Bonesy was a little skeleton, and he was not scary at all.
He tried. He took a deep breath, spread his arms wide, and shouted, “Boooo!” But all that came out was, “Boo-hee-hee!” because he always started laughing before he could frighten anyone.
But when it came to being silly? Bonesy was the very best in the world!
He lived inside a very, very old wardrobe. He had a soft little bed, tickly cobwebs, and heaps of colorful socks—red, yellow, green, striped, and spotted!
When he walked, they went rattle-rattle, rattle-rattle. When he ran, they went rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle! And when he jumped, they rattled so loudly that even the little spiders hid beneath the socks.
One Halloween night, cheerful pumpkins glowed outside the window. Stars winked in the sky, and a little moon peeked out from behind the clouds.
“My bones feel itchy,” he grumbled. “And I am terribly bored!”
He rolled onto one side. Clatter. He rolled onto the other. Clatter-clatter. He tried counting his toes. One, two, three, four, five…
Just then he heard: Bump! Bump! BUMP-CRASH!
Something big and orange rolled up to the wardrobe. It was Bertha the pumpkin! She was large and plump, with cheerful eyes, a wide smile, and two little pumpkin arms.
“Oof!” cried Bertha as she bumped into the doorstep. “That doorstep definitely was not there yesterday!”
Bonesy laughed. “Bertha! What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you! Tonight is Halloween! Let’s go for a walk. Pumpkins are glowing everywhere, and I know a place where the tiniest one of all is waiting!”
“But first you have to get dressed,” said Bertha.
Shoes on His Ears
Bonesy opened a drawer and pulled out two red shoes. He put one over his left ear and the other over his right.
Bertha stared at him. “Bonesy! You have shoes on your ears!”
“So?” asked Bonesy. “At least the wind will not blow into them!”
“Shoes belong on your feet!” cried Bertha.
“Oh!” said Bonesy, and he put them on. Step, step! Rattle, rattle!
Then he picked up a large black hat and placed it on his knee.
“Now your hat is on your knee!” laughed Bertha.
“Why not? My knee wants to look elegant!”
“A hat belongs on your head!”
Bonesy placed the hat on his skull. It fit perfectly.
Finally, he pulled out a pair of striped trousers. He studied them for a moment, then pulled them over his head.
“Now I am completely dressed!” he announced proudly.
“Bertha? Where are you?”
“Where did everyone go? I cannot seeee!”
Bonesy took one step forward. Rattle. One step sideways. Rattle-rattle.
He walked straight into Bertha!
Bertha rolled across the rug, bumped into a pillow, and came to rest with her stem pointing down.
“Hee-hee!” she laughed. “We will never make it outside like this!”
She helped Bonesy pull the trousers off his head. “One leg here, the other leg there… and hop!”
At last, Bonesy was dressed. He looked into the mirror and stuck out his tongue. His reflection stuck out its tongue too. Bonesy blinked, and the reflection blinked too.
“Bertha!” he cried. “There is another skeleton in the wardrobe! And he is doing everything I do!”
Bertha peeked into the mirror. “Hee-hee! That is you!”
The Great Halloween Sneeze
Just as they were about to leave, something tickled Bonesy’s nose. It was a tiny cobweb.
“A-a-a…”
“A-A-A…”
“A-A-A-A…”
“ACHOOOO!”
Boom! Bang! WHOOOOSH!
A whole pile of colorful socks flew off the shelf. Red! Yellow! Green! Striped! Spotted!
They fluttered around the room like butterflies. One landed on Bonesy’s hat, another dangled from his nose, and a third caught on Bertha’s stem.
And all the others… WHOOOSH!
They buried Bertha from her stem all the way to her round bottom!
A huge, soft, colorful mountain of socks rose from the rug.
“Bertha?” called Bonesy.
“Bertha, dear? Where are you?”
A tiny voice came from the pile. “I am heeere!”
“Under the socks!”
Bonesy looked left. He looked right.
Bonesy grabbed one sock and pulled. Zip! Another sock was underneath. He pulled the second. Zip! Then the third. Zip-zip!
He took Bertha’s hand and pulled. Once! Twice! THREE!
BUMP-CRASH!
Bertha rolled out of the socks so quickly that they both tumbled onto the rug.
Then something happened. One tiny sock landed right on Bonesy’s heel and began to tickle him!
“Hee-hee-hee! Stop! Hee-hee-heeeee!”
Bonesy kicked his foot. Hop! The sock tickled him again. Hop-hop!
“Bertha, heeelp! My foot is dancing all by itself!”
The Rattle-Rattle Dance
“Wait!” cried Bertha. “That looks like a dance!”
“Yes! I know one. It is called the Rattle-Rattle Dance!”
