Telescopresent/Transcript

It was just another lovely day on Harvey Street - the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the air was warm. One of the Harvey Girls, Audrey, was on the playground, scouting out for any intruders that might wander into this area. So far, she couldn't see anybody or anything.

But when she least expected it, the tip of someone’s forefinger tapped her shoulder, and she couldn't help but wince in surprise.

"Ah!" Audrey turned around, but quickly calmed down when she saw who was standing behind her. "Oh, hey, Lotta. What's up?"

"Hey, Audrey. Sorry if I startled you," Lotta apologized. "But I've got a little problem, and I wanted you to help me with it."

"Sure, why not?" Audrey replied.

"So it'll be Dot's birthday in a couple of weeks," Lotta started, "and I promised her we'd get her a really nice present. But I'm not sure what kind of present I wanna give her... What would you suggest, Audrey?"

Audrey thought for a few seconds, but couldn't come up with a particularly good idea, either.

"You know, that's a good question," said Audrey. "I could give her one of my old things, but I don't know how she'd feel about that."

"I was thinking we could get her something cool, but most of the stuff I found online are kinda pricey," Lotta said. "What do you think we should do?"

Audrey continued to think, but then smiled as an idea occurred to her. It probably wouldn't be easy, but she had a feeling it would be worth it.

"Lotta, hear me out," Audrey said, and Lotta nodded attentively. "This one time, I ate a ton of cereal just so I could collect the box tops and mail them away for a cool prize."

"You have?" Lotta asked.

"Yep. So I was thinking, what if we ate a ton of cereal, collected a bunch of box tops and mailed them away for a super sweet and awesome prize? Then we'll give it to Dot for her birthday and see how she likes it!"

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Lotta said, smiling in return. "But what cereal should we choose from? There's an awful lot... and they still haven't made any more Super Sweeto Cavity Blastems, so we can't eat those."

"Don't worry, Lotta," Audrey replied. "I know just the place where we can buy and eat all the deliciously yummy cereal we could ever want..."

"You don't mean?"

"Oh, I mean." Audrey raised her eyebrows a bit. She took Lotta’s hand and walked away from the playground, with Lotta following her close behind.

A few minutes later, Audrey and Lotta had arrived at a grocery store that was located a couple miles away from Harvey Street. Unlike most stores, however, this store sold one kind of thing only: boxes of breakfast cereal.

"Lotta? Say hi to Cereal Emporium, the most cereal-packed store you'll ever visit," said Audrey.

"Um... hi to Cereal Emporium?" Lotta wasn't sure she could actually say all of that, but Audrey chuckled a bit.

"All the best cereals get sold here," she mentioned as she and Lotta walked through the aisles. "Healthy ones, unhealthy ones, ones with free prizes inside, ones that have redeemable box tops, ones that have free prizes AND box tops, and pretty much, more or less, everywhere in between. And best of all, all of it's cheap!"

"Wow, wow, wow!" Lotta said in excitement. "I can't wait to see what cereals we end up with!"

"You and me both, Lotta," said Audrey. As they walked through the aisles, they took turns seeing what was available. "Let's see... Chocolate-Frosted Chunks... Super Awesome Rainbow Blast, now with seven different flavors..."

"How about some Yummy Fluffy Bunny Puffs?" Lotta asked, but Audrey just looked at her with a rather unamused look on her face. Lotta's expression quickly turned to sheepishness. "Just so you know, that's my favorite cereal."

"And just so you know, I'm not surprised," Audrey replied, almost sarcastically. She turned her head to keep looking, but the next cereal she saw caused her eyes to widen in disbelief. "Holy banana noodle!"

"What is it?!" Lotta wanted to know.

Audrey picked up the box of cereal she'd seen and looked at it. "This is Space n' Stars! Dot absolutely, totally LOVES this cereal!"

"Oh, that's right," replied Lotta. "So what are we gonna do? Just give her as much of this cereal as she wants for her birthday?"

