by Sally Rippin
She calls to Billie’s dad.
Billie climbs out of bed and helps her mum downstairs. Billie’s dad rushes around finding all the things they will need for hospital.
Suddenly Billie gets a funny feeling in her tummy.‘Can I come with you?’ she says.
‘No, sweetheart,’ says her dad. ‘Remember, we said that you will stay at Jack’s house when the baby comes.’
‘How long will you be?’ asks Billie, feeling worried.
‘I don’t know, Billie,’ says her mum.
She squeezes Billie’s hand. ‘But just think—next time you see me, you will have a little baby brother or sister!’
But Billie has decided she doesn’t want a silly old baby anymore. She wants her mummy!Billie scrunches up her face and tries not to cry.
‘It’s all right, Billie,’ says her dad gently.
Jack’s mum comes over to pick up Billie. They watch Billie’s mum and dad drive off.
Billie’s mum blows a kiss but Billie looks down at the ground. She doesn’t want them to go without her.
Jack’s mum gives Billie a cuddle. ‘I’ve made a bed for you in Jack’s room,’ she says. They walk next door.
Jack is already asleep. His mum tucks Billie into the spare bed.
Jack’s room looks strange in the dark. Billie wishes she was back in her own bed.
Suddenly she sits up.
‘Mr Fred!’ she whispers. ‘I need Mr Fred!’
‘Oh dear. We’ll get him tomorrow,’ says Jack’s mum.
‘How about you sleep with one of Jack’s toys tonight?’
Jack’s mum gives Billie a big blue teddy bear. He is very soft and cuddly. But he’snot like Mr Fred.
Billie lies in the dark.
Her tummy is curling up with worry.
She can’t remember where she put Mr Fred!
You remember where he is though, don’t you?
The next day, Billie has breakfast with Jack’s family. But she doesn’t feel very hungry.
Just then there is a knock on the door. It’s Billie’s dad!
‘Billie!’ he says excitedly. ‘Guess what? You have a baby brother!’
‘A brother?’ Billie says, frowning. ‘But I wanted a sister! Who will wear all my baby dresses now?’
‘Oh, Billie,’ says her dad, giving her a cuddle. ‘You should see him.
He’s beautiful! And I’m sure he’ll look lovely in your pretty pink dresses.’
Billie giggles.‘Where’s Mum?’ she asks.‘Is she coming home now?’
‘Not yet,’ her dad says. ‘Mum has to rest. She will be at the hospital for a few days. But we can go and see her.’
‘A few days!’ Billie says crossly. ‘But I want Mum to come home now.’ She stamps her foot.
Billie’s dad sighs.
He thanks Jack’s parents for looking after Billie. Billie and her dad go back home for Billie to get dressed.
Billie feels all jumbled up inside. She is excited to see her new baby brother. But she also feels a teensy bit cross that he is a boy, not a girl.
She is excited to see her mum, but she is also cross that her mum is not coming home yet. All these feelings bubble up inside Billie’s tummy like a milkshake.
Then she remembers.
‘Mr Fred!’ she says. ‘I have to find Mr Fred to give to the new baby!’
‘OK,’ says her dad. ‘But quickly. Mum is waiting for us.’
Billie looks everywhere for Mr Fred. She looks under her bed. No Mr Fred. Then she checks her toy box. Not there either!
She checks all the places Mr Fred could be. But he is nowhere to be found.
‘We have to go now,’ Billie’s dad says.‘We can give Mr Fred to the baby next time.’
‘No!’ says Billie. ‘I want Mr Fred!’ She stamps her feet.
‘Billie!’ says her dad. He is looking very tired. ‘Come on. You have to be a big girl now.’
‘But I don’t want to be a big girl!’ Billie cries. ‘I want to be a baby too!’
Billie’s dad bends down and gives her a big hug.
‘It’s OK,’ he says gently. ‘You will always be my baby girl, Billie. Now how about we go see Mum?
We can look for Mr Fred again when we get home.’
Billie stops crying and gives her dad a big cuddle.
Billie and her dad arrive at the hospital. Her mum is sitting up in bed. She holds out her arms and Billie jumps onto the bed for a cuddle.
Billie’s mum points to a plastic cot next to the bed. ‘There’s your little brother,’she says.‘His name is Noah. Isn’t he adorable?’
Billie looks into the plastic cot. Noah is wrapped up like a fat white caterpillar. His face is all squishy and red. He doesn’t look very adorable to Billie.
‘Would you like a hold?’ her mum asks.
‘Nah,’ says Billie, snuggling up to her mum.‘Maybe later.’
Billie’s mum lets her change the channels on the TV. Then Billie tells her mum about poor lost Mr Fred.
