A 1-derful 40th to David!

1nce upon a time there was a boy who just loved
2 climb. Whenever he played hide and seek he would find the nearest
3 and climb it be
4 anyone saw him. “I’m going to count to
5!” his mother yelled, but he wouldn’t come down. She nearly worried herself
6 about him It-
7-ly up here, the boy thought while he sat in the tree and
8 a snack. “Are you up there?” his mama yelled from down below.
“9!” He yelled back.
“10, who said that?” The boy climbed down. The boy and his mother went back home to where they were
11 on the hill. They got home just as the clock struck
12. His mom had a lot to do. “I’ve got
13 things to do and
14 things running through my head and only
15 minutes to do them in. When I’m finished, I’ll play hide-and-seek with you again. But until then, please stay out of trouble. It only took him
16 seconds to climb the apple tree in the back yard.
…17,
18,
19,
20,
21,
22,
23,
24 a minute, he could hear his mother counting in the distance.
…25,
26,
27,
28,
29,
30! Ready or not, here I come! For
31derful minutes, the boy hid in the apple tree. He stuffed his mouth and pockets with little apples. How many could he fit?
…32,
33,
34,
35… If he ate them all, he’d make himself
36.
…37,
38,
39… His mother finally spotted him. “I see you! Now come on down—I have a surprise for you.” Well, a surprise—that was worth coming down for. The boy climbed down out of the tree. He walked around to the front of the house with his mom and there, sitting at a table set up in the front yard, were
40 friends, each holding a little seedling.

“Happy Birthday!!” They all yelled. “We got your own
4-est so you can climb as many
3s as you want!”
“2 cool!” He said. “This is my most 1derful birthday ever!”