Mario was busily working in the kitchen.  He overslept, and Luigi had already eaten breakfast, so Mario had to make his own.  Mario got out the pancake batter and big breakfast mushroom.  He put the bacon into the oven.  Suddenly, the doorbell rang.  Mario ran over and opened the door.  Peach stood in the doorway with a smile.  "Hi, Mario."

"Hi, Peach!" said Mario.  "Come in!"

Peach smiled, and elegantly walked into the house.  "Mmm... that bacon smells delicious!"

"Would you like a piece, Peach?" asked Mario.

"Why, certainly!" she said.  The two walked into the kitchen (Luigi was in the backyard watering the lawn) and Mario gave Peach bacon.  "Mmmm..." she said, "it's so juicy!"

"Peach, it's nice to have you visit here," said Mario.

"Well, I came to invite you to my birthday party tomorrow!"

Mamma-mia! thought Mario.  I was planning on going golfing tomorrow!  Well, I'd better tell Peach the truth!

"I'm-a going golfing instead!" said Mario.

Peach gasped.  "You aren't coming to my party?!"

"No," he said.

"Oh.  Okay..." mumbled Peach.

"I have to go pee!"  Mario ran to the bathroom.

Peach, angry with Mario, got the idea to get revenge on Mario.  If he wasn't going to her party, he wasn't going anywhere!  She pulled a poison mushroom out of her purse, and swapped it with the mushroom Mario had left on the counter.

Mario returned from the bathroom.

"Well, Mario, I'm going to leave now!" said Peach.

"Okey-dokey!"  Mario finished making the pancakes, and sat down to eat his breakfast, including the mushroom.

The next morning, Mario woke up with a queasy stomach.  He looked over at Luigi's bed.  There was a note!

Dear Mario,
I have gone to Peach's castle to celebrate
her birthday.  You weren't looking well, so
I let you sleep.  I hope you come to the party!
     -Luigi

Mario sighed.  He wanted to go to Peach's party, but he also wanted to go golfing.  Now, he couldn't do either because he was sick.  Mario wanted to lie around all day, but he had to go pee, so he got up, stumbled down the stairs, and walked into the bathroom.  He was surprised to see, in the mirror, that his face was purple!

"MAMMA-MIA!" he shouted.

He ran over to the phone, and dialed 555-LUIGISCELLPHONE.

Luigi answered the phone.  "It's-a me, Luigi!"

"Luigi, you gotta help me!"

"What?!  I'm trying to par-tay!"

"Luigi, I'm purple!"

"Mamma-mia!" Luigi shouted into the receiver.  "You need a tasty tonic!  You've-a been poisoned!"

"MAMMA-MIA!"  Mario fainted.

"MARIO!" shouted Luigi.  "Hang up the phone!  This call is gonna cost us a fortune!"

When Mario came to, he was lying in a hospital bed at Mushroom Kingdom Hospital.

Dr. Mario walked up to him.  "You've-a been poisoned!"

Mario was confused.  "Wait a minute!  I thought Dr. Mario was-a me!"

Dr. Mario rolled his eyes.  "You must be delirious."

"Doc," said Mario, "you gotta help me!"

"Sure thing!  The tasty tonic is on its way here right now!"

"Yippee!" shouted Mario.

Suddenly, Nurse Toadstool walked into the room with the Tasty Tonic.

"Peach?  Is that-a you?" asked Mario.  "But you're supposed to be at your party."

"Huh?  I've never met you in my life," she said.

"Okay, Mario," said Dr. Mario.  "You need to take exactly one teaspoon of this Tasty Tonic.  If you drink just one drop too less, you will die immediately.  If you drink one drop too much, you'll explode."

Mario's eyes grew wide, and he began sweating profusely.

Dr. Mario continued.  "I'm-a gonna let you pour the tasty tonic into the teaspoon because I don't-a wanna be responsible if you die."  He handed Mario the bottle of Tasty Tonic and a teaspoon.

Mario began shaking.  He knew he had to get the dosage exactly right.  And he did.  He drank it down and immediately felt better.  Mario knew he had to get to Peach's castle and apologize for not coming to her party initially.

Mario ran over to Peach's castle as quickly as his fat legs could carry him.  He arrived at the front door and knocked not once, not twice, but thrice on the door.

"Who is it?" asked Peach as she looked through the peephole.

"It's-a me!  Mario!"

"!" said Peach.  She let Mario in.  The party was so rad!  There was a disco ball, a DJ, and even pizza!

"Peach, I'm-a sorry for not coming--" Mario began, but Peach cut him off.

"Mario, I'm sorry I poisoned you!" she said.

This surprised Mario.  "You poisoned me?"

"Yes, and now I feel really stupid."  Peach began pounding her head against the wall.

"Peach, stop!" Mario yelled! He tried to pull Peach away from the wall, but not before she had bashed through the main support wall for the castle, causing the whole thing to collapse!

Everyone but Peach escaped.  Peach was crushed except for her head.  She smiled weakly to Mario.  "Now I guess I'm the one who's not feeling well!" she giggled.  Everyone laughed.  Peach reached into her purse, pulled out the mushroom she had taken from the counter, and handed it to Mario.  Mario ate it, got big, and lifted the castle off of Peach, who breathed a huge sigh of relief.