Vobble and the Jack O'Lantern
2016/10/09
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"Vobble, I've decided we'll have a Jack O'Lantern for Halloween this
year. He'll add a lot to the spirit of the season and to the
festivities." "But Vinky, I don't know anyone named Jack. I didn't know you knew anyone named Jack. How are you going to invite him here for Halloween if we don't know him. And where is he going to sleep? We don't have any extra room since our expansion plans fell through. I don't think you've thought this through very well, big sis." "Oh Vobble, you are so funny. I don't know where these jokes of yours come from, but I love them! Well, I'm off. I be back in a bit with our Jack O'Lantern." Vinky scurried out the door. Vobble just scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Jokes? Funny? I wasn't trying to be funny. I'm just not so sure about this Jack fellow. I'm not so sure about her bringing home a stranger." Vobble headed to The Dude's house to see if he could arrange some kind of bodyguard or security in case this Jack-dude turned out to be not so trustworthy. When he got to TheDude's house, he found TheDude and Zorro in the garage. TheDude didn't seem too happy with Zorro. Vobble heard him say… "Zorro, this is the last straw. I've had enough!" Apparently, Zorro bought a lot of Halloween decorations and used Vaca's credit card to purchase the items. Vobble was not clear as to what the other items were and what they had to do with Halloween. He was still concentrating on getting a shovel or another tool to guard against this Jack fellow. Vaca and Zorro said to Vobble at the same time, "Is there something you need Vobble?" "We're in the middle of a serious discussion." We dont need a whole graveyard on the front lawn Zorro! the Dude was not happy. "just a big old Jack O'Lantern would be quite enough." Vobble's beak dropped! "What? You know him?" The Dude and Zorro gave Vobble the stink eye. then the Dude continued, " And those six skeletons, really Zorro! You need to return those too." Vobble screeched! " Wait! stop! I need to know about this Jack guy," Just then… they heard a BIG boom! "The Jack O'Lantern!" screamed Vobble. They didn't know where it came from. The Dude ran to the house. Zorro ran to the yard. Vobble hid in the corner, shivering. Then they saw CC coming up the driveway. "Sorry about the noise, gutz. My van backfired. I brought over some new Halloween treats I'm trying out, I want to know what you think of them. I brought some Halloween pizza, some spicy pumpkin soup, some fizzy fruit, some chocolate spiders and some jack-o-lantern cookies. Vobble screeched and said… "How can you think about eating at a time like this???" Zorro looked up, soup dripping off his whiskers. "At a time like what, Vobble?" Just then the Dude came back from the house to sample some of the tasty treats from CC's. "MMM these Jack O Lantern cookies are the bomb, CC!!" Vobble's mind was racing, "Vinky's inviting Jack O'Lantern to the owlbox to visit and CC's making Jack special cookies just for him? Who is this guy and why have I never met him?" Vobs lower beak started to tremble, he was feeling skeered and he backed away unnoticed by the Dude and Zorro who were still chowing down on the tasty halloween grub... As Vobble backed away, he heard "psst, psst" from a near by bush. "Hey, Vobs. I'll tell you about Jack O'Lantern," said Tauntz. Come into my hole. Vobble slid down the hole entrance and into Tauntz's home. The TV was on and playing Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. "The Great Pumpkin is the notorious Jack," whispered Tauntz. Sometimes he has a goofy smile that is all lit up and he is so cute. But other times he sprouts legs and arms and gets mean. Hope this helps you Vobs. And, for sure, I hope the 'good' Jack comes home with Vinky." Vobs left the rabbit burrow, his eyes were wide open and his heart beating hard. "what will I do?" After thinking very hard, Vobble decided to go see an old friend - Glowz! "I bet she'll have some great ideas for decorations, and maybe she'll help me handle this Jack character too!" When Vobbz arrived, Glowz was busy spinning a beautiful webz, full of Halloween decorations, including funny, scary, and pretty designs. Vobble asked Glowz if she could make a few Halloween decorations for his and Vinky's box, and maybe some for VacaDude. "Sure," said Glowz. "I'll ask a few dozen of my spiderlings to help out. They'd really enjoy it, and the practice will be very good for them." "That will be really great!" said Vobble. "Thank you! And Glowz. could you please answer a question for me?" "Of course," she said kindly. "I've had so many children, that I bet I've answered every question there is!" "Well," said Vobble with a quaver in his voice, "Do you know someone named Jack O'Lantern, and is he scary?" "Well," said Glowz gently sensing Vobble's anxiety and fear. "Jack O'Latern is another name for a pumpkin. Jack O'Lanterns, or pumpkins, come in various sizes and shapes. Nowadays then even come in great color drawings. There are even contests in some neighborhoods." Glowz paused for a moment. She proceeded to let Vobble know that there are some scary movies with Jack O'Laterns in it as well as scary costumes. In general," Glowz said, "Jack