Marty invited me and all the other kids to his birthday party. My mother said, "I’ll cut your hair before the party."
"Don’t cut too much!" I said.
"But it’s much too long," she said as she snipped.
When I looked in the mirror, she had cut far too much. And she had made three bald spots on my head! "Now I won’t have any fun at Marty’s party," I thought.
I covered the bald spots with my cowboy hat and went out to play.
"Why are you wearing your cowboy hat?" asked Joe.
"Because I want to," I said.
"But it’s hot," said Diane. "Your head will sweat."
"It’s good for your head to sweat. Sweat makes your hair grow faster, doesn’t it?"
"We’re going to buy a present for Marty," said Diane. "Come with us."
"Okay." But I said to myself, "I might not go to Marty’s party now that I have three bald spots and have to wear a cowboy hat."
All my friends were at the store buying presents for Marty.
"Why is he wearing that cowboy hat?" asked the man behind the counter.
"So that his head will sweat," replied Diane.
"Sweat makes your hair grow faster," said Joe and Diane together.
I thought, "I have good friends. They always know what to say."
I even wore my cowboy had to school. "Why don’t you take off your hat?" asked my teacher.
"I can’t," I answered. "I have to cover my bald spots," I added, but only to myself. I wore my cowboy hat to the dinner table too. My father said, "Take off that hat at the dinner table." Dad’s got a large bald spot. I looked at it, and decided that I couldn’t explain, so I took off my hat.
After dinner I went to my bedroom, locked the door and looked I the mirror to see if my hair had grown. It hadn’t. "If I wear my cowboy hat to bed," I thought, "my head can sweat all night and maybe my hair will grow." But first thing in the morning I looked in the mirror - and I could still see three bald spots.
Joe and Diane came round to my house. "Are you ready for the party?" asked Joe.
"Yes," I said. "But I won’t have fun," I said to myself.
"Are you going to wear that cowboy hat?" asked Diane.
"Yes," I answered. And, I said to myself, "No-one goes to a birthday party with three bald spots."
We all walked to Marty’s party - first Joe with Marty’s present, then Diane with Marty’s present, then me with Marty’s present - and my three bald spots.
We rang Marty’s doorbell and his mother let us in, but she looked very cross. "Everyone’s here, but Marty won’t come out of his room!"
I went upstairs and peeked into Marty’s bedroom. Marty was looking in the mirror and crying. "Aren’t you coming to your party?" I asked.
"No," said Marty. "I look funny." Marty was wearing his best clothes, and I thought he looked quite good.
"You don’t look funny to me."
"Mother cut my hair and made bald spots," said Marty.
So I looked closer, and Marty did have bald spots! Marty has a mother like mine. She had snipped too much!
I laughed, took off my cowboy hat, and showed Marty my bald spots. "Happy birthday, Marty," I said - and he laughed too!
So we went downstairs with our bald spots and had fun all afternoon.
Story Time � 1984-1989 by Rubicon Press CC