Happy Birthday, Cherry Blossom!

Back at the cottage, Alice was humming and lighting all seventeen candles on the cake, which was too tall, very crooked, and, of course, runny. She carefully lit each candle by breathing a puff of fire on them. "There! Whoop!" she said, quite satisfied, after she blew out the fire. Then she noticed the cake was starting to run and held it up with a broom. She turned to Minnie and asked, "Well, what do you think of it?"

Minnie was also almost finished with the dress. But the dress was a bad joke - there were too many designs, some parts of the dress were way too big, and some were torn. And Wendy was still standing as the dummy in the dress, not seeming too happy. Minnie was startled when she saw the sight of the birthday cake. "Why, it's a very unusual cake, isn't it?" she said.

Alice then noticed a few candles were starting to flow down the broomstick. "Yes. Of course it'll be much stiffer after it's baked." she said, placing the candles back on top of the cake.

"Of course, dear. What do you think of the dress?" Minnie asked nervously.

"Well, it's not exactly the way it is in the book, is it?" asked Alice, as she had a good look at it, standing beside Minnie.

"Well, I improved it a bit! But perhaps if I added a few more ruffles? What do you think?" Minnie asked Alice.

Alice nodded. "Mm-hmm, I think so. What do you think, Wendy?"

But Wendy did not think it was a good idea! The dress was ruined, and the cake was ruined. She had enough. "I THINK WE'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!!!" she fumed, as she turned to face them. A flap from the dress flew into her face as she carried on ranting and raving. "I think we ought to think of Cherry Blossom and what *she'll* think of this mess!" With that, Wendy struggled out of the dress, causing it to fall to pieces, and stomped upstairs. "I still think what I've thought before. I'm going to get those wands!"

As Wendy went upstairs, the cake on the broom began to melt completely, leaving only its burning candles.

"You know, I think she's right." Alice said to Minnie, who nodded at her. This was not easy without using their wands. And the seventeen years are up anyway.

Suddenly, Wendy ran back downstairs, carrying the three wands in her hands. "Here they are! Good as new!" she called.

But Minnie was cautious about what Wendy was going to do with their wands. "Ah, ah, ah, duh, duh, duh! Careful, Wendy!" she warned, as she took the wands from the Neverlandian girl. Then Wendy locked the doors while Alice closed the windows and Minnie locked up every cranny in the cottage. "Quick! Lock the doors. Alice, you close the windows. Oh, lock up every cranny. We can't take any chances!" said Minnie. Then she gave Alice her wand and said, to her, "And now, you take care of the cake."

Wendy began, "While I..."

"Clean the room, dear." Minnie finished, as she gave Wendy her wand and kept her own. "And I'll make the dress. Now hurry!"

Wendy became angry a little. But she realized what Minnie meant, and she zapped a bucket, a mop, and a broom that were standing in a corner, making the objects come to life, ready to do any bidding. "Come on, bucket, mop, broom! Minnie says clean up the room!" she called. Then the cleaning stuff immediately began to clean up the place as the broom swept away what ever pieces of the ruined dress were lying on the floor.

"And now to make a lovely dress, fit the grace of fair princess!" Minnie chuckled, as she took a fresh sheet of magenta cloth, and, with a whirl of her wand, she transformed the cloth into a base of the dress.

"Eggs, flour, milk!" Alice called, as the ingredients also came to life and walked over to listen to the blonde-haired girl. "Just do it like it says here in the book. I'll put on the candles." said Alice, as the ingredients walked over to a mixing bowl, and the flour, milk, and eggs were put in.

Meanwhile, the broom was sweeping some dust. The rug, stool, and chair Wendy was standing on moved up in order to make way for it. When the broom stopped sweeping, Wendy noticed the pile of dust was still on the floor, so she zapped it away.

While the ingredients were still filling in the mixing bowl and a big wooden spoon was stirring up the ingredients, Alice took a taste of some cinnamon. Then, when the batter was done, the cake looked perfectly baked with sixteen layers containing blue, and green frosting, lotus flowers, jonquils, and forget-me-nots.

Now Minnie was making the collar. She took another magenta sheet and, with her wand, she ordered the scissors to cut the cloth five times. Then she zapped some spools of magenta thread, making them come to life. The needles also came to life, and the collar was stitched with the magenta thread. Now the collar was lacy, and it flew over to the neckline of the dress and stuck it around the chest. Now the dress was perfectly sewn!

Wendy was dancing with the mop. She danced and twirled while the mop did the same. Then she jumped, and the broom followed suite, only into the bucket and out. Then Wendy kept dancing and twirling while the mop washed the floor.

The mop glided gracefully under the table where Alice was standing at. She lifted one foot in order to give it room. Then she lifted her other foot until she was floating off the floor. When the mop was done washing under the table, Alice landed back on the floor.

Wendy was still dancing with the mop, and Minnie was using her wand to sew some rose designs on the bodice. Wendy saw her and stopped. "Oh no, not magenta! Make it blue!" said Wendy, as she zapped the dress, making it turn blue.

Minnie saw that and gasped in shock! "Wendy!" she scolded.

"Make it magenta!" Minnie said, as she zapped the dress back to its magenta color.

Wendy still danced wit the mop as it was still washing the floor. "Make it blue!" she whispered, zapping it blue again.

Minnie saw that the dress was blue again and was now irritated. "Oh, magenta!" said Minnie. She zapped it back to magenta again.

"Blue!" Wendy smiled, still dancing. But this time, Minnie stood before the dress, and her dress turned blue. Wendy snickered to herself until Minnie angrily turned her dress magenta. That actually did it. Because they began to start fighting over the color.

