Categories
- Antiques & Collectibles 13
- Architecture 36
- Art 47
- Bibles 22
- Biography & Autobiography 809
- Body, Mind & Spirit 47
- Business & Economics 24
- Computers 4
- Cooking 94
- Crafts & Hobbies 3
- Drama 346
- Education 45
- Family & Relationships 34
- Fiction 11809
- Games 19
- Gardening 17
- Health & Fitness 31
- History 1377
- House & Home 1
- Humor 147
- Juvenile Fiction 1873
- Juvenile Nonfiction 202
- Language Arts & Disciplines 88
- Law 16
- Literary Collections 686
- Literary Criticism 179
- Mathematics 13
- Medical 41
- Music 39
- Nature 179
- Non-Classifiable 1768
- Performing Arts 7
- Periodicals 1453
- Philosophy 62
- Photography 2
- Poetry 896
- Political Science 202
- Psychology 40
- Reference 154
- Religion 446
- Science 126
- Self-Help 6
- Social Science 80
- Sports & Recreation 34
- Study Aids 3
- Technology & Engineering 59
- Transportation 23
- Travel 463
- True Crime 29
Hallowe'en at Merryvale
Categories:
Description:
Excerpt
CHAPTER I
GETTING READY FOR THE PARTY
"What's Hallowe'en mean, Father?" asked Thomas Brown as the family was seated at breakfast one morning late in October.
"It means the evening before All Saints Day," answered Father Brown.
"Do you remember what fun we had last year, Chuck?" remarked Toad, for Thomas was called "Toad" by his friends, and Charley was known as "Chuck."
"I should say I do," he answered.
The Browns had always lived in the town of Merryvale in a large, white house, set far back from the street, and not far away was the home of Toad's best friend Reddy and his brother Frank nick-named "Fat."
"We had great fun when I was a boy," resumed Father Brown, "for my birthday anniversary falls on Hallowe'en and your grandmother would always have me invite the boys in the neighborhood to a party on that night."
"Oh, I wish mine weren't two days later or I might have a party too," sighed Toad.
"There's no reason, Thomas," said his mother, with a smile, "why you can't celebrate your birthday on Hallowe'en, if you'd like to."
"Oh, Mother, that's fine," cried Toad, jumping up from the table and running around to his mother's place to give her a hearty hug. "You always make things right," he added.
"We'd better ask all the fellows in school today," suggested Chuck, "for Saturday is Hallowe'en."
Toad lost no time when he reached school that morning in giving his invitations to the party and all the boys were glad to accept, for they always had a fine time at Toad's house.
When Saturday morning arrived, Mother Brown sent Toad off to the barn to get some large red apples.
"Be sure they have strong stems," she warned him, "or I shall not be able to use them."
The apples had been packed in barrels with plenty of straw to keep them from freezing, and when Toad reached the barn he pulled out one after another until he thought he had plenty. Just as he was wondering how many trips he would have to make to get all the apples to the house, a face peeped around the doorway.
"Hello, Reddy," laughed Toad, "come on in and help me with these apples. I've got to carry them up to the house," he explained, "they're for the party tonight."
"Couldn't we eat just one now?" asked Reddy, picking up from the floor a shining red apple.
"Hey, not that one," cried Toad, "take one without a stem."
"Huh," protested Reddy, "what difference does that make? I wasn't going to eat the stem."
Toad laughed.
"Mother wants strong stems on them. I don't know why," he explained.
"What's a Hallowe'en party like?" inquired Reddy, seating himself on the top of a potato barrel.
"Fat says," he continued, "that there's always ghosts."
"Aw, who's afraid of baby things like ghosts," jeered Toad.
"Well, I'm not either," protested Reddy. "I knew he was only trying to scare me."
After the boys had carried the apples up to the house Mother Brown looked them over and exclaimed:
"They're just what I want, such fine strong stems."
At about half past seven o'clock that night the boys who had been invited to the party began to arrive at the Brown's home where they were met at the door by a figure in white....