"No, even better," said Audrey. "According to this box, if we collect one hundred box tops and mail them away, we'll receive one of the coolest, sweetest and epic-est telescopes a kid could ever have!" She turned back to Lotta, showing her the box. "Do you know what this means?!"

"Um, yeah?" said Lotta. "But you say it first."

"We've got to buy a hundred boxes of this cereal, save up these box tops, and get that telescope!" Audrey claimed. "It'll make Dot’s birthday one of the awesomest and happiest birthdays she's ever had!"

Lotta wasn't sure if they could complete all three of those tasks, but she nodded in understanding. At least it would be worth a try...

Soon Audrey and Lotta were back on Harvey Street, as well as inside the trailer that they as well as Dot often hung out in. Audrey and Lotta were busy eating bowl after bowl of Space n' Stars cereal, and they were surrounded by a hundred boxes of the same cereal. Each piece of the Space n’ Stars cereal was shaped like a star or a planet, and some of them were made of puffed rice, while others were marshmallows instead. They weren’t nearly as sweet as Super Sweeto Cavity Blastems, but they tasted great nonetheless.

"How you doing, Lotta?" Audrey asked, her mouth full.

Lotta swallowed before she replied. "I'm okay, but all this cereal is making my tummy feel funny."

"I know, but we've got to keep eating until we have enough box tops," Audrey replied. "And whatever you do, no matter what happens... Don't, tell, Dot!"

Almost as soon as she'd said that, however, the two girls heard a knock on the door to the trailer, followed by the same door opening. Audrey and Lotta gasped, then quickly hid all of their boxes of cereal as quickly as they could. Then they picked up their bowls to consume the remaining cereal they'd poured in, and then they put the bowls in the sink to be washed. And just a few moments after that, Dot came walking into the kitchen.

"Hello, Audrey. Hello, Lotta," she greeted them.

"Hey, Dot," Audrey replied, and Lotta said the same thing not long afterward. "So, uh, what's up?"

"I wouldn't say much, but I'm sure that'll change soon," Dot said. "Shall the three of us get down to business now?"

"Sure, why not?" Lotta replied with a nod.

From that point onward, Audrey, Dot and Lotta spent most of the day together. Luckily for Audrey and Lotta, Dot didn't question what they were doing prior to her arrival. When it was time for them to part ways for the night, however, Audrey and Lotta each took a couple boxes of their Space n' Stars cereal with them, making sure to hide them from Dot's view so she wouldn't notice or suspect anything. Audrey ate some from her box for a pre-bedtime snack and saved the rest for the morning, while Lotta decided not to eat any from her own box until the morning.

When the morning came, Audrey and Lotta returned to the trailer and resumed eating their cereal, including the boxes they'd brought home the night before.

"Hey, Audrey?" Lotta asked.

"Huh?" Audrey replied, her mouth full of crispy cereal.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but most of these cereals have a free prize inside," said Lotta. "They're mostly just stickers, though."

She reached into her box of cereal, pulling out a square of white paper. Indeed, the round stickers that were on it were modeled after each of the eight planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, as well as the dwarf planet Pluto. Aside from this, there were stickers of stars, comets, the sun and the moon as well.

"Huh, guess I didn't notice that," said Audrey. As she swallowed her cereal, Lotta shared an idea with her.

"I was thinking we could also make a card for Dot's birthday, and decorate it with these stickers before we give it to her. What do you think?"

"Are you kidding, Lotta?!" Audrey asked, her eyes wide. "That's genius!"

"I know, right?" Lotta said in agreement. "But let's do that later, when we've actually finished all this cereal."

"Sounds good."

For the next few hours, Audrey and Lotta continued to eat their supply of cereal, one bowl after another. Whenever one of the boxes were empty, they made sure they'd collected the sticker prizes that were waiting inside - although at least five boxes didn't contain any prizes, not that it bothered either of the girls - and then they detached the box tops and saved them for later. It took them a lot of time and patience, and they had to resist the urge to eat any other kind of food for the rest of the day, but it was worth it.

