Story Hour
GLICKER’S GHOSTLY HALLOWEEN
Written by Gene B. Williams
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Nicker was ready for Halloween. He remembered well how last year he and Danny dressed up as tortoises, and Gordie dressed up as a grumpy pumpkin. And how the year before, Nicker’s FIRST Halloween, Nicker was Danny and Danny was Nicker. (Have you read those stories? If not, you can now. Or, read them again!) Well, it was Halloween again. Like all sea dragons, Nicker didn’t want to be seen – but he sure was looking forward to doing a trick or treat!
And this year, Glicker wanted to go, too.
Can you imagine what that would be like for Danny? (Or for you?) He’d have with him two shy sea dragons and a very large tortoise, all in their ideas of costumes.
Glicker said, “I remember when you dressed up as a boy and Danny dressed up as a sea dragon. And last year you both dressed up as tortoises, like Gordie, and he dressed up as a pumpkin. Maybe I could dress up as a princess! Or I could be a human girl. Or a tortoise. Or a witch. Or a … ” She paused a moment then gave a big smile. “Or I could dress up as an acorn!”
Danny and Nicker looked at each other, then at Glicker. It was hard to not laugh. Glicker as an acorn? A sea dragon dressed up as an ACORN? For that matter, who would come up with an idea? Dress up as an acorn? Dressing up as an ACORN? You might wonder. I sure do. Danny just shrugged. Sure! Why not?
Glicker wasn’t done. She kept talking about all the things she wanted to be for her first Halloween. Some of them made dressing up as an acorn seem to be a better idea. She couldn’t make up her mind and was coming up with more and more strange ideas and was racing around, talking mostly to herself, about how she was going to do it.
The boys began to make their costumes. Danny decided to be a pirate. That gave Nicker the idea to be a parrot. He began to make a costume so he would look like Repeet, Captain Kazoo’s famous parrot. Danny told him, “That’s a good idea, but don’t think you’re going to sit on my shoulder all night long.” They helped each other.
Glicker didn’t want help. She was still racing around. She didn’t WANT help. She announced, “I’m going to be Princess Vicki. My title will be Princess Victoria Glicker Gooch, Princess of Edieapolis.” Off she would go, and come back with how she was going to be a shooting star … then she would be a subway train …
Now and then she would come to see what Danny and Nicker were doing, grab something, and go off on her own again.
Danny’s headband disappeared. Glicker explained, “A princess needs a crown … or I could use it to be a doctor or a mysterious scientist.” And she was gone.
Nicker worked hard to make the parrot feathers work, but some of them disappeared. Glicker explained, “A princess needs a gown.” She asked, “Is there such a thing as a Halloween chicken?” and was gone again.
Some of Nicker’s feathers came back, and some oak leaves from the yard disappeared along with some brown paper, a package of Christmas tinsel, a small step ladder, Mom’s cookbook, two light bulbs, and a cereal bowl from the kitchen.
What WAS Glicker up to?
Then a sheet from Danny’s bed was gone. Was she planning to go as a ghost? All afternoon things kept disappearing and coming back, including Glicker. Then she would be gone again. The cookbook was back on the table, along most of the feathers, one of the light bulbs, two slightly used crayons (silver and pink) and an empty shoe box. Gone were Danny’s binoculars, two forks and a boiled egg. She asked, “Does anyone have a tiny plastic sewing machine? Last I saw, mine was somewhere on Lyndale.” Before Danny could ask what Glicker was even talking about, she mumbled to herself, “Where did I put that record of ‘Daddy Dear?’” and was gone again.
Then back again.
Very fast she said, “Who has some sticks? Maybe straws will do. Danny, how many legs does a bug have?” and she was out the door again before he could answer. “I bet Gordie has some pipe cleaners. Gordie always has pipe cleaners!” With her went a spool of yellow thread, a can opener, four paper plates and a sponge.
It was all very confusing. Danny sure couldn’t figure it out, and you probably can’t, either. (I myself got lost when Glicker was somewhere on Lyndale! And I have no idea what she will do with a can opener and four paper plates. Do you?)
Danny shrugged again and went back to work on his own costume. He made a hat and eye patch from black paper, and a sword from a cardboard box. All afternoon he practiced saying, “Arrrr, matey” to sound like a pirate.
Nicker was busy sticking feathers together – and trying avoid those oak leaves Glicker had brought in – to become a parrot. All afternoon he practiced saying, “Arrr, matey, arrr matey,” just like Repeet, Captain Kazoo’s parrot, to say everything Danny said … twice.
And all afternoon Glicker kept running through to make comments like being the moon, or maybe an apple, then ran off with a kitchen towel, a dust mop and pan, an empty soda bottle, snatched one of Nicker’s red feathers … and was gone again.
A little while later she ran in and shouted, “Big brother, I need a pumpkin, six mice and a glass slipper.” She grinned at Nicker. “I’ve decided to be Sister-ella, so YOU have to help.” Not that Nicker had a glass slipper, or even one mouse … it didn’t matter because Glicker had already disappeared, this time with a cutting board, a tennis ball, yesterday’s newspaper, a box of macaroni and cheese, and four (she counted them carefully) potato chips.
Finally, at least the boys were ready.
Danny was dressed as the best pirate ever.
Nicker was a repeat of Repeet, down to the best red and yellow feathers (except one missing red feather) the boys could find.
They got their bags and were ready to go out the door. They called to Glicker, “It’s time to go for trick or treat!” Both boys wondered what kind of costume Glicker would have for her first Halloween. Just what had she been making on her own with all those strange things and strange ideas?
She came out. Glicker was … well, Glicker was Glicker. No costume at all! No Princess Victoria Glicker Gooch. No witch, no ghost. She wasn’t even dressed up as an acorn. Glicker didn’t even have the missing red feather. She was just … Glicker.