Soon it is time to go. Billie kisses her mum goodbye. She even gives Noah a kiss. He smells nice. Like banana pancakes!
‘Bye-bye, baby!’ Billie says softly.
Just then Noah opens his eyes. He looks straight up at Billie. A little smile creeps over his tiny face. Then he closes his eyes again.
‘He smiled at me!’ Billie gasps.
‘Wow, Billie! You’re the first person he’s smiled at,’ her mum says.
‘That’s because he knows you’re his big sister,’ her dad says.
Billie feels very proud. She is the first person her baby brother has smiled at.
He likes her! Maybe it will be fun to be a big sister after all.
‘OK, time to go,’ says her dad.‘Let’s go home and look for Mr Fred, shall we?’
When they get home, Jack is waiting on Billie’s front doorstep.
He has something in his arms. Something big and furry and wet and muddy.
‘Mr Fred!’ Billie says.
‘Oh dear,’ says her dad. ‘Did you leave him out in the rain?’
Billie nods. She gives poor old Mr Fred a big cuddle.
She has missed him so much!
‘I don’t think I want to give Mr Fred to Noah anymore,’ Billie says.
‘After all, Mr Fred is a bit old and dirty for our new baby.’
Billie knows that being a big sister will be fun most days. But some days she might want to be a baby, too. She will need Mr Fred on those days.
‘But what will you give the baby?’ Jack asks.
Billie smiles.‘Our new baby needs a new teddy bear,’ she says. ‘Just for him!’
Then she giggles. ‘And do you know what else? I think Mr Fred needs a bath!’
Billie B Brown has ten invitations, two packets of balloons and one box of coloured pencils. Do you know what the B in Billie B Brown stands for?
Birthday.
Soon it will be Billie B Brown’s birthday. Isn’t that exciting?
Billie is allowed to invite ten friends to her birthday party. This is very hard for Billie. There are twenty-one people in her class.
Billie wants to invite everyone, but her mum and dad say no, no and NO. They say ten noisy kids is plenty!
Billie is writing out her invitations. Jack is helping her decide who to invite to her party. Jack is Billie’s best friend. He lives next door.
‘I know!’ Billie says, counting on her fingers. ‘There are exactly ten girls in our class, not including me. I will just invite the girls.’
Jack frowns.‘What about me?’ he says.
‘Oh,’ says Billie.‘Of course.’
Billie can’t have a party without Jack!
‘Well, maybe I won’t invite Lola. She can be very annoying,’ Billie says. ‘How about nine girls and one boy?’
‘Then Lola will be the only girl not invited,’ says Jack. ‘She won’t like that. You’ll hurt her feelings. And then she will be cross.’
‘You’re right,’ says Billie.
&
nbsp; ‘Maybe you should invite five girls and five boys?’ Jack says.‘That’s fair.’
‘Good idea,’ says Billie. But it’s still no good. Billie can only think of four boys she would like to invite. The other boys are just too loud and silly.
Oh dear. What a headache!
In the end, Billie decides to invite four boys and six girls.
Billie’s mum writes everything on a piece of paper for Billie to copy. Her mum has to write quickly because Billie’s baby brother Noah is hungry.
She writes:
Billie copies out all the invitations in coloured pencil.
Here is one of Billie’s invitations. Doesn’t it look pretty?
It is only five sleeps until Billie’s party. She is very excited. Each day at school she checks that everyone is coming.
She has to whisper because she doesn’t want the kids who aren’t invited to feel left out.
‘Are you coming to my party this Saturday?’ Billie whispers to Poppy in class.
‘Yes!’ says Poppy. ‘You’ve asked me ten times already, Billie.’
‘Are you getting me a present?’ Billie asks.
‘Billie, Poppy, no whispering in class,’ Ms Walton says.
But Billie is so excited she can hardly keep still.
‘My goodness,’ Ms Walton says.‘Did you eat jumping beans for breakfast, Billie?’
Ms Walton makes Billie sit in the front row because she won’t stop wriggling.
Every afternoon, Billie and Jack plan the games that they will play at Billie’s party.
Billie has a special purple notebook where she writes down the list of games. Everyday it changes.
Soon the list looks like this:
Every night, Billie asks her mum and dad how many sleeps until her party.
Every night her dad says,‘One sleep less than the last time you asked, Billie.’
‘Don’t worry, Billie,’ says her mum.
‘Nobody is going to forget your party!’
But Billie lies in bed and worries.
What if they don’t like the games? she thinks. What if they don’t like the food?What if the boys won’t play with the girls? Or worst of all, what if• nobody comes?
Finally, it is Saturday. Billie rushes into her mum and dad’s bedroom to see if they are awake. Billie’s mum is sitting up feeding Noah.
