名稱：alligator eyebrows for mother’s day
內容簡介：
Dear Arizona,
　 The harder I try to think of the perfect Mother’s Day gift, the more frustrated I become. Do you have any suggestions?
　 — Desperate Daughter in Delaware

Dear Desperate,
　 My mom gives me so much all year long that I always try to think of the perfect something to say “thank you” on Mother’s Day. But last year I was fresh out of ideas! I had the perfect gift bag, but when it came to figuring out what to put in it—well, that was a different story.

“Cool bag!” said Tex. “What’s inside?”

“Mom’s Mother’s Day present,” I answered.

“Can I see?” asked Indi.

“Sure.” I opened it up.

“Hey!” said Tex. “It’s empty!”

“I thought you said Mother’s Day, not April Fools’ Day,” said Indi. “But you tricked us!”

I sighed. “It wasn’t a trick. I’ve been trying to think of the perfect present all week, and now Mother’s Day is tomorrow and I still don’t have anything! You know how Mom loves to laugh? Well, I want to give her something hilarious, but I can’t seem to come up with anything even a tiny bit funny!”

“It’s a pretty big bag,” said Indi.

“Maybe we could all put our presents inside.”

“Hmm,” I said. “You know, that’s an excellent idea. Go ahead and put your presents in the bag. Maybe once it’s not empty, I won’t feel so much pressure, and it’ll be easier for me to think of something.”

“OK,” said Tex.

“OK,” said Indi.

“So, go on and get your things,” I said.

“Um,” said Indi, “actually, I don’t have a present for Mommy yet, either.”

“Neither do I,” mumbled Tex.

“You guys!” I cried. “Why did you even make that suggestion in the first place? We’re running out of time.”

“Wait,” said Indi. “I know what we could do. Follow me!”

She marched into the kitchen and got out the container of cardmaking supplies.

“I don’t mean to be a partypooper,” I said. “Cards are always fantastic, but I’ve made Mom at least a trillion cards for every birthday, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Mother’s Day that I can remember. I want to do something different.”

“Then how about breakfast in bed?” said Indi.

I thought about that. “You know, that may be the beginning of a brilliant plan. We could make a special Mother’s Day menu for tomorrow morning, and Mom can choose what she wants to eat.”

Tex found a big piece of yellow paper. “Let’s make a giant menu that fills up the whole bag!”

“Yeah, and we could decorate it extra nicely,” I said. “I guess it’s not that important to give her something funny.”

“We could make funny food,” said Tex. “Like Alligator Eyebrows!”

“And Worm Pancakes!” said Indi.

I laughed. “That sounds completely ridiculous! Mom will love it.”

We worked all afternoon on our menu, and at last that perfect gift bag had something in it.

The next morning when Mom read her special menu, I seriously wondered if she was ever going to stop laughing. “Octopus and Eggs?” she said. “Worm Pancakes? Mouse Salad and Alligator Eyebrows? How in the world did you silly beans come up with this stuff?”

Making the food was a little challenging. Luckily, my dad was up for helping us out in the kitchen. He cut slits into some hot dogs, and when we boiled them in water, they really did become amazingly octopuslike. Indi threw a couple of gummy worms into the pancake batter, then put another one on top of the stack when they were done. I made mice out of strawberries, using almond slivers for ears, mini chocolate chips for noses, sprinkles for eyes, and red-lace licorice for tails. And Tex made his Alligator Eyebrows out of celery and peanut butter.

Anyway, dear Desperate, my mom liked her homemade menu and breakfast so much last year that she asked us to do the whole thing again for this Mother’s Day! If breakfast doesn’t work for your family, maybe you could try custom pizzas for lunch or sundaes for dessert.

Just try not to stress out the way I did, because it really is true: moms pretty much always like anything you make with love.

Ciao for now,

Arizona