As Alice was putting green frosting on the blue frosting-coated cake, blue and magenta lightning bolts began flying all over the place and into the fireplace, where blazes of color went through the chimney.

Unfortunately, the fight happened at a wrong time. Because Ripto was walking through the forest when he saw blue and magenta fireworks from a distance. "Hey! What's that?" he said, "I must go investigate." He flew over to investigate, and he saw the fireworks coming out from the chimney. Curiously, he looked down in it, only to get zapped multiple times by the lightning bolts. "Hey! That's not fair!" Ripto yelled.

Inside the house, the *war* continued, until they both hit the dress at the same time, with the result that it looked like two cans of color paint were emptied on it.

"Ohhh, now look what you've done!" Minnie angrily said to Wendy.

Alice had just finished lighting all seventeen candles on the cake because she heard something. "Shh, listen!" she said. Then she began to listen closely to a faint sounds coming from the forest. As it got louder, it began to sound like someone singing. And they already recognized whose voice it was.

"It's Cherry Blossom!" said Wendy, realizing who's singing.

"She's back! Enough of this foolishness." said Minnie, as she and Wendy changed their clothes back to their original colors.

Wendy zapped the dishes clean and put them in a cupboard, and Minnie set the dress on the chair. "Make it magenta." Minnie said. She turned the dress magenta and turned to Wendy. "Now hide! Quick!" said Minnie, motioning Wendy to hide.

Before going, Alice turned to the magenta dress. "Green!" she whispered, as she turned the dress green without Minnie and Wendy noticing noticing. Then she ran to the attic to join the female mouse.

Cherry Blossom was slithering to the cottage. "Aunt Minnie!" she called.

Then Minnie was surprised to see the mop still washing the floor. "Good gracious! Who left the mop running?" she exclaimed.

Wendy also noticed the mop and realized that she had forgotten about it. "Stop, mop!" she said, as she zapped the mop, making it drop to the floor, lifeless.

Cherry Blossom opened the door, slithered inside the cottage, set the berries on a small table, and unbuttoned her cloak. But she was surprised to find Minnie and the others nowhere in sight. As the female snake looked around, Ripto peeked into the door and sees her. "Who could she be?" he asked. He became very suspicious about the girl snake. Her body scales are green, her mouth scales are black, and her eyes are azure, but is it the same Princess Viper? "Aunt Minnie! Alice! Wendy!" she called, as she hung up the cloak. "Where is everybody?" said Viper, wondering where they were.

Then she suddenly gasped when she saw the green dress and the cake and became very happy. "Surprise, surprise!" Minnie, Alice, and Wendy cheered in unison, as they all came out of their hiding place to surprise Cherry Blossom.

"Happy birthday, Cherry Blossom!" said Alice, hugging Cherry Blossom.

"Oh you darlings, this is the happiest day of my life. Everything's so wonderful! Just wait till you meet him!" said Cherry Blossom, hugging them back.

"Him?" said Alice, being startled when Cherry Blossom mentioned someone.

"Cherry Blossom!" gasped Wendy, who also seemed surprised.

"You-You've met some stranger?" asked Minnie.

"Oh he's not a stranger," Cherry Blossom explained. "we've met before."

"You have?" said Minnie.

"Where?" asked Wendy.

"Once upon a dream!" Cherry Blossom said dreamily, and she began to sing *Once Upon A Dream*.

Cherry Blossom: *I know you*
*I walked with you*
*Once upon a dream*

The female mouse and human girls looked at each other with confused looks. They didn't know what was going on with Cherry Blossom. Then Cherry Blossom took Alice by the hand and danced with her. Then Alice noticed the cause of her behavior and realized. "She's in love!" said Alice.

"Oh no!" said Wendy.

"This is terrible!" said Minnie.

Then Cherry Blossom stopped singing and dancing and became confused by what they said. And she didn't understand what was going on. "Why? After all, I *am* seventeen." said Cherry Blossom.

The female mouse and two human girls then began to know that it was time to tell her the truth. "It isn't that, dear." said Minnie.

"You're already betrothed?" said Alice.

"Betrothed?" said Cherry Blossom, still confused.

"Since the day you were born." answered Wendy.

"To Prince Crane, dear." Alice agreed.

"But that's impossible!" said Cherry Blossom, "How could I marry a prince, I'd have to be..."

"A princess?" Wendy finished, smiling.

"And you are, dear!" said Alice.

"Princess Viper!" said Minnie.

Then Ripto became surprised when it heard this. "Ah! So *that's* the princess! I must tell Messina right away!" He smiled evilly, knowing that he has found the princess. Then he ran off to tell Messina the news.

"Tonight, we're taking you back to your father, King Li Shang." Minnie told Viper.

Viper's eyes started to fill up with tears. "But...but I can't!" she said, "He's coming here tonight. I promised to meet him."

"I'm sorry, child," said Minnie, taking Cherry Blossom's tail in her hand. "But you must never see that young bird again."

Cherry Blossom became shocked when she heard it and began to cry, thinking she would never see that same bird again. Soon, she began to shed tears. "Oh, no, no!" sobbed Cherry Blossom. "I can't believe it. No, no!" The female mouse, the Wonderlandian girl, and the Neverlandian girl tried to comfort her, but she suddenly slithered upstairs to her room, crying.

Minnie, Alice, and Wendy sadly looked at each other. "And we thought she'd be so happy." said Wendy. A tear slid down Minnie's cheek.

Cherry Blossom continued to cry on her bed throughout the afternoon, thinking about the bird she fell in love with.