Her dad is fast asleep. Billie jumps up and down on the bed to wake him.
Billie’s dad rubs his eyes and yawns. Then he reaches under the bed and pulls out their birthday presents for Billie.
‘Happy birthday, Billie!’ her mum and dad say.
Billie opens her presents. She has lots of lovely things. She feels very lucky.
‘Careful. Don’t let Noah eat the paper!’ her mum laughs.
Billie and Noah and their mum and dad have a big birthday cuddle on the bed.
Suddenly Billie sits up.
‘What time is it?’ she asks. ‘Is it nearly time for my party?’
‘No, Billie, you have lots of time,’ her mum says. ‘Your friends aren’t coming until twelve-thirty. Besides, you’re going to Jack’s for a special birthday breakfast,remember?’
‘Twelve-thirty!’ says Billie.
‘That’s ages away. Can I stay and play with Jack after breakfast?’
‘OK,’ says Billie’s mum. ‘Dad and I will get up soon and get ready for the party.’
Billie puts on her dressing gown and runs downstairs and out into the back garden.
Then she squeezes through the hole in the fence into Jack’s garden.
Jack is sitting at his kitchen table. Billie knocks on the back door.
‘Come in,’ says Jack’s mum. ‘Happy birthday, Billie! We’re making your favourite breakfast. Banana pancakes!’
‘Yum!’ says Billie.
Jack’s mum makes a special plate of banana pancakes for Billie, with honey and sprinkles.
Jack gives Billie a present. It is a Lego set! Just what she wanted.
Billie and Jack sit in the lounge room and build a super-dooper rocket ship.
Suddenly, Billie looks up. ‘What time is it?’ she asks.
‘Quarter past twelve,’ says Jack.
‘Quick!’ says Billie. ‘Everyone will be here soon! I have to get ready!’
Billie and Jack run next door to Billie’s house. Billie goes upstairs and puts on her special party dress. Then she runs downstairs to the kitchen.
‘Just in time!’ says Billie’s mum, smiling. ‘Everything is all ready for your party. Dad is just putting Noah to sleep.
Why don’t you two sit on the front step to wait for everyone?’
‘Yay!’ say Billie and Jack. They run outside.
‘What time is it?’ says Billie.
Jack looks at his watch. ‘It’s twelve-thirty,’ he says. ‘Anyone from now on is officially late!’
Billie giggles.‘Don’t worry, they’ll be here soon. I checked with everyone and they all said they were coming.’
Billie and Jack wait. They wait and they wait and they wait.
But nobody comes.
‘What time is it now, Jack?’ Billie asks in a little voice.
Jack looks worried. He looks down at his watch.‘It’s nearly one o’clock,’ he says.
Billie frowns. Her friends can’t all be late.
Then she gets a funny feeling in her tummy. Her bottom lip begins to quiver and a big tear rolls down her face.
Nobody is coming to her birthday party!
Billie’s mum comes out the front door.‘My goodness!’ she says.‘They are late!’
Billie bursts into tears. ‘They’re not coming!’ she cries.‘Nobody is coming to my birthday party! Nobody likes me!’
Billie’s mum gives Billie a cuddle.‘Did you give out all the invitations?’ she asks.
‘Yes!’ sobs Billie.
‘Did you check that everyone could make it?’ says her mum.
‘Yes!’ sobs Billie.‘Of course I did! Every day!’
Billie cries and cries. This is the worst birthday ever. Not one of her school friends is coming to her party.
‘Are you sure you wrote the right date and time on the invitation?’ Billie’s mum asks.
‘Saturday the fourth of April at twelve-thirty?’
‘Yes, yes and yes !’ says Billie crying even louder.
But Jack frowns. He looks like he is remembering something.
Can you remember?
Jack runs next door. A few minutes later, he runs back to Billie and her mum. He is waving the invitation in his hand and he has a huge smile on his face.
Do you know why?
Go back to have another look at the invitation.
That’s right! Billie wrote down the wrong time on the invitations.
Instead of twelve-thirty, she wrote two-thirty!
Billie’s mum wrote so quickly that Billie couldn’t read her writing properly.
Of course her friends are coming!
Billie wipes her eyes and laughs loudly. Jack and Billie’s mum laugh too. What a mix-up!
Billie B Brown Collection 1
published in 2014 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street
Richmond,Victoria 3121, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au
This ebook is also available as a print edition in all good bookstores.
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A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia
eISBN 9781743582886
Text copyright © 2014 Sally Rippin
Illustration copyright © 2014 Aki Fukuoka
Logo and design copyright © 2014 Hardie Grant Egmont
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