Bertha straightened up, took a breath, and called, “First we jump! Hop, hop, hop!”
She tried to jump. But pumpkins do not have legs.
Instead, she rolled onto her side. BUMP-CRASH!
“Hee-hee!” laughed Bonesy. “Bertha, you cannot jump at all!”
“And you do not know how to wear shoes!” laughed Bertha.
They laughed so hard that every bone in Bonesy’s body rattled. Rattle-rattle-rattle!
“Jump: hop, hop, hop!” Bonesy jumped three times. Hop! Hop! Hop! His knees rattled merrily.
“Spin around: whirrr, whirrr!” Bonesy spun while Bertha rolled around him. Once, twice, three times!
“Clap: clap, clap, clap!” Bonesy clapped his hands, and Bertha tapped her round tummy three times. Bump, bump, bump!
Bonesy stepped forward, stepped sideways, and jumped. “Step forward… step sideways… HOP-RATTLE!”
Bertha copied him. She rolled forward, then sideways, and when she tried to jump… BUMP-CRASH!
She landed right inside the sock basket! Only her green stem poked out.
“Bertha!” cried Bonesy. “You are a sock pumpkin!”
“And you are a rattling scarecrow!” laughed Bertha.
They laughed and laughed until they had to lean against the wardrobe.
The Tiniest Halloween Pumpkin
When they had finally stopped laughing, Bertha peeked out of the basket. “Oh! I almost forgot! We were going for a walk!”
They went out into the quiet Halloween night. Bonesy walked rattle-rattle, rattle-rattle, and Bertha rolled beside him, bump-bump, bump-bump.
Carved pumpkins glowed behind the windows, cats sat on rooftops, and a round moon shone high above them.
“Where are we going?” asked Bonesy.
“To see the tiniest pumpkin on the whole street,” answered Bertha. “Her name is Tinka, and she is still very small. Tonight is her first Halloween.”
A tiny orange pumpkin sat on the doorstep. She was so small that she could have fit inside Bonesy’s hat.
“That is Tinka,” whispered Bertha.
Bonesy’s eyes lit up. “You know what, Bertha? I will scare her! It is Halloween, after all!”
He stood in front of Tinka, spread his arms wide, and took an enormous breath.
“BOOOOOO…”
But just then, his knees began to rattle. Rattle-rattle-rattle!
Bonesy tried to keep a serious face, but what came out was, “BOO-HEE-HEE-HEE!”
Tinka stared at him in surprise for a moment. Then she started to giggle.
“Hee-hee! You are a funny skeleton!”
Bonesy stopped. “You are not afraid of me?”
Tinka shook her tiny stem. “No! Do the rattle-rattle again!”
Bonesy looked at Bertha. Bertha looked at Bonesy. And they both knew exactly what to do.
“Step forward… step sideways… HOP-RATTLE!”
Bonesy jumped, and his knees rattled. Bertha rolled in a circle and went bump-crash!
Tinka laughed so hard that her little stem trembled.
And so all three of them danced the Rattle-Rattle Dance. Even the little moon behind the clouds looked as though it were smiling.
When the dance was over, Tinka sighed happily. “That was the very best first Halloween!”
Bonesy smiled. All this time, he had thought a proper skeleton had to be scary. But when he saw Tinka laughing, he realized that making someone smile was much nicer.
“You know what, Bertha?” he said on the way home. “I do not think I want to be a scary skeleton.”
“What kind of skeleton do you want to be?” asked Bertha.
Bonesy thought for a moment. Then he jumped merrily. Rattle-rattle!
“A rattling one!”
Bertha laughed. “You are already excellent at that!”
Goodnight, Bonesy
When they returned to the old wardrobe, the moon was already high in the sky.
Bertha stopped at the door. “Well, my friend, I think it is time for bed.”
Bonesy yawned. “Aaaaaah…”
“Goodnight, Bertha,” he said, giving her a hug.
“Goodnight, Bonesy. And may your knees sleep soundly!”
Bertha slowly rolled home. Bump… bump… bump… bump…
Bonesy took off his red shoes, removed his black hat, and climbed into his bed made of soft, fluffy cotton.
He bent his knees one last time. Rattle-rattle.
Then he stretched them out. Rattle.
He thought about Bertha, the flying socks, little Tinka’s laughter, and their merry dance.
His bones no longer felt itchy. He was not bored anymore.
“Goodnight, Bertha,” he whispered. “Goodnight, Tinka.”
Outside the window, pumpkins glowed quietly. The stars blinked slowly, and the little moon watched over the old wardrobe.
Bonesy’s knees did not rattle even once.
And the little skeleton who could not be scary fell peacefully asleep.
The End.
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