iago  Iago’s Birthday Party
     by:Michelle Bowen
editted by Cyndi Combs
 
 It was a cool, dark night in the desert.   Jasmine and Aladdin sat by a nice, big, cozy-looking fire.  Genie was sitting next to them with Iago and Abu.  He was singing campfire songs, and Abu was sitting on his lap smiling widely.  Iago had his wings over his head and was glaring at Genie.
 “Would you shut-up for one minute Genie.  I need to say something!” Iago hollered at Genie, who immediately stopped singing.
“What is it, Birdman?” Genie asked Iago.
 “Well I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately,” Iago said with hesitation in his voice.
Genie and everyone else looked at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.
 “W..well, um,  I was thinking that it would be nice if we could give someone I know a birthday party.  He hasn’t had many in his life, and well, he would like one,” Iago looked around the camp fire to see everyone’s reaction to his suggestion.
“Iago, who is your friend?”Jasmine asked, trying to get him to tell them.
“My friend, well, he is well he is.....me,” Iago said.
Everyone looked around for a second.
“Iago, you’ve never ever had a birthday party, nothing special on your birthday? Say, when is your birthday?”Genie asked.
Abu shrugged his shoulders in confusion as Genie asked this.
“Oh, that hurts.  You don’t even know when my birthday is!” Iago hollered.
“Um, well, Birdman, there is one slight technicality to the reason why we don’t know when your birthday is,” Genie said slowly, waiting to see if Iago knew what he was saying.
“And what would that be, Genie?” Iago said, glaring offensively at Genie.
“Well, you’ve never told us *when* your birthday was, Iago,” Genie explained.
Iago looked around and with embaressment and said, “I never told you, and I thought that all along here you guys didn’t care.”
Iago slapped himself upside the head.  Jasmine smiled at Iago and asked him “When is your birthday, Iago?” She smiled at him, waiting for his answer.
“Yeah, Iago, when is your birthday?” Aladdin asked.
“It is next weekend, July 17,” Iago looked hopefully at everyone.
Jasmine smiled at everyone. “Well, we will see what we can do. Do you want a huge party or a small one?”
 

Iago thought for a minute.  “A *big* party with Thundra, all of you, and about half the kingdom.  I want my first party to be huge.  I want lots of *presents*,” Iago said, totally forgetting he is with his friends as he thought of all those presents.
That was enough to send everyone into fits of laughter, which brought Iago back to reality.
“What?” Iago asked.
Everyone shook their heads at Iago.
 “Iago, that is just like you to think of presents,” Genie said, still laughing and trying desperately to stop.
“ It doesn’t have to be as huge as I said.  Just having a party would make me so happy,” Iago stated flatly, looking at Genie.
“Well we should head back home now, and we will see about your party,” Jasmine said while getting up and taking Aladdin’s hand.  They walked off, leaving Genie and Abu with a sulking, but somewhat happy Iago to put out the fire.
A couple days later, Jasmine and Aladdin were waiting in the menagerie for Genie to come.  Suddenly, there was a big poof, and Genie appeared.
”Got Iago to go visit Thundra.  I told her the whole story, and she agreed with me,” Genie said, smiling happily at the thought of decorating for the big party.
“You know, it’s kinda sad that Iago has never had a birthday party or any of that stuff, “ Aladdin said, remembering how Abu had wished him a happy birthday whenever it was his birthday.
He finally had his first party after he met Jasmine.
“Yes, it is, but we are about to make one of his dreams come true,” Jasmine said, smiling at Aladdin.
“Okay, Genie, why don’t you do the decorating for his party?” Jasmine said, looking at Genie.
“Yes, Princess woman,” he said, saluting her.
 Then, he started around decorating the menagerie.   Genie started putting up  lights and setting up the table.
 “Hey, can we have a disco ball?” Genie asked Jasmine.
“A what?  Show me,” Jasmine said, watching as Genie produced a really shiny sort of ball.
“Um, where would we hang it we are outside?” Jasmine pointed out to Genie, who held up his index finger and was about to say from the ceiling.
Then, he heard her say they were outside.  He had totally not thought about that.  A few hours later, Genie was putting the finishing touches, and all the guests were invited.
“What should I do with this, Princess?” the palace cook asked from behind a huge cake.
“I’ll take that, my good man,” Genie said, taking the cake from the cook, who looked very relieved.
On top of the cake stood a figurine of Iago, and on the cake in blue letters was written “Happy Birthday, Iago!”  The cake was chocolate with white frosting, and there were even fake gold piles near Iago’s figure.
 “It’s perfect,” Jasmine said to the cook with a huge smile.
“Wow,” was all Aladdin and Abu could manage.
 Genie looked at the cake and put candles on it.
“These are the trick candles,” Genie laughed while he was saying this.
“Genie,” a green girl genie said as she flew in with a young girl in her arms.
“Eden, glad you could come,” Genie said happily, hugging his girlfriend.
“Well, everyone but Thundra and Iago is here,” the Sultan announced.
Then, they heard someone say “Here they come.”  When Iago landed in the menagerie, his beak dropped open, and he just stared.
“Happy birthday, Iago!” everyone in the menagerie shouted.
Thundra put her wing under his beak and got him to close his beak.
“Happy birthday, my jibblet,” Thundra said lovingly.
The rest of the night was spent dancing and opening lots of presents.
“I would like to thank you all for this great party,” Iago announced once everyone had quieted down enough.  He was eyeing Aladdin and Jasmine’s present to him. It was an emerald, a beautiful green emerald.
When Jasmine, Aladdin, Genie, Abu, Carpet, the sultan, and Thundra got close enough, Iago said, “Thanks guys.  This means so much to me.”
Iago wiped a large tear from his eyes.
“Now to end the party with a bang!” Genie exclaimed, throwing fireworks into the air.  One of the fire works read “Happy birthday, Bird-man!”