At the edge of a little village lay a great pumpkin field. Pumpkins of every shape and size grew there—some as big as barrels, some as round as balls, and some so plump they could barely fit beside one another.
At the very end of the field grew two tiny pumpkins. One was called Orangeade. She was cheerful, round, and always dreaming up new ideas. The other was called Twisty. She had a funny curled stem on her head, and her favourite thing in the world was sleeping.
They were best friends—and the two smallest pumpkins in the whole field.
Every year before Halloween, children came to choose the prettiest pumpkins and take them home to decorate their cottages. Orangeade and Twisty dreamed that one day someone would choose them too.
The Night Before Halloween
One evening, the sun slipped behind the hills and a great silver moon appeared in the sky. All the pumpkins were fast asleep. “Snnnore… shhh… snnnore…” But Orangeade simply could not settle down.
First she rolled left. Roll, roll, roll. Then she rolled right. Roll, roll, roll. At last she whispered, “Psst! Psst! Twisty! Are you asleep?”
“What? What? What?” Twisty jolted awake. “Who woke me? I was already sleeping!”
“I know, but I can’t sleep! What if someone chooses us tomorrow?”
“SHHHH!” came a voice from behind them. It was old Bumpy. “Quiet over there! Well-behaved pumpkins have been asleep for ages!” Another large pumpkin grumbled, “You’re as small as two tangerines. You must grow, or no one will choose you!”
Five minutes passed. “Pssst! Twisty! Are you asleep?”
“Well, not anymore!” mumbled Twisty.
“What if we rolled down to the village to see the Halloween decorations?” Orangeade asked.
Just then a voice rose from the grass. “Meeeow! Hello, girls!” A fluffy cat named Liza landed in front of them. “I slept in the sunshine all day,” she said. “Now I’m wide awake. If you want to see the village, come with me!”
“But how?” Twisty wondered.
“Easy. Pop free from your vines and roll!”
The pumpkins looked at each other. Pop! Pop! They were free.
“Let’s ro-o-oll!” cried Liza.
The Journey to the Village
Roll, roll, roll! The pumpkins tumbled down the hill while Liza trotted beside them. They passed the old apple tree and reached a little wooden bridge. A stream burbled beneath it.
“Careful not to fall into the water!” Liza warned.
“Wheee!” cried Orangeade as she rolled across.
“Wait for me!” Twisty called. “My stem can’t keep up!”
At last they reached the village. “Wooow!” they breathed. Orange lights glowed everywhere. Paper bats hung from the trees, little white ghosts swayed on the fences, and a straw scarecrow in enormous glasses stood beside the first cottage.
At the second cottage stood three glowing pumpkins. “Hellooo, girls!” someone called.
“Oh! They’re our friends from the next field!” Orangeade said happily. Their friends wore cheerful faces, and warm lights shone inside them.
“We want to glow like that too,” Twisty whispered.
At the third cottage, the one with the blue door, two children were decorating the steps with colourful leaves and little lanterns. “Tomorrow we’re going to the pumpkin field!” said the girl. “I want a beautiful orange pumpkin!”
“Me too!” cried the boy. “We’ll have two!”
Orangeade nearly bounced with joy. “Did you hear that? They want TWO pumpkins! If only they would choose us!”
“But we’re still so small,” Twisty said sadly.
Liza thought for a moment. “I have an idea! Hurry home, drink plenty of water, and get a good night’s sleep. Pumpkins grow when they rest properly! And why not decorate your tummies with these lovely autumn leaves?”
The pumpkins chose the brightest red and yellow leaves. Liza tucked them safely into her fluffy fur, and they all set off for home.
At the stream, the pumpkins drank until they were full. Gulp, gulp, gulp!
“Oh! I splashed my nose!” Twisty giggled.
Back in the field, they quietly reattached themselves to their vines. Click! Click!
“Goodnight, girls,” whispered Liza.
“Goodnight,” the pumpkins replied.
“Do you think they’ll choose us tomorrow?” Orangeade whispered.
“I don’t know… but go to sleep now. We have to grow.”
They closed their eyes. The breeze rocked them gently. Shhhh… shhhh… shhhh… and the little pumpkins fell fast asleep.
The Big Morning Surprise
The first sunbeams tickled Orangeade awake. She opened her eyes, looked at Twisty, and shouted, “TWIII-STY!” Twisty’s tummy was big, round, and bright orange. “Wow! I grew!” she cried. Orangeade had grown too—round and orange like a setting sun.
“Goodness me!” cried old Bumpy. “Yesterday, two tangerines. Today, two magnificent pumpkins!”
Vroom, vroom, vroom! A car arrived at the field. All the big pumpkins began to show off. Orangeade leaned toward Twisty. “The leaves! Quick!” Orangeade wore red leaves on her tummy, and Twisty placed a yellow leaf on her head like a funny little hat.
A father, a mother, and two children stepped out. They were the same boy and girl from the cottage with the blue door. “MUM! Look! This pumpkin has colourful leaves!” the girl cried. The boy pointed to Twisty. “And this one has a hat!”
“Please, may we take both?” the children asked.
“Of course,” Mum smiled.
“Twisty… THEY CHOSE US!” Orangeade whispered. If pumpkins had feet, they would have danced for joy.
The Loveliest Halloween
That evening, Orangeade and Twisty stood on the steps of the cottage with the blue door. Tiny lanterns glowed around them, and colourful leaves covered the porch.
“Meeeow!” Liza leapt onto the porch. “Well, girls! You really did it!”
“Liza! Look where we are!” Orangeade said happily. “Exactly where we hoped to be!”
“See?” Liza purred. “All you needed was a drink of water, a good sleep, and a little faith in yourselves.”
“And the leaves!” Twisty added.
All three laughed.
When the night grew still, Liza curled up between the pumpkins. “Goodnight, Orangeade,” Twisty whispered.
“Goodnight, Twisty.”
“Do you know what I liked best about today?”
“What?”
“That we stayed together.”
Orangeade smiled. “Me too.”
The moon shone above the cottage, and Liza purred contentedly. Purrrr… purrrr… purrrr… The two pumpkins closed their eyes and fell sweetly asleep.
Goodnight, little pumpkins. Sweet dreams. 🎃🌙
The End.
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