Soon they'd accumulated the exact number of box tops they needed to send away for the telescope.

With a look of clear anticipation on her face, Audrey placed all of the box tops in an envelope, and Lotta sealed it shut with one of her favorite bunny stickers. Then she wrote down the address of the company that the boxes of Space n' Stars cereal described, and then put it in the mailbox for the mailman to pick up.

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought I'd get even bigger than I already am..." Lotta said, holding her stomach.

"Now all we have to do is wait," Audrey replied, "and hope that maybe it'll get here before Dot's birthday. By the way, when's that?"

Lotta pulled out her smartphone and opened her Calendar app to check the day. "About a week and a day from now."

"Good, that'll give us some time," Audrey said with a smile. "But in the meantime, we've still got those stickers we got from the boxes, and I think we've got some other card-making stuff somewhere..."

"Oh, that's right," Lotta said, remembering when she brought that up. "Let's go make that card for Dot."

Audrey and Lotta headed back to the trailer, turning their heads this way and that as they went. Neither of them could see any sign of Dot, however. When they got to the trailer, however, they saw that Dot had already arrived there.

“Oh!” Audrey said in surprise before she greeted her. “Hey, Dot.”

“Hey. guys,” Dot replied. “How are you?”

“I’m alright, thanks,” Audrey said.

“Me, too,” Lotta replied. “So now that we’re here, what do you think we should do?”

“I was thinking we could help defend the kids from the Bloogey Boys,” Dot suggested. “I saw Melvin with Fredo and Pinkeye a few minutes ago, but I’m not exactly sure what they’re up to.”

“Well, whatever it is,” Audrey said, “they better not mess with any of our friends!”

“Yeah, and especially not any of us!” Lotta agreed. “Let’s go!”

With that, Audrey, Dot and Lotta headed out of the trailer and proceeded onto another day of protecting Harvey Street. Aside from defeating the Bloogey Boys with some water balloons, they also helped with the lost and found section, giving all of the lost toys and items to the children who had missed them. By the end of the day, all of the kids were happy and satisfied, and the same was for the Harvey Girls.

Early the next morning, however, Audrey and Lotta woke up and met at the trailer. Once they were inside, Lotta brought out a blank card as well as an envelope that was intended for it, and Audrey brought out a few of the astrological stickers from the boxes of cereal. They got to work, writing some text on the outside and the inside of the card, and then decorating it with stickers of stars, the sun, the moon and the planets. Satisfied, they placed this card in an envelope, sealing it closed with a picture of the moon. On the backside of the envelope, Lotta wrote Dot’s name in a rather cute cursive font.

“Now let’s hide this where Dot would never think to look,” Lotta said, and Audrey nodded in agreement.

Indeed, they did hide the card where Dot would never think to look. It was a spot only they knew about, and they did everything in their power to remember that spot. Luckily, Dot didn’t know what they were planning for her, even as the week and the day went by.

Eventually, however, the day of Dot’s birthday had arrived. By that point, the telescope that Audrey and Lotta had ordered for her had long arrived in Audrey's mailbox, and once they’d removed the packaging from it, she and Lotta wrapped the waiting telescope in a colorful, spotted wrapping paper that they were certain would attract Dot's attention. Once it was wrapped and taped shut, Lotta stuck a tag sticker on the front of it and wrote, “To Dot, from Audrey and Lotta.”

In addition to the present and the card, Audrey and Lotta also threw a party for Dot’s birthday, inviting Lucretia, Tiny and Richie Rich to it. Lucretia helped with the decorations and Tiny brought some party hats and party favors, while Richie ordered around eighteen chocolate cupcakes on same-day delivery for the occasion. When Dot arrived at the party, it was safe to say that she was equal parts surprised and pleased.

Lotta presented her with the card that she and Audrey had made for her, and reading it was enough to warm Dot’s heart.

“Audrey, Lotta, this card is absolutely beautiful,” said Dot.  “Thank you very much for it.”

