Punpkin

by BlackJack

A tiny kitten prowled one night, searching for food and water. She was a small black kitten, and had become lost from her family during a storm. She was nameless, homeless and becoming hopeless, she felt as if she never had enough to fill her tummy, and the constant wandering left her little paws sore.

This one night, as she searched for food, she noticed a great deal of activity! There were strange creatures everywhere, wearing fearsome masks, flowing capes and shouting "trick or treat". She had no clue what was going on, and skittered under bushes every time one of the creatures passed by.

What was this night anyway? It must be a time for haunting, as the prey had surely become as a ghost, invisible to her sight. She also saw odd round things on some porches, some had candles in them, and there seemed to be a creature in them also, as the fearsome eyes would peer at her through the darkness.

Just as she was about to pounce on a lizard, thunder cracked in the sky, and lightning illuminated the entire neighborhood. Oh no, she thought, I will never get any food now, and I will be soaked through and through.

The thought of this made kitten tears well up in her eyes, she was so lonely and cold, and all she wanted was a safe place and some food. She dashed over to a house where there was one of those odd round things, only this one had no candle burning in it. The candle had burned down and gone out, leaving the strange orange thing dark. There was a hole in the top of it, just big enough for the kitten.

As a huge bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree, the kitten leaped into that strange orange thing! She was so frightened, she didn't even think of the scary faces she had seen on these round things. The jack o'lantern was dry inside, and still warm from the candle that had burned in it earlier, and the kitten curled up and promptly fell asleep.

As the sun rose that next morning, the sky was a crystal clear, the air was nippy and the kitten still slept. She felt very safe, hidden in her pumpkin, and it was nice and warm too.

The front door of the house opened, and a little girl came outside, telling her mother she wanted to see the jack o'lantern in the daytime. As the little girl looked at the jack o'lantern, she was amazed to see two golden eyes peering at her from inside the jack o'lantern. Then a little black kitty face peeped out from the pumpkin! Both the little girl and the kitten were so startled, they were speechless!

They looked at each other, and a magic filled the air. The kitten sensed a great peace and mewed softly. The two of them sat looking at each other, and then the little girl called out "Pumpkin"! The kitten jumped out of the pumpkin and let the little girl pet her. What a warm feeling she had!

The mother walked out and saw her daughter and the kitten, each engrossed in the other, both smiling a special smile, and the mother knew their family now had a kitten. Pumpkin had learned about Halloween that night, and that scary things aren't always so scary, and in fact, jack o'lanterns made a very wonderful meeting place!