Burly Girls, Bowheads, Young Studs, and the Old Bunch were in her sights, to make certain all the rules were observed and nobody made a spectacle of themselves. They were all there and she was there as well, to assure the good life for every member. The first part of the long table was occupied by eight couples, which included a man and a woman of about sixty who were the only ones who did not have a child, at least that could be seen. They were the parents. There was not an empty seat at the second table, where couples had been sitting around, with a space in the center of the table for the big table on which lay the birthday cake. A few big dogs, from the street, with long blond hair, surrounded the parents of the child. The parents were seated on one side of the table and the animals on the other. The guests, with their backs to the door, could only see all this when the door was opened. The door opened and in stepped Mrs. Burly Girl, holding a large pink cake, with a big yellow candle in the middle, which she quickly put on the table, before going to hug her husband who kissed her warmly. Once they were seated, she said, to the assembly, "My, it was so long until the birthday of this little flower. My husband and I were worried and were not sure if we would be able to get here." "It's nice that you came, sweetie, now let's eat." "We have many things to do first. First, we need to cut the cake." The guests applauded. They knew their rules. Once everyone was seated, with their plates in front of them, Mrs. Burly Girl lifted the cover and began cutting the cake, while singing a song which she knew perfectly. They all applauded and sang along with her. After dinner, the children were invited to sit on their father's lap. The cake was taken to the kitchen and in the kitchen it was divided, as usual, by the cooks and volunteers. The same procedure was carried out with all the cakes, a slice was cut for the cooks, a slice for the volunteers, and two pieces were kept in reserve in case of an emergency. Mrs. Burly Girl, next to Mrs. Young Stud, grabbed a plate, and passed it to the father of the guest of honor, while her husband looked on and did his best to keep her away. When she came back to her place, she gave the volunteer who had helped her a slice of the cake, under the table. "A toast, my man, today is our child's birthday, and he's growing up." The father of the guest of honor asked for a whisky and after a toast to the father, to the mother, and to all his guests, the two of them stood up and everyone sang "Happy Birthday." The guests remained seated while the couple disappeared into the kitchen to see how it went. Soon they came back carrying two slices, which the father quickly handed over to his wife, while the guests laughed and clapped as he made a face in front of everyone. The two slices were given to the volunteer who had helped. Then they left again to see if their cake was there. Once the kitchen was clean and the kitchen workers had gone home, it was time to open the big presents. The gifts were all wrapped, since it was a children's birthday. The youngsters were all seated on a sofa at the side of the living room, and each was holding a wrapped present. The parents each gave a present to their child. The first present that was handed out was that of the Old Bunch, a set of toys, including a doll for each child and even for the dogs and a game for each of them. This was followed by the Burly Girls gift, each girl received her own toy, with a box for the large dog, which was also included. The children were all excited, except for one small girl who cried as she watched her mother put a very large box next to her and her parents take the big dog away. The big dog who was the guest of honor moved next to the little girl. "I am so sorry, but this must be done, sweetie. You see how many presents there are. I will help you find a nice gift from one of them." The father of the guest of honor and the mother of the child both smiled at each other, remembering how many times they did the same thing with their child when he was younger. The girl was crying. "My puppy is going away. What am I supposed to do without him?" The Burly Girl held out her hand to help her. "Come on, sweetie, you will make me cry, too. Let's go to the living room and I will show you something." The girl followed her mother's hand, and was soon following her to the living room, where she was given a present which she carefully opened. It was a teddy bear, from the old ladies' group. "This is for you, sweetie. It is a nice one." The girl smiled, and got back on her feet. "I want my puppy back." The mother of the guest of honor gently took her back to the living room, and they sat down on a sofa, while the guests were busy with their gifts. The girl sat on the floor and sobbed for a long while. The big dog was still by her side. He put his hand on her knee. "Come on now, that's enough tears." The girl nodded, and the woman gave her a hug. "It is over. Come on and let's make the next present open." They walked into the living room, while the guests continued to be very busy with their gifts. The next present was given by one of the young men. He put a cap on his head and put it inside a box. He then gave it to the boy, who put it on his head. "What's this, brother?" "This is the birthday cap." The birthday boy put his arms around him, and the father of the guest of honor placed a red ribbon around his neck. The entire party was watching them as they embraced and kissed each other on the cheek. "What's this?" asked the mother of the guest of honor, to see what was going on. "He's your birthday boy, so I will give him the present for you." The mother of the guest of honor brought him a gift, from an old box, which she gave to the young boy. She was smiling as she said to her son, "You will remember this for the rest of your life, you have a gift from your mother." "I know, mama, you gave me my life. I will never forget what you did for me, mom. You gave me this present, to make me good. I will be the best of my generation. I am going to make my parents proud, and the Old Bunch will be proud too." "Your father will be proud, too." The small boy was not crying. "I can do it, mom. I will not disappoint my parents, or the Old Bunch." "See, mom, I'm already on my way. And I will succeed, believe me." The big dog was beside the boy. "And what do you think of this cap? The man also said you can take it off whenever you want. It fits very nicely, so it can be used. He also said you can wear it whenever you want, as much as you want." "Thank you very much, big dog." "You are welcome." The next present was given by one of the other mothers, and she gave it to her son. "Let's see what you got, son." The young boy took off the wrapping, revealing a large box, and he opened it, inside there was a toy car, which was for him. "That's great, mom. Thank you so much for making me the best present I could ask for." "I knew you'd love this gift, as it was my own, and only for your birthday. And now, I also have something for you." The young boy put his arms around his mother and they hugged each other. "Mom, I am so glad to be with you." The girl was not crying anymore. The guests of honor were all happy and the only one who was not smiling was the mother of the guest of honor, as she was still looking for her son and he was not where he was supposed to be. "What happened to him, mom?" "It's over, he had a bit too much to drink. He's gone to have a beer, or he may have went to walk the dog. The young man was helping us carry the gifts to the kitchen and he left with his young wife." "No problem." "You know what, this party was a great success, and so, we have everything ready for the Old Bunch meeting. All that is left for us to do is to go, and it's already late. And so, let's go." The mother of the guest of honor walked to the door and was followed by all the guests. They were about to go outside when someone said that there were more presents. They all looked, but