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After they had each had several pony rides, the Lotsaluck children sat at the picnic table in Alger Park and poured nice cool drinks of Dr. Sebald's Fizzy Tonic. Giggling, Laurie proposed a toast to happiness, and gave an improptu peroration, a word which here means "long speech that her siblings gladly listened to without any annoyance," as the glasses rang.
"Sunny days like this one are great for having tasty cakes and riding friendly ponies! The groundskeeper says that it always makes her so happy to see a trio of fortunate and tidy siblings rejoicing and frolicking like we do. Every single day we have the best time with each other and our parents. They've taken so much care to provide us with everything we need to be happy. We have balloons in every color from the sea green of my balloon to Lil' Linda's violet magenta one with silver sparkles all over it. I'm so glad that we're the children who get to be the daughter, son, and other daughter of such a generous mother and father. Now, I've thought of a theme for my cake! Where is that Cake Decorating Kit for decorating our cakes?"
"Here it is!" Making a chime like a bell, Larry lifted the glass cover off the Cake Decorating Kit. The three children started frosting and decorating their cakes, laughing and smiling. They had so much fun decorating their cakes that they frosted hay cakes for the ponies. The ponies ate the hay cakes with happy snorts and washed them down with tea from their troughs. Lil' Linda laughed so much she rolled around on the green grass. Larry did too, but he jumped to his feet as a distant church bell started tolling.
"The bells are sounding! I don't even have to listen and count them to know that it's an hour after noon now, and that means that it's time to put the Cake Decorating Kit away so that we can have our treasure hunt! There are maps in our party favor bags to where the groundskeeper buried a box of toys and candy around here. We'll ride on our ponies as we follow the clues, and we'll seek the treasure like explorers tracking down booty left behind on an island by nasty pirates!"
The bells ended their monody, a word which here means, "a repeated sound that serves only to indicate the time and is not at all ominous." The siblings climbed onto their ponies, and, working together to understand the clues on the map, rode through the park, whooping gleefully. After a ride that gave both their bodies and their brains some wholesome exercise, they found the treasure chest and dug it up, then returned triumphantly to the picnic table to open their prize and divide up the contents fairly. Laurie, the eldest, pulled toys and candy out of the box. The first thing she pulled out was a toy telephone, and she continued distributing the goodies as it chimed.
"Lemony Snowdrops are Lil' Linda's favorite, so those are hers. Caramel is my favorite, but Larry likes it too, and Linda is still too young to have any, so we'll split them. Look at that chocolate bunny! I've never seen one that's quite so large before! A box of Turkish Delight! That rings a bell..."
She kept on distributing until each Lotsaluck child had a pile of age-appropriate candy and toys that made them satisfied and happy, and none of them jealous of either of the others. One of the ponies walked up to the table to see what was happening, and leaned over the stacks of prizes, its bridle bells jingling.
"Vigilance!" shouted Lil' Linda, and the pony jingled its bells again, retreating. She meant "Make sure the pony doesn't eat our candy," not "always be cautious, because the world is full of dangers of all types and they can strike unexpectedly at any time."
The children laughed more, without any worries or troubles, and continued their party.