O ne day, Nemo, a little clown fish, was telling his dad, Marlin, about something their good friend Dory had done.
âYou know,â said Marlin, âDoryâs birthday is coming up. She mentioned it a while ago. But you know herâsheâs probably forgotten all about it.â
Nemo decided he wanted to do something special for Dory. After all, she was like family. I know, he thought, Iâll throw her a surprise birthday party!
At recess the next day, Nemo asked his friends, Pearl the octopus, Tad the butterfly fish, and Sheldon the sea horse to help plan Doryâs party.
âCount me in,â said Pearl.
âMe, too,â Sheldon agreed.
âI love parties!â Tad exclaimed.
âThen letâs meet right after school and start planning,â Nemo suggested.
That afternoon, the friends met near the sponge beds. Soon they were having a contest to see who could bounce the highest. After they declared Pearl the winner, they got down to work.
âWhat kind of food should we have at Doryâs party?â asked Nemo.
âKelp cake and algae ice cream,â Sheldon replied.
âWhat about sea-plant pizza?â asked Tad. âAnd salty seawater punch?â
âIâm getting hungry already,â said Nemo. âNow what should we do about music? I wish we knew a band.â
â W e could be the band,â said Pearl. âIâm great on the sand-dollar tambourines.â
âYeah, and I play the clamshell drums,â said Sheldon.
âGreat!â cried Nemo. âAnd Tad could strum some kelp while I play the conch shell. Letâs meet here tomorrow after school to practice.â
Back at their anemone home that evening, Nemo told Marlin about the party.
Marlin looked a little worried for a moment. Then he reminded himself how resourceful Nemo was. He smiled at his son. âThatâs a big project,â he said. âBut if you put your mind to it, Iâm sure you can do it.â
âI can, Dad!â Nemo said confidently. âDoryâs surprise party is going to be the best ever. Just wait and see.â
The next day, Nemo and his friends were swimming toward the sponge beds with their musical instruments when they bumped into Dory.
âHi Mimo! Hi kids!â Dory exclaimed. She had trouble remembering anything, especially Nemoâs name. âWhat are you up to?â
âEr . . . umm,â Nemo stammered.
âMusic-class homework,â Tad piped up.
âWell, have fun,â said Dory, swimming off in the other direction.
The friends smiled at each other and began to practice. At first, they didnât sound very good. But after a while, they began to hit their groove.
After school, the next afternoon, Nemo and his friends talked about who to invite to the party.
âWhat about Crush and Squirt?â Sheldon suggested. âSea turtles sure know how to have a good time.â
âEveryone from school, including Mr. Ray,â said Tad.
âAnd Iâll invite Bruce, Anchor, and Chum,â Nemo said.
âThose sharks will make everyone nervous,â said Pearl. âBut, if theyâre friends of Doryâs, I suppose we should invite them.â
âLetâs give them a job so they stay out of trouble,â said Nemo. âLike serving the punch. Okay, I think weâre all set.â
Tad, Pearl, Sheldon, and Nemo swam off to invite the guests.
Finally, it was the day of the party! Nemo and his friends woke up early and started decorating. Pearl talked some starfish into making a pretty pattern on a large piece of coral. Tad and Sheldon strung seaweed streamers everywhere. Then Nemo suggested they practice singing âHappy Birthday.â
The four friends began to sing. Just as they finished the line âHappy Birthday, dear Dory,â they heard another voice join in. It was Dory!
âI love singing!â she exclaimed. âHow did you know it was my