On a crisp, October morning, I woke up and noticed something unusual
about my bedroom.  Mom called, “Get ready for breakfast honey.!”  I jumped
out of bed and bumped into a bunch of balloons.
 
    Immediately I noticed that my whole room was filled with balloons.
Trying to get to my door was a chore.  I was swimming in a sea of balloons.
Red balloons, yellow balloons, green balloons, pink balloons, blue balloons
and white balloons surrounded me.  I screamed, “Mom, what’s going on?
What are all these balloons doing in my room?”
 
   Suddenly, my hand found the doorknob.  I fought to get out from under
the cloud of balloons.  When I opened the door, I felt a string.  The string was
tied to the doorknob.  It led me down the stairs.  I followed the string around
the corner into the living room.   The string was tied around cardboard box.

     For a few seconds I wondered if I should open the box.  “Mom, there’s a
box in here,” I shouted.  She didn’t answer me.  As my fingers rubbed the top
of the box, something moved inside.  I jumped back.  When I got the nerve, I
quickly opened the lid.  A little pink nose and two bright eyes peered back at
me.  My hands started shaking with excitement.  The box tipped over and the
little puppy wiggled up to me.
 
   “I think I’ll call him Popper.  His name will remind me of the fantastic
surprise I felt after seeing all those bright balloons.”