Jack's Lantern

"Grandpa," said Colleen, as she stuck her hand into the pumpkin. She grabbed the seeds. "Do you know why we use a pumpkin for Halloween?"


"It just so happens that I do," said Grandpa.


"Can you tell us now?" asked Dirk, Colleen's brother.


"I could," said Grandpa. "Dirk, finish drawing the face you want on that pumpkin. We can cut it out while I talk."


Grandpa sat down behind the pumpkins while the two children worked and began telling his story.


"Long ago, a group of people called the Celts lived in Ireland and Scotland. For them, November 1 was New Year's Day. So on October 31, they would have fun."


"What did they do, Grandpa?" asked Dirk.


"They would build big bonfires. All the people would come. They would carry burning sticks. They wanted to celebrate the harvest. They would sing. They would dance. They would tell stories. Some of them were scary stories," said Grandpa.


"What kind of scary stories, Grandpa?" asked Colleen.


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