“It’s the least we could do, Dot,” Audrey replied. “But that’s not the only thing we’ve got for you.” She turned around, picked up her present, then turned back around and handed it to Dot. “Happy Birthday, Dot.”

“Thank you, Audrey,” Dot replied with a smile.

She set the present down and began to remove the wrapping paper from it. As she did, Lotta, Lucretia, Tiny and Richie approached her to watch her open her present. Once all of the paper had been removed, and it was revealed what was underneath, Dot’s eyes widened and pupils shrunk in disbelief.

“Mother of Marie Curie…” Dot said quietly, before she looked up at both of her best friends. “You two got me a telescope?!”

“Yep!” Audrey said with a nod. “What do you think? Is it awesome or what?”

“Indeed, it is. But there’s something I must tell you, Audrey and Lotta,” Dot started. “I am absolutely moved. Thanks to this gift and this card that you two have given me, you’ve improved my birthday by well over a hundred percent. Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome, Dot,” said Lotta.

“Don’t mention it,” Audrey replied in agreement. “That’s what friends are for.”

“Indeed, it is,” Dot agreed. “Care for a group hug?”

She brought both of her arms out for Audrey and Lotta to see, and the three of them shared a big hug, one that lasted for a very long moment. It was a moment none of them wanted to end, but at some point it did, and they let go of each other.

“I have a feeling that I’ll definitely enjoy using this telescope,” Dot said. “Where’d you two get it?”

“Actually, we sent in a hundred box tops from a bunch of Space n’ Stars cereal boxes for it,” Audrey admitted, almost without realizing. Once she’d finished explaining, however, her eyes widened, and both of her hands moved up to cover her mouth.

But Dot chuckled. “Well, that was very thoughtful of you. If I knew that was how you were going to obtain this, I would have offered to help you collect those box tops.”

“Yeah, well, we wanted it to be a surprise,” said Lotta.

“That’s understandable, but it’s alright,” said Dot. “You didn’t have to surprise me, even if it is my birthday. What matters is that you’ve made me happy, and you cannot begin to imagine how much I appreciate you making me happy.”

Audrey smiled. “Yeah, not wrong there.”

Indeed, Dot spent the entirety of her birthday with a smile on her face. The cupcakes that she, Audrey, Lotta and the others ate were delicious, and the games that they played - Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and a dance party that featured their favorite Crush4U songs - were a lot of fun. They also took a few selfies with one another so that the memories of the party would remain with them. At the end of the day, however, when the party had finished and the sun had gone down for the night, Audrey and Lotta went with Dot to her house so they could help her set up the telescope. They made sure to follow the instructions, and soon it was finished.

For about an hour, Audrey, Dot and Lotta were taking turns looking through the telescope. They could see a variety of different things: the moon, the constellations formed by the stars, a plane that flew by. Audrey also spotted a shooting star through the telescope, but it was visible only for a split second, and Dot and Lotta were a bit too late to get a good look at it. It was alright, though, because she’d already made her wish once it had passed.

She wished that she, Dot and Lotta would remain best friends forever. It was a wish that had probably already come true, but it didn’t hurt to make sure it would in case it hadn’t.

Finally, it was time for Audrey and Lotta to go home. They wished Dot a happy birthday, and she thanked them once more for the card they’d made for her, the telescope they’d set up for her, and of course, the fantastic party. As she watched the two of them head out of her house and disperse to return to their homes, and even as she changed into her pajamas and crawled into her bed, Dot kept her smile.

Before she went to sleep, however, she placed the homemade card with the space stickers in an open spot on her desk. From here on out, every time she sat down at that desk, she could read the card again if she wanted to. It would remind her of the memories she and her friends had made that day, and the amount of fun they’d had along the way. With that in mind, Dot lay her head upon her pillow and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep, and still with her smile on her face. She knew she had to find a way to repay her friends for giving her such a wonderful birthday, but that was an idea she was going to start thinking about in the morning.