O'Laterns are fun and harmless. Vobble made a great sigh of relief. He had gotten so wound up about this Jack that he was not seeing or thinking clearly. Vobble asked Glowz, "do you think some nice decoration could be made for Jack that Vinky is getting for our owl box?" "Well, I'd be happy to Vobble." Glowz went right to work. "Come back tomorrow and it will be ready." Meanwhile, Vobble mulled over all this new information about Jack O'Lantern. Then he had an idea! He flew to the nearest pumpkin farm and got the biggest pumpkin he could carry. He flew to the Dude's garage and began to do a little beak carving. He worked on it for about 20 minutes, proudly stood back and looked at his creation. "Perfect!" he thought. Just then Zorro walked in, cheeze doodle in hand. "Wowza Vobble! That Jack O'Lantern looks just like… "Dracula!" Vobble asked, "Who's Dracula?" Zorro grinned and said, "He's this real scary dude who likes to drink blood." Vobble screamed and ran away. Zorro grinned and said, "What was that all about? Was it something I said?" As Vobble exited the garage, he ran smack dab into the Dude. "Hey little fella, whats got you in a tither?" "Dracula……drinks blood……Jack O'Lantern…… look like……oh my……" Vobble blubbered. "Relax Vobs, its time you learned about The Jack." "ACDC the Jack," said Vobble. "No, no, the Jack O'Lantern. You did a great job carving, looks fine, we light him up with a candle and the Jack you carved is a perfect decoration. Now we take the seeds you pulled from the pumpkin, mix them with some mouse hair and gopher guts, bake them in the oven and you have a Halloween treat fit for a… well, fit for a Halloween party-goer! Vobs started to breathe a bit easier. He was starting to get the idea of this Halloween stuff. It was mostly about pretending to be scared and scary, not the real thing! He could do that! Just then Glowz came by, with about 50 of her children. We've thought of some designs, so we've to show you and see what you think." The spiderlings scattered by 2s to spots on trees and bushes, and started spinning. Soon they had produced rough versions of Halloween designs in process. They were making witches, goblins, bats, jack o'lanterns, vultures, siders and spider webs ( there was much giggling from the spiderlings working on those designs) and every other Hallowennish thing you could thing of. They were great! And Vobble found that he wasn't afraid of any of them! Finally he understood what Halloween was all about - pretending to be scary and to be scared! He huged Glowz and every one of the spiderlings, and then headed back inside. He brought his little pumpkin out and put it on the porch and looked at all the decorations. "I guess this won't be too bad. The spiderlings' decorations aren't really scary. They're actually kinda cute." "Vobble!" Vinky trilled as she flew back home. "Great decorations! Wait until you see the Jack O'Lantern I've got. Oh, you've already got a cute little one. It kinda looks like Dracula, doesn't it? Well, this big one I got can be Dracula's BIG SCARY cousin, okay?" Vobble looked at the Jack O'Lantern and then at his sister and said, "You want to bring THAT into our house? I'm moving out! I'll never sleep again with that thing staring at me." Vinky laughed. "Oh, Vobble, you are sooooo funny. You oughta be doing stand-up. There's nothing scary about this. It's just an old pumpkin with some eyes and a mouth carved in it. Besides, it'll be on the porch so other folks can see it. You won't even see his face." "But……but……but……I'll know it's there. Vinky, I can't sleep with that thing out there." "Well, Vobble, you'll just have to live with it. It's just for a few days." Vobble rushed to the far corner of the owl box and cowered under a rabbit skin blanket. He shivered and moaned and cried. "What am I gonna do? I can't live with that thing out there, knowing that at any moment it could turn around and come in to drink my blood." He finally fell asleep, but when he awoke he was bleary eyed. "Vinky, I barely slept. I had horrible nightmares. That horrid Jack came in and tried to eat me!" Just then, Zorro shimmied up the pole. He was wearing an apron, a beret and carried a big box. "Vobble, I think I have the solution to your problem. Just give this master a moment to work and you'll see." Zorro set himself up out on the porch and got to work. His arms were flying and bits of color were dripping everywhere. Finally, he turned around and said, "Voila! It's a masterpiece. See, I've painted a happy, smiling face on the back of Jack. Now it doesn't matter what other folks see. THIS is the face YOU'LL see. Look how cute he is. He even has dimples!" Vobble clapped his wings in glee! "It's wonderful, Zorro. Halloween wouldn't be so bad if they'd just leave out all the spooky, scary stuff! Halloween should be all about happy and fun." Vinky looked at Vobble and grinned. "But where's the fun in that? It wouldn't be Halloween at all. That'd just be boring." "Boring can be good," Vobble whimpered. Vinky turned to Zorro and whispered, "You oughta come visit on Halloween. I've got plans. Lots of plans! Vobble won't know what hit him! He won't sleep for a month!! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" The End |
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