Before we begin, I need your help.
This isn’t an ordinary story.
You see, strange things sometimes happen at capgrounds on cool fall nights, especially when the moon is bright, the leaves are crunchy, and there’s campfire glowing nearby.
So tonight, whenever I say “through the leaves,” I need everyone to rub their hands toehter and say: “CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!”
Let’s practice.
Through the leaves…
[EVERYONE: “CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!”]
Perfect.
And whenever I say “uin the trees,” I need everyone to make their best spooky wind sound
“WHOOOOOOOO!”
Ready?
In the trees…
[EVERYONE: “WHOOOOOOOO!”]
Excellent.
Now we’re ready.
It happened on a Halloween night just like this one.
The campground was covered in pumpkins.
Big pumpkins.
Little pumpkins.
Happy pumpkins.
And a few pumpkins that looked like they had eaten WAY too much Halloween candy.
Campfires flickered between the trees while families roasted marshmallows and trick-or-treaters hurried from campsite to campsite.
But far away from all the laughter, something very small was floating…
through the trees.
[EVERYONE: “CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!”]
Well…
Technically, he was floating above the leaves.
Ghosts don’t have feet, after all.
His name was Boo.
Boo was a little ghost with a crooked bow tie and an orange pumpkin bucket that was almost as big as he was.
And Boo had made a terrible mistake.
He had gotten…
LOST.
“I knew I should’ve paid attention!” Boo groaned.
He looked to his left.
Trees.
He looked to his right.
More trees.
He looked behind him.
“AHHH!”
Book jumped.
It was another tree.
“I knew that,” he whispered.
Boo tried to remember how he’d gotten here.
First, he’d stopped for a piece of chocolate.
Then another.
Then a lollipop.
Then he’d seen a campsite giving away FULL-SIZED CANDY BARS.
Boo had never floated so fast in his entire afterlife.
And now…
He couldn’t remember the way home.
Suddenly, the wind blew…
in the trees.
[EVERYONE: “WHOOOOOOOO!”]
“Hello?” Boo called.
No answer.
“Mom?”
Nothing.
“Dad?”
Nothing.
“Person with more full-size candy bars?”
Still nothing.
Boo hugged his pumpkin bucket.
Then he remembered something his mom always told him.
If you’re lost, look for something you remember.
Boo thought very hard.
“My campsite had a pumpkin!”
He looked around.
There were pumpkins EVERYWHERE.
“Oh, cobwebs!”
Every campsite had cobwebs.
“A skeleton!”
Boo turned and found a giant skeleton sitting in a camping chair.
“AHHHHH!”
Boo zipped behind a tree.
Wait a minute…
Aren’t ghosts supposed to scare skeletons?
[PAUSE AND LET THE CHILDREN POINT.]
That way?
Okay…
Boo floated in that direction.
He floated past a glowing jack-o’-lantern.
Past a campsite covered in purple lights.
Past a witch’s hat hanging from a tree.
Then…
Through the leaves…
[EVERYONE: “CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!”]
Boo stopped.
Something was following him.
CRUNCH.
Boo turned around.
Nothing.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
“Who’s there?”
Two little eyes appeared behind a bush.
Boo gulped.
The bush shook.
Once.
Twice.
THREE TIMES!
And out jumped…
A tiny squirrel carrying a candy wrapper.
Boo put his hands on his hips.
“You scared me!”
The squirrel stared at him.
Then ran away.
Boo sighed.
“This is going to be a long night.”
Then Boo noticed something glowing between the trees.
A tiny orange light.
“There!”
Boo followed it.
The light disappeared.
Then another appeared farther down the trail.
Boo followed that one too.
It almost seemed like the jack-o’-lanterns were showing him the way.
One pumpkin…
Then another…
Until Boo reached a fork in the trail.
Uh-oh.
One trail went left.
One went right.
Boo couldn’t remember which way to go.
Maybe all of you can help.
Should Boo go LEFT or RIGHT?
[LET THE CHILDREN CHOOSE.]
“Okay!” Boo said. “Here we go!”
He floated down the trail.
Then suddenly.
Boo stopped.
“Wait!”
There was something in the distance.
Something familiar.
Tiny white ghosts hung from the trees.
Orange lights twinkled around a camper.
And sitting beside the fire was a little sign that read:
THE BOO FAMILY
“My campsite!”
Boo zoomed toward it.
“Boo!” his family cheered.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
Boo’s mom gave him the biggest ghost hug she could.
His dad took one look at Boo’s overflowing pumpkin bucket.
“Let me guess. You followed the candy?”
Boo looked down.
“…Maybe.”
Everyone laughed.
Before Boo went inside, he looked back toward the campground.
The moon was high above the trees now.
The jack-o’-lanterns still glowed along the trail.
And somewhere far away, another campfire crackled.
Boo smiled.
Maybe being lost hadn’t been so bad.
After all, he’d had an adventure.
He’d met a squirrel.
He’d survived a terrifying skeleton…
In a lawn chair.
And most importantly…
You helped him find his way home.
But that’s not quite where our story ends.
You see, campers say Boo still comes back every Halloween.
He floats from campsite to campsite with his little pumpkin bucket, looking at decorations and collecting candy.
And because Boo has a terrible sense of direction…
Sometimes he still gets a little lost.
So before we finish tonight, everyone needs to listen.
Really listen.
Can you hear the campfire?
[PAUSE.]
Can you hear the wind…
in the trees?
[EVERYONE: “WHOOOOOOOO!”]
Can you hear something moving….
through the leaves?
[EVERYONE: “CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!”]
Hmm.
Maybe it’s nothing.
But tonight, when you’re walking back to your campsite, keep an eye out for a tiny ghost with a crooked bow tie and an orange pumpkin bucket.
And if you see him looking confused, there’s only one thing you need to ask:
“Boo… are you lost AGAIN?”
And if a tiny voice answers…
“Maybe…”
Don’t be scared.
Just point him toward the pumpkins…
and help our little friend find his way home.
Happy Halloween, campers.
THE END.