Ted and the Talking Pumpkin

It was nearly Halloween, and Ted couldn't wait. This was his favourite time of the year. At school, he and his friends were already designing their costumes for the upcoming holiday. Ted had decided he was going to be a ghost this year. He had found a white sheet at home and had already been trying it on in the evenings and pretending to fly around spookily.

His mum had just come home from the market. "Teddy, look what I’ve bought!" she shouted out from the kitchen as she put a huge orange pumpkin down on the table.

Ted ran in from the garden, and dad poked his head round the kitchen door, too. When he saw the pumpkin, he nodded his head in approval. "That's great,” he said, “tomorrow we can carve it and put it on display in front of the house."

Ted couldn't hide his excitement. "Can’t we already hollow it out and carve it today? Please?" he begged.

His mum and dad looked at each other and smiled: "Okay, Ted," they finally agreed, "as long as you help."

Ted set to work at once. His dad sliced the top of the pumpkin off with a sharp knife, then Ted picked up a big spoon and began to hollow out the inside. His parents helped him where the flesh was harder. Finally, together they carved out a great Halloween grimace with big eyes, a pointy triangular nose, and a wide toothy grin.

"Let's light a candle in it, just to see what it looks like," Ted suggested.

He and his parents set about looking for a candle. They searched all the cupboards, drawers and shelves, but they couldn’t find one.

"I'm sorry, Ted," said Dad. "We'll go and buy…