I ignored her. " - and I wake up, and then there's the wedding, where I dance with all these different fairy-tale characters, like the Bluebird of Happiness. I don't really know what that has to do with the plot, but it's a great dance. And then I dance with the prince again at the very end." I was exhausted just thinking about it.

    "It sounds like a beautiful ballet," said Mama.

    "It is," I said. "And you should hear the music. It's by Tchaikovsky, the same composer who wrote the music for Swan Lake." After dinner, I headed upstairs (Mama said I could be excused from table clearing and dish washing, since it was a special night) to call Mallory. I couldn't wait to tell her my news, and I knew she'd spread it around to our friends.

    Who is Mallory? Maybe I should tell you about her - and about my other friends, too.

    Mallory Pike is my best friend, and the first friend I made when my family moved to Stoneybrook. She's terrific. She's smart and funny, and we have great times together. We both love to read - especially horse stories, like Misty of Chincoteague - but Mal also likes to write. Someday she hopes to be a writer and illustrator of children's books, which I think is a neat idea.

    Part of what makes Mallory fun is that she's easygoing and doesn't get fazed by much. I think that's because she comes from a huge - and I mean huge - family. Mallory is eleven like me, and she has seven little brothers and sisters! Three of them are triplets, believe it or not. Their names are Adam, Jordan, and Byron, and they're ten. Then comes Vanessa - she's nine - and Nicky, who's eight, followed by Margo, who's seven. The baby of the family is Claire. She's five. The Pike household is never boring. Actually, I think that Mal sometimes envies my (relatively) quiet family. She doesn't get much private time.