The next morning Oliver's shoe still didn't fit.
In fact, it had shrunk even more overnight.
He complained all during breakfast.
After he finished complaining about his shoe, he complained about the pancakes.
First he complained they were too hot.
Then he complained they were too cold.
I tried to distract him with a joke.
"Guess what the patient said to his doctor?"
"I don't know," grumbled Oliver. "And I don't care!"
I ignored his bad mood.
"The patient said, 'Doctor, I get a pain in my eye whenever I drink hot cocoa.'
And the doctor said, 'Try taking the spoon out of your cup before you drink.'
Ha-ha, get it, Oliver?" I said.
"The spoon was poking him in the eye!"
Oliver looked down, so I wouldn't see him smile.
Every time he started complaining, telling a joke cheered him up.
It proved that my Amazing Attitude Adjuster was going to work!
A few minutes later Molly knocked on the door.
"The sun is out!" she said when I answered.
"Want to play on the school playground?"
That put Oliver in a bad mood again.
"I can't go out!" he cried.
"I don't have any shoes to wear!"
You would have thought he was Oliver Twist.
Oliver Twist is a poor boy in a book that my mom read to me.
He was so poor that he had to go barefoot in the street.
"Hey, Oliver, why don't we pretend you're Oliver Twist?" I suggested.
Oliver started crying harder.
"I don't want to be a different Oliver," he wailed.
"I want to be me!
And I want to go home!"
Mom was cleaning up in the kitchen.
She had taken a few days off from work for winter vacation.
"I think we need to buy Oliver some new shoes," she said.
"Molly can come with us to the shoe store."
"I can't go to the shoe store," cried Oliver.
"I don't have any shoes to wear!"
"You can borrow Iggy's old boots," said my mom.
"I think there is a pair in the closet."
Oliver complained that my old boots were too big.
He complained all the way to the shoe store.
My bad attitude about Oliver was coming back, and it was coming back stronger than ever.
I didn't complain out loud, but I complained loudly in my thoughts.
"Oliver is a big pain!
Why did he have to come visit us anyway?
I could be home now, working on my new invention.
He's ruining my chances to get into the Inventor's Hall of Fame!"
My mom bought Oliver a really cool pair of shoes.
Then we ate lunch at a cafeteria.
It's a fun place to eat because you can pick out anything you want.
Oliver chose a hamburger and four desserts!
Mom made him put back three of the desserts.
Molly and I both chose pizza and ice cream.
Oliver didn't complain while he was chewing his hamburger.
That gave me a chance to talk to Molly.
"Molly," I said, "do you still have your toy telephone?"
"Yes," said Molly.
"I saw it when we were cleaning my room with your mess-pusher."
"Can I borrow the phone for my new invention?" I asked.
"Sure," said Molly. "What is your invention?"
"It's an attitude adjuster," I said.
I looked over at Oliver and lowered my voice.
"I plan to use it on a certain person who really needs a new attitude!"
"I hope it doesn't backfire like your shoe-warmer invention," said Molly.
"Don't be silly," I said.
I mean, how could an attitude adjuster possibly backfire?