The Pumpkin That Grinned on Its Own
What was grinning on Missus Hart's porch, when nobody had carved a pumpkin at all?
What was grinning on Missus Hart's porch, when nobody had carved a pumpkin at all? On a crisp Halloween morning, Atharva and Ashi walked past Missus Hart's house, and there it sat: a big round orange pumpkin, grinning a great big grin in the porch light.
Ashi: "It is smiling at us!"
Atharva: "But who carved it? Nobody did!"
The brothers looked all around the pumpkin. There were no carving tools on the porch, no pumpkin seeds on the step, and Missus Hart looked just as surprised as they were when she opened her door with a basket of apples.
Missus Hart: "Not me, my dears! I never touched it!"
Ashi: "Then the grin grew all by itself?"
Atharva: "We have to find out how!"
The very next morning, the mystery grew bigger. The pumpkin's grin was wider than before, and now it had one round eye winking in the morning sun. Ashi hid behind his big brother, just a little, while Atharva knelt down and studied the pumpkin very carefully.
Ashi: "Is it magic, Atharva?"
Atharva: "Do not worry. Tonight, we will watch and see!"
That evening, as the Halloween sky turned purple and gold, the brothers wrapped themselves in warm blankets and hid behind the big plant pot beside the porch. They held mugs of warm cocoa, kept very still, and waited for the pumpkin's secret to show itself.
Ashi: "Shh! Did you hear that?"
Atharva: "Footsteps! Someone is coming!"
Down the garden path came a small figure in a soft shawl, carrying a spoon and tiptoeing like a mouse. She knelt beside the pumpkin, and just as she lifted her spoon, Ashi giggled, and the figure turned around. It was Missus Hart, laughing softly in the porch light!
Ashi: "Missus Hart! It is you!"
Missus Hart: "Shh, you caught me!"
Missus Hart sat down on the porch step and told them her secret. She had heard Ashi wish for a pumpkin that smiles, so every dawn, before anyone woke up, she carved just a tiny bit more, so the grin seemed to grow all by itself like magic.
Atharva: "You made the magic yourself!"
Missus Hart: "The best surprises are made with love, my dears."
Then the brothers helped her finish the pumpkin together. Atharva carved the second eye, Ashi carved a triangle nose, and Missus Hart placed a little candle inside. The pumpkin glowed warm and friendly, and neighbors stopped on the path to smile at its great big grin.
Ashi: "Now everybody can see it smile!"
Atharva: "And everybody is smiling back!"
And that is tonight's secret: the kindest surprises are the ones you make for someone else. A little love, given quietly, can make a whole street smile.
But wait — what is that tiny paper bat fluttering by the porch light, when the evening wind is perfectly still? Tune in tomorrow for another adventure! Good night, sleep tight. And keep learning, and subscribe to A two Quest dot com.
The lesson: The kindest surprises are the ones you make for someone else.