“Finish Me” Stories — The Halloween Treat from the Man in the Boring Brown Suit and Bright Pink Hat.
©2021 Stuart B Baum
Illustration by Gryffon Baum. View their other illustrations on Instagram!
Ages: 4 and up
So it was Halloween and I was trick or treating and I was going door to door and I wasn’t paying much attention to the doors, but I did know that I had just left my friend Amy’s house where they were giving out granola bars which I like but not as Halloween candy when suddenly I realized the doorbell I was ringing was attached to a pink door. And I mean bright bright hurt-your-eyes pink. I didn’t remember a pink door being on this street and I think I would have remembered a door this bright pink. I come to this street pretty much every day. I looked to the right and saw Amy’s house.
I looked to the left and saw Biyu’s house. Biyu is also a good friend.
Here’s the crazy thing: There is no house between their houses. Or at least there wasn’t a house between their houses earlier today.
Then the bright bright pink door of the house opened and a small man in a boring old brown suit came out and looked at me oddly. He seemed confused why I was at his door.
His voice was a bit scratchy and soft. “Can I help you?” he asked.
“Trick or treat!” I replied.
He still seemed confused, then asked, “Why would I want a trick?”
I wondered if he was teasing me.
“Trick or treat!” I said again.
Did I tell you he was wearing a hat? A bright pink hat? Did I? It’s okay if I didn’t. He took his hat off, his bright pink hat, flipped it over so it looked like a bowl and said, “I’ll take a treat, then.” He expected me to put some candy in his hat!
“No,” I said. And I said it nicely. “You are supposed to give me a treat.”
Now he looked really confused. “Why?” he asked. “Why am I supposed to give you a treat?”
I explained. “Because it’s Halloween. I’m wearing a costume.” Which I was. I was dressed like a zombie, of course. “And I knocked on your door,” I added.
He shrugged. “I guess that’s how it works, then.” He reached his hands into his pocket and pulled something out, but before I could see what it was, he dropped it into my candy bag.
Then, three very odd things happened.
First. The house behind the man disappeared, pink door and all, so we, the small man in a brown suit and I in my zombie costume, were suddenly standing in the middle of a grass yard, in between Amy and Biyu’s house.
Second. He put his pink hat back on his head and then, he, too, the small man in the boring brown suit disappeared.
Third. The man’s hat did not disappear. It fell to the ground right where the man was standing.
I wanted to pick up the pink hat, but first I had to know what he dropped into my candy bag. So I reached into the bag, grabbed the thing that was right on the top and pulled out a …
Optional prompts:
- What did I pull out?
- What happened next?
- Did I take the pink hat? Is there anything special about the hat?
- Please end this story!
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