Brian and Mia lived in a small American town with Mom, Dad, their baby brother Sammy, and their dog Buddy.
It was almost the end of October. Orange pumpkins had appeared on porches all over the neighborhood. At preschool, everyone was talking about one thing: Halloween.
“Ms. Parker, are we going to wear costumes at preschool?” Brian asked eagerly.
“Yes, Brian,” Ms. Parker said with a smile. “This Friday, we are having a big Halloween party. Everyone can wear a costume.”
Mia clapped her hands. “I want to be a witch!”
“And I want to be a skeleton,” said Brian. “Or maybe a spider. Or a dragon that breathes fire!”
Ms. Parker laughed. “Maybe you should start by choosing one costume. You still have the whole week to decide.”
After preschool, a surprise was waiting for Brian and Mia at home. A large orange pumpkin sat on the kitchen table.
“I bought it at the farmers market,” Mom said. “Would you like to turn it into a jack-o’-lantern?”
“Yes!” Brian cried, hurrying to the table.
Dad brought a small carving knife and a large spoon. “I will do the cutting. You can help scoop out the inside. It is full of seeds.”
Mia reached into the pumpkin and made a funny face. “Yuck! It is cold and slimy!”
Baby Sammy watched from his high chair with his mouth wide open. Seeds plopped into the bowl one after another.
Buddy sniffed the pumpkin.
“Achoo!”
Everyone laughed.
That evening, Brian spread several books about ghosts and monsters across his bed. Mia stood in front of the mirror and tried on a witch hat.
“Have you decided what you want to be?” Mom asked when she came to tuck them in.
“Not yet,” Brian sighed. “I want to be a skeleton, a dragon, and a spider.”
Mom smiled. “Tomorrow morning, we can go to the costume store and see what they have. There is still plenty of time.”
Brian nodded. Soon, he fell asleep with a book about skeletons in his arms.
The next morning, Mom, Brian, and Mia walked toward the store. Outside their house, they saw their neighbor, Mr. Miller, taking out the trash.
“Good morning!” Mr. Miller called. “Where are you going so early?”
“We are buying Halloween costumes,” Brian explained proudly. “We are having a party at preschool on Friday.”
“What are you going to be?”
“Maybe a skeleton.”
“Skeletons make interesting sounds,” Mr. Miller said. He tapped his fingers against the porch railing.
Clickety-clack! Clickety-clack!
Mia burst out laughing.
The costume store was filled with Halloween decorations. Orange garlands hung from the ceiling. Black witch hats covered one wall. Fake cobwebs stretched across the displays.
Brian hurried from one costume to another.
“Mom, look! This dragon even has a tail!”
Mia was choosing between two witch capes.
“Which one do you like better?” Mom asked.
“The one with the stars! It makes me look like a real witch.”
At last, Brian found a black skeleton costume printed with white bones.
“This is the one!” he said. “I can make the bones dance.”
On Friday, the preschool classroom was full of costumed children. There were ghosts, witches, bats, and even a little pumpkin.
“Brian, your costume is awesome!” said his friend Mason, who was wrapped from head to toe like a mummy.
The children played games and searched the classroom for hidden treats. Then they made paper bats with big round eyes. Ms. Parker told them a funny story about a friendly ghost who loved making new friends.
Brian had so much fun that he did not want the party to end.
That afternoon, Mom picked up Brian and Mia. Outside the preschool, they met Mr. Miller and his little dog, Peanut.
“How was the party?” Mr. Miller asked.
“It was great!” Mia cried. “I was a witch!”
“Tonight, we are going trick-or-treating with Dad and Sammy,” Brian added. “We are bringing our candy buckets.”
Mr. Miller smiled. “Peanut and I will be waiting for you with treats.”
At home, the whole family got ready for the evening. Mom fixed Mia’s witch hat so it would not fall off. Dad added black and white face paint to Brian’s skeleton costume.
“What about Sammy?” Brian asked. “Does he have a costume?”
Mom pulled out a small orange outfit with a green hood.
“He is going to be a pumpkin.”
Sammy rolled across the rug in his pumpkin costume and kicked his little feet happily. Buddy brought him a favorite ball, as if he wanted to join the fun too.
Outside, the sky was getting dark. The family picked up their candy buckets and stepped onto the sidewalk. Porch lights glowed all along the street. Jack-o’-lanterns smiled from front steps, and fake cobwebs hung across doors.
“Let’s go to Mr. Miller’s house first!” Brian said.
Mr. Miller opened the door before Brian had time to knock.
“I was waiting for you!” he said.
“Trick or treat!” Brian and Mia called together.
“I have special treats for a dancing skeleton and a starry witch,” Mr. Miller said. He dropped candy into their buckets.
Peanut bounced around Buddy, and both dogs wagged their tails.
The family continued down the street from house to house. At one home, a woman answered the door with two small children dressed as pumpkins, just like Sammy.
“Look, another little pumpkin!” she said.
Sammy smiled from his stroller.
Brian decided to walk like a skeleton. He took stiff steps and held his arms straight in front of him.
“Clickety-clack! Clickety-clack!” he called.
Mia laughed so hard that her witch hat nearly fell off.
“Brian, you look funny, not scary!”
Their buckets grew heavier. Sammy fell asleep in the stroller, tired from all the excitement. Buddy walked beside him and sniffed the fallen leaves along the sidewalk.
“One more house, and then we will go home,” Dad said. “You have both had a busy day.”
Their last stop was a house at the end of the block. Their preschool teacher, Ms. Parker, lived there.
She opened the door and smiled.
“Brian and Mia! Your costumes look wonderful.”
“Trick or treat!” they called one last time.
Ms. Parker placed a pumpkin-shaped chocolate in each bucket.
“Enjoy your weekend,” she said. “On Monday, you can tell the class about your Halloween night.”
Back at home, Mom checked all the candy. Then Brian and Mia poured it onto the rug and sorted it together. Chocolates went into one pile. Lollipops went into another.
“This was the best night,” Brian said sleepily. He rested his head on Mom’s shoulder.
Dad lifted Sammy from the stroller and carried him to his crib. Buddy curled up in his bed by the door, tired from the long walk.
Mom tucked Brian and Mia into bed and kissed them good night.
“Good night, little skeleton. Good night, little witch,” she whispered.
“Good night, Mom,” Brian said with a yawn.
Downstairs, their jack-o’-lantern glowed softly on the porch. Brian closed his eyes, thinking about dancing bones, friendly ghosts, and his full candy bucket.
Before long, he was fast asleep.
The End
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