Witches!

  Ghosts!

  And one big ol’ grump-a-saurus!

  Heidi Heckelbeck was the only witch who didn’t like Halloween. Well, to be honest, she did like the spooky decorations and the candy. She even liked carving pumpkins, which she was doing right now. But there was one thing that wrecked Halloween for Heidi: people who dressed up as witches.

   

   

 

  “I don’t get it,” said Heidi as she scooped stringy pumpkin goop from her pumpkin. “Real witches are nothing like the witches you read about in story­books.”

  “What do you mean?” asked her little brother, Henry, as he squeezed a fistful of pumpkin seeds into a mixing bowl.

  “Everyone thinks that witches have warts and fly on broomsticks,” said Heidi.

  “Well, some do,” said Mom.

  “But most of them don’t,” Heidi said. “I think it’s weird when people dress up as witches. It’s like they’re making fun of us—and it bugs me.”

   

 

   

 

  “So dress up as something else,” said Henry. “You could be a pirate, like me!”

  “No thanks,” Heidi said. “This year I’m going to skip Halloween.”

  “Are you crazy?” asked Henry. “You won’t get any FREE candy!”

  Oh, drat, thought Heidi. Henry is right. I love candy, but I won’t get any if I skip Halloween. But the idea of trick-or-treating with kids dressed as witches is worse. Halloween is off for me. Then she looked at Henry with sweet, puppy-dog eyes.

   

 

  “Will you share your Halloween candy with me?” asked Heidi.

  “HELLO. Did your brain just fall out?” Henry asked. “Pirates DO NOT share their booty.”

  “Fine,” said Heidi. “I’ll have leftover family candy.”

  Heidi turned to Mom. 

  “Mom, what are we giving out for Halloween?” she asked.

  “Dad’s Soda-Pop Tops,” said Mom.

   

 

  “No chocolate bars?” asked Heidi.

  “Not this year,” Mom said. “Dad wants to give out his new candy. He’s been working on it for months. It’s not even for sale yet.”

   

  Heidi loved Dad’s new Soda-Pop Tops. Each candy was shaped like a bottle cap. When you put one on your tongue, it fizzed. But Heidi could get free samples from Dad anytime. Heidi wanted those mini chocolate bars—lots of them.

   

  “Harumph,” said Heidi.

  “Well, that’s what happens when you skip Halloween,” said Mom as she helped scrape the last of the pulp from the pumpkins. 

  “Do you still want to carve some jack-o’-lantern faces?” asked Mom.

  “I do!” said Henry. 

  “What kind of face do you want?”

  “I want a goofy face!” Henry said.

   

 

  Then Mom looked at Heidi.

   

 

  Heidi scowled. “I want a MAD face. With pointy teeth.”

  “You could put a pointy hat on top too,” suggested Henry. “Like a mean ol’ witch!”

  “Watch it, bud,” said Heidi, “or I’ll turn you into a FROG.”