is that all,” mumbled Miss Myrtle as she flickered her wings and darted about the shed. “Your birthday, your birthday!” Miss Myrtle yelled. “Is that all? I thought it was something special, really big!” grumbled Miss Myrtle.

  “Well, it is special to me,” cried Leggs. “But, I don’t want a big fuss made about it. Please don’t tell anyone!” begged Leggs.

  “Oh, no,” replied Miss Myrtle, “I won’t tell a soul.”

  Miss Myrtle darted out the window; she laughed and fluttered her wings.

  “Oh, me, oh, my!” she mumbled. “I can’t wait to tell the others,” she bragged as she looked back over her shoulder at Leggs hanging in the window.

  After Miss Myrtle left, Leggs thought to herself. Miss Myrtle will tell all my friends that it’s my birthday and I will get a bunch of presents. She loves to gossip, Leggs laughed to herself.

  “Where are you going in such a hurry, Miss Myrtle?” questioned Johnny Junebug.

  Johnny was sitting on a leaf in the Walker’s garden, wiping off his sunglasses. The Walker’s garden was full of fresh vegetables and fruits; it was a paradise for Johnny and his friends.

  “Oh, Johnny,” cried Miss Myrtle as she flew around his head, “you’ll never guess in a million years.”

  “Guess what?” asked Johnny.

  “Guess whose birthday it is?” laughed Miss Myrtle.

  “Well, I know that it’s not mine,” he giggled. “That’s all that matters to me.”

  “Oh, come on Johnny,” laughed Miss Myrtle, “guess.”

  “Guess what?” asked Gordon Grasshopper as he hopped upon the stem next to Johnny.

  “She wants us to guess whose birthday it is,” replied Johnny as he put on his sunglasses.

  Gordon scratched his head, chewed on his cud, spit, wiped his mouth and laughed.

  “Well, it’s not mine.”

  “Boys!” yelled Miss Myrtle. “It’s Leggs’ birthday.”

  “Leggs!” they both belted out.

  “Yes, Leggs, I think we should give her a little surprise birthday party!” suggested Miss Myrtle.

  “You’re right!” yelled Johnny. “Leggs is a good friend.”

  “We need to do something for her,” agreed Gordon as he stretched his legs out, hopped to another stem, spit again and wiped his mouth.

  “Hey!” yelled a voice from below.

  Suddenly, up flew Sparkie the firefly.

  “Be careful, Gordon, where you spit,” shouted Sparkie. “You almost got spit on me.”

  “Sorry, Sparkie,” replied Gordon. “I’ll be more careful the next time.”

  “What’s all the excitement about?” asked Sparkie as he flew around lighting up the garden.

  “Guess whose birthday it is?” questioned Miss Myrtle.

  “Yours,” remarked Sparkie.

  “Oh, no,” replied Miss Myrtle, “it’s Leggs’.”

  “Leggs, that’s great!” shouted Sparkie.

  “We’re going to give her a surprise birthday party,” exclaimed Johnny.

  “What kind of gift are we going to get her?” asked Gordon. “What do you give a spider for a gift?”

  “I don’t know,” uttered Miss Myrtle. “I never thought of that.”

  They all gathered around in the garden and thought and thought. They tried to figure out what would be a good gift for Leggs. All of a sudden Johnny spoke up.

  “I know what we can get her!” he yelled. “Let’s all get her some shoes!”

  “That’s crazy,” giggled Sparkie. “Spiders don’t wear shoes.”

  “Now wait a minute,” cautioned Miss Myrtle. “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “But she has eight legs,” Sparkie complained. “What are we going to do, buy four pairs of shoes?”

  “That’s right,” responded Gordon. “Leggs has eight legs, which means she has four pairs of legs. There are four of us so we can each get her a pair of shoes. “So, if each of us buy her a pair of shoes that will take care of it,” said Gordon.

  “Great idea,” agreed Johnny as he pushed his sunglasses on top of his head.

  “Then it’s settled, we’ll each buy her a pair of shoes,” cried Miss Myrtle.

  “So, we all agree, right Sparkie. We’ll each get Leggs a pair of shoes,” Johnny said.

  “I agree,” Sparkie replied.

  “That’s right,” mumbled Gordon as he stretched his legs once again and hopped over to another stem and spit. But, this time, he looked first.

  As time passed, Leggs saw her friends around the shed and in the garden. Each day, they talked but no one mentioned anything about the party. The next couple of days everything went on as normal. But Leggs couldn’t help but wonder, from time to time, if her friends had forgotten about her birthday. I wonder if Miss Myrtle forgot to tell them, she thought. As time grew near to her birthday, she wondered more and more because no one mentioned a word about her birthday. If they had planned anything, it was being kept hush-hush.

  Finally, the big day came; it was Legg’s birthday. As the morning sun shined through the window of the old shed, Leggs sat on her web and looked out the window. She was all sad and blue; tears filled her eyes. As Leggs looked out the window at the falling rain, she began to think her friends had forgotten her birthday. All was quiet in the shed, except for the falling rain hitting on the tin roof.

  “This is the worst birthday I have ever had,” she said. “I wish it had never come. I believe my friends have forgotten,” she cried. “I really wonder if they even care.”

  “Surprise, s
urprise!” yelled the gang as Johnny, Miss Myrtle, and Sparkie flew in through the window and Gordon hopped upon the window sill. “Surprise!” they all yelled. “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Leggs,” they all sang.

  Leggs was so surprised and happy that her friends remembered her birthday.

  “Look, Leggs!” yelled Johnny. “We brought you some gifts and cake, too.”

  Gordon quickly stretched forth his leg to light the candles on the cake. But, Sparkie the firefly popped up and stopped him.

  “That’s my job,” Sparkie insisted as he lit the candles with his tail and yelled, “That’s hot!”

  “Make a wish and blow the candles out, Leggs,” cried Miss Myrtle.

  “Make a wish, Leggs,” Sparkie said as he flew around the birthday girl, surrounding her in a glow of light.

  Leggs took a deep breath and blew hard to blow out the candles.

  “Hurray, that a girl! Happy birthday, Leggs,” they all cried.

  Leggs slowly turned to her friends and said, “I am so thankful I have friends like you.”

  “Gift time,” yelled Johnny as they gathered around and handed her their gifts.

  Leggs looked at the gifts and a big smile crossed her face. Leggs sat down on the windowsill and began to open her gifts. As she opened each of her gifts, she looked surprised and very puzzled. Gordon looked at Johnny. Johnny looked at Miss Myrtle. Miss Myrtle looked at Sparkie. They all looked at Leggs and started laughing.

  “We each bought different pairs of shoes,” laughed Johnny. “We each got you a pair of shoes, but we didn’t get the same kind; they’re all different.”

  Leggs’ friends were so excited about her birthday that they never thought to get the same kind of shoes. Instead, they got Leggs a pair of flip flops, a pair of high-top tennis shoes, a pair of cowboy boots and a pair of high heels. Everyone laughed so hard they couldn’t keep from crying. They all had the biggest laugh and Leggs had the greatest birthday ever.

  “It’s good to grow old with friends like you,” giggled Leggs.