The Pumpkin Ghost Page 4

  As Pippa touched the ground, her family came to life again. Miranda pounced on her.

  “Scaredy-cat,” she said. “I dare you to trick-or-treat at the haunted house.”

  Pippa smiled. If only Miranda knew about the ghostly frights she’d had in Chevalia! They made the house at the end of her street look tame. “All right,” she agreed.

  “Really?” Miranda’s mouth fell open. “Pippa, wait,” she said, chasing her sister along the street. “I didn’t mean it . . .”

  But Pippa was already marching through the overgrown garden and up to the door. Up close, Pippa decided the house looked more neglected than haunted. The windows were dirty, the paintwork was peeling, and crisp brown leaves littered the doorstep. The doorbell was broken, so Pippa knocked on the door.

  It was ages before anyone answered. Pippa almost gave up, thinking the house was empty, but then she heard a thumping and footsteps coming closer. The door swung open, and an elderly lady with long gray hair wound into a bun, gold eyeglasses, and a walking stick peered out. “Can I help you?” croaked Mrs. Parsons, her hand trembling.

  Mrs. MacDonald, Miranda, and Jack came up behind Pippa as she was saying, “Happy Halloween! Trick or treat?”

  “I’m sorry, my dear,” Mrs. Parsons said sadly, “but I haven’t been able to get out to the stores. That’s why I didn’t leave my porch light on. I was so scared I’d upset you kids because I don’t have any candy to give away.”

  “Don’t be scared,” said Pippa, remembering how the pumpkin ghost had frightened the royal family and how Cloud had terrified the farmers. “Things aren’t always as they seem. We can go shopping for you, can’t we, Mom?” Pippa turned to her mother.

  “Of course we can,” said Mrs. MacDonald. “I’ll come by tomorrow morning, and you can give me a list.”

  “That’s very kind. I’ll be sure to put candy on it. I’m sorry I don’t have anything to give you kids now, though. Your costumes are great. The zony and skeleton are very scary. And, I hope you don’t mind me saying,” she paused and studied Miranda, “you make a very glamorous witch.”

  Miranda blushed, but Pippa could tell she was pleased.

  Impulsively, Pippa reached into her candy bucket and handed some to Mrs. Parsons. “Here, this is for you. We’ve got plenty.”

  “Why, thank you.” Mrs. Parsons’s eyes crinkled as she smiled at Pippa. “You kids must come round tomorrow, too. I’ll get your mom to buy some cookies, and you can stay for a morning snack.”

  “That sounds awesome,” said Pippa.

  “Yay for Halloween!” added Jack.

  “Halloween’s silly,” said Miranda as they finally made their way home, but her eyes sparkled in the light of the full moon.

  “Does that mean you don’t want your candy?” asked Pippa innocently.

  “I never said that,” said Miranda quickly.

  Pippa smiled. “This has been the best Halloween,” she said, “because we spent it together.”

  JOIN PIPPA AND THE PONIES FOR ANOTHER ADVENTURE IN THE WONDROUS LAND OF CHEVALIA . . .

  SOMEONE HAS STOLEN THE PONIES’ HOLIDAY DECORATIONS! CAN PIPPA AND PRINCESS STARDUST FIND THEM?

  Turn the page to read a sneak peek . . .

  Hidden in the middle of the seas is the island of Chevalia, a magical place surrounded by golden beaches. It’s ruled by the royal ponies Queen Moonshine and King Firestar from their court at Stableside Castle.

  But a long way from Stableside, in the middle of the Horseshoe Hills, was a smaller, dilapidated castle with crumbling ivy-clad walls. Mice and beetles lived in the empty rooms. Bats roosted in the turrets and spiders hung from thick webs.

  In a dark room with spots of damp peppering the walls, a mean-looking pony with a square nose was preparing to go out. She put on a black cloak and pulled the hood over her face. Next, she covered her hooves with foam-backed horseshoes. The pony, whose name was Divine, walked to the opposite side of the room, then trotted back. Her hooves made no sound on the stone floor.

  “Perfect!” A wicked smile lit Divine’s face. “No one will hear me when I walk down Mane Street to strip the Christmas tree of its decorations.”

  Reaching up, Divine unhooked a large sack from a nail on the wall. She hung it round her neck and went out through the back door. On silent hooves, Divine galloped to Mane Street.

  While the ponies of Chevalia slept, Divine stared at the enormous Christmas tree, tall and proud at the end of the street. Its snowy branches were covered with horseshoe decorations that sparkled in the moonlight. Divine set to work, removing the horseshoes and hiding them in her sack. When the tree was empty, she brushed the stray pine needles and glitter from her cloak. A wicked smile lit her sallow face.

  “Chevalia,” she whispered, “I’ve ruined Christmas for you. Only when you accept me as your rightful queen will I stop thinking up ways to make your lives as miserable as mine.”

  Divine cackled softly as she galloped away, the tree decorations bouncing in her sack.

  Pippa MacDonald woke early. It was unnaturally quiet, and the room was bathed in a bright white light. Butterflies danced in her stomach as she leapt out of bed.

  “Snow!” Pippa’s breath came out in a white cloud as she threw back the curtains and stared onto the street. “Snow for Christmas day.”

  On tiptoes, Pippa crept downstairs to the Christmas tree. The fresh smell of pine needles tickled her nose.

  “Wow!” she gasped. The tree stood in a sