Chapter 4: Buying Flowers

In a flower shop on Saturday afternoon, the store clerk, Joe, was grinning at his desk. Joe, like SpongeBob, loved his job. He was surrounded by dozens of very beautiful flowers, from roses to daffodils, creating a rainbow of colors, and his job was to give these to his loyal customers in requested bouquets. He valued all his customers, except…

Joe's grin quickly turned into a scowl as he saw SpongeBob happily walking to his store.

"Oh, no. My most annoying customer," Joe groaned.

SpongeBob went inside, ringing the shop's bell. "Hi, Joe!" he loudly greeted the clerk.

` "What can I get for you?" grimaced Joe, with his teeth closed.

"I'd like to buy some flowers for a girl I know," replied SpongeBob.

"Oh. How about Venus Fly Traps?" Joe suggested.

SpongeBob didn't see that Joe was just sarcastic. "No, I want something very special," he said. "Should I get roses or tulips?"

"How about neither?" Joe suggested.

The sponge quickly got a great idea. "Wait! I know!" he exclaimed. "I'll get them both and mix them together!"

"That'll be $100," Joe told him.

SpongeBob took a dime out of his pocket and gave it to Joe. "Will this cover it?" he asked.

"Whatever," replied Joe. He then prepared a gorgeous bouquet of colorful flowers and gave it to SpongeBob.

Shortly after SpongeBob left, Joe just realized he had made a mistake. He actually let the customer pay him only ten cents when he was supposed to pay one hundred dollars! Joe got so furious, he said "Grrrr!" and snapped one of his violets in half.

Stay tuned!