“I’m not going,” said Glicker. “I’m afraid. Even in a costume, people will see me. People aren’t supposed to see sea dragons! See?”
Well, there wasn’t much choice. The more the two boys tried to talk her into it, the more stubborn Glicker became. At last, the two boys went out on their own, with Gordie grumbling along. (He couldn’t come up with any really good ideas, so he rubbed around in his cavern and “dressed up” as a dirty boulder. He did get a bit upset when one lady said, “What an adorable filthy turtle costume.” Well … you know sensitive Gordie can be about such things.)
Other children were everywhere, dressed up as everything and anything. Witches, ghosts, goblins, monsters, princesses, princes, movie characters, beatniks, gorillas … they were all there, and running from door to door. Some of the costumes were funny. Some were scary – at least to Nicker. He was nervous enough just being out where he could be seen – even though he was covered with red and yellow feathers like Repeet. He saw all those other costumes and wondered, “ARE there witches? ARE there zombies?” He wondered, since he could be in costume, couldn’t there be real monsters walking around? Monsters that didn’t even need disguises because they were already monsters?
Both Danny and Nicker were thinking just that. Gordie didn’t care. If some vampire skunk came along, he’d just go into his shell and bull-doze it the way he did the last time. (If you missed that story, here it is.) It didn’t help that everywhere they went, SOMETHING was moving around in the bushes. Maybe SOMETHING was ready to jump on them, there from the dark. Nicker moved closer to Danny. Danny moved closer to Nicker. (Gordie kept muttering, “Filthy turtle? Filthy TURTLE? I know I’m adorable, but FILTHY TURTLE???”)
They went from house to house. So did the noises in the bushes.
“Trick or treat,” said Danny at the next door.
“Trick or treat trick or treat,” said Nicker pretending to be Repeet.
Nicker became more and more like the real Repeet, not just a sea dragon in a Repeet costume. He wanted to curl around Danny’s shoulders for protection from those bushy noises. For Danny, that was getting a bit heavy. If you’ve ever had a sea dragon curling around your shoulders, you know just what I mean.
At one house, Danny knocked just as the rustling sound in a bush got loud. Nicker zoomed up onto Danny’s shoulder.
Nicker was startled. Danny was startled because Nicker was startled. The man at the door, holding the bowl of candy, was startled. Here was one boy dressed as a pirate, and another boy dressed as a parrot, but … one boy was on the other boy’s shoulder almost like a real parrot. Both had bags for candy. Both said “trick or treat” (the parrot said “trick or treat trick or treat”). Near was a dirty boulder grumbling, “Filthy TURTLE?”
Well, the man gave the three some candy then quickly closed the door, especially when the noise from under the bush got louder.
Nicker didn’t get on Danny’s shoulder again, but he stayed very close. At each house there was that sound again in the bushes or just out in the dark. Danny and Nicker looked and could find nothing. Just a cat or a raccoon, or maybe a tiger, or a REAL witch or a REAL zombie? (Gordie grumbled, “Maybe a REAL turtle. HA!) But if so, that cat or raccoon or tiger or witch or zombie (or turtle) followed them, house to house – invisible.
“Trick or treat,” Danny the pirate would say.
Nicker in his feathers would repeat Repeet, “Trick or trick, trick or treat.” And the bushes would rustle rustle rustle. House to house, it was the same. They would get candy and treats in their bags. There in bushes was the invisible rustle. Danny joked that maybe it was someone dressed up as a bush. That didn’t make Nicker feel better at all. It also didn’t help when Gordie grumbled, “At least it’s not a TURTLE!” Whatever was out there in the dark, following them, wasn’t going to the doors to get candy. As you well know, a zombie is bad enough, but an invisible zombie was terrible! (A turtle is okay, though, despite what Gordie thinks.)
Danny suggested that it might be a muskrat following them, or perhaps a snapping turtle disguised to look like a moldy rock. He was trying to seem brave. SOMETHING on this spooky night was being spooky. It was following them. Unseen.
“Trick or treat,” said the pirate.
“Trick or treat trick or treat,” said the parrot.
“I’m not a turtle,” said the dirty boulder.
Rustle rustle rustle, said the bushes.
Nicker was getting frightened, and so was Danny. Danny wouldn’t admit it but he was ready to go home. This was getting too scary. Finally he said, “One more house, then we will run for home.”
“Trick or treat,” said Danny and held out his bag.
“Trick or treat treat or treat,” said the feathered sea dragon.
From behind came a very soft voice. “Trick or treat.”
The two boys turned. There was Glicker, with a candy bag. No costume! Not even a red feather.
“Oh, my!” said the lady at the door. “You boys have wonderful costumes. What a great pirate, and there is his colorful parrot. Oh my, look at the filthy turtle! But this is the best costume I’ve ever seen. She looks exactly like a little sea dragon!!!” She reached into the bowl of candy and said, “You deserve extra!” and put still more into Glicker’s bag.
At last, the boys knew what all that rustling had been about – and so do you. The four went on, and each time, Glicker got extra for her great costume – which wasn’t a costume. No one knew but her … and Danny and Nicker and Gordie … and you. She wasn’t Princess Victoria Glicker Gooch. She wasn’t a subway train. She wasn’t even an acorn. Glicker was Glicker. Her bag got so full that the boys had to help her carry it.
Of course, back home, she was very willing to share. Her one bag had as much as both of theirs!
What a great costume! Who would dress up as Glicker … other than Glicker?
Hmmm … does this give you any ideas?
Hmmm … maybe this Halloween … hmmm … you could dress up as … hmmm … a filthy turtle?
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