Hallowe'en and the Saga

When I was a kid, we didn't go trick or treating more than two or three times in my childhood. Perhaps is was the connotations that went with Hallowe'en or perhaps it was simply that it wasn't a big holiday in the places I lived. I don't know--and there's no one left in my family to ask.

But one year my brother Jack and I went trick or treating. My mother was an accomplished crocheter. She crocheted me an elaborate cap like Dutch girls wear in the old pictures. I had a pair of wooden shoes a missionary had brought me. I had waist length hair that I wore in braids. Add a skirt and blouse and apron and voila! I was a Dutch girl. My brother wasn't so easy.

Eventually, we dressed him as my little sister.

It was misting and dark. We had a flashlight and knew exactly which houses we were permitted to stop at. There couldn't have been more than ten because there weren't that many houses to begin with in our area. No sidewalks. No paved road. Lots of cactus.

We were about halfway through our list of houses when a lady commented on the beautiful eye lashes my little sister had. That was it. Jack headed for home. And he had the flashlight. Truth to tell, the wooden shoes were killing my feet so I wasn't all that unhappy to go home. And it was dark.

By the time I had children, it was a free-for-all night with most children competing to see who could get the most candy (which their parents then threw out because some maniac had poisoned candy and killed some little kid!) Now with so many dangers, many parents have private parties and trick or treaters in this area are rare.

If this is a big holiday for you and yours, I wish you a Happy Hallowe'en.

And now, for Hallowe'en on the Blogga Saga...

The Mary just smiled. “You deserved it. You were a very naughty boy when you touched me like that.”

And mine...

“What are you up to, Mary?” Lawrence flapped his wings nervously in the small cage. “I know you. When you smile, bad things happen to me.”

“Why, Lawrence! How dare you say that? I didn’t have to turn you into a parakeet. I could have turned you into a hamster…”

“No, no. Anything but a hamster!” Lawrence exclaimed.

“Well, get over here. We’ve wasted enough time already.”

Lawrence peered at her with his beady little eyes. “I don’t know. You’re definitely up to something.” He pecked at the mirror hanging in his cage while he tried to think. “You need the peeler before you can handle the Golden Carrot. Who has the peeler? Zoltan! So first—”

Poof!

Lawrence sneezed and shook. Yellow feathers were everywhere—everywhere except on him! He turned his head, trying to see what Mary had done to him. “What did you do now?” he demanded ominously.

“I turned you into a rabbit,” she said calmly. “Zoltan needs a rabbit for his act. You’ll be perfect. By the way, you have a harness and leash, just in case you decide to make a run for it.” She smiled again. “Now we’ll go see Zoltan.”
“What? We can’t do that! What about Oz and Sparky? They have the map!”

“Uh-hmm. When they find the Golden Carrot, they’ll have to come to me. In the meantime, I thought we might go trick or treating at Zoltan’s casino. What better way to get close enough to trick ‘em out of the peeler?”

Anny

Don't forget to stop by Amarinda's blog to find out what some of your favorite authors' greatest fears are...and to also get a sneak peek at Maid for Death, Amarinda's Hallowe'en release. http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com/ Then pop over to Kelly's blog at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/ for her bit of Hallowe'en wisdom. Blessings on your day.