The pumpkin head in front of the haunted house
By Prabir Rai Chaudhuri . All Copyright Reserved 2009
On the outskirts of town there was an old house, on a plot
of land overgrown with greenery. Hardly anyone dared to come here, because
there was a persistent rumor that the dilapidated building was haunted and no
one wanted to meet a ghost.
Once a year, shortly after autumn had begun, the leaves on
the trees had turned brightly colored and the golden October had come to an
end, not only people decorated their houses with spooky figures and bright
orange pumpkins. One of these fruits also lay in front of the old haunted
house. A particularly hideous face was carved into the shell, which made the
townspeople stay away from this place even more. They also couldn't explain who
had put up this decoration, because no one had lived in this enchanted place
for decades.
One evening a group of young men dared to come here anyway.
They wanted to prove their great courage. But one after the other they stopped
just before the plot of land. The fear in them was so great that they could not
go any further. Only one of them made it almost to the door.
"Look here, you scaredy-cats. If I put my hand out, I
could even touch the door handle. Nothing has happened to me. There are no
ghosts here and no one is haunted."
He was just about to start laughing when a loud voice rang
out next to him.
And if I put my hand out, I will grab you. Then you will be
in a really bad way."
It was the pumpkin that had spoken. Panic rose in the young
man. His eyes bulged out of their sockets. He took his legs in his hands and
ran screaming out into the night. His friends followed just a few meters behind
him.
At the same time, a little mouse with a candle was sitting in the hollowed-out pumpkin and laughing at people's fear and stupidity. The many ghost stories that she had made up about her big house would guarantee her a safe home for a long time to come, where no one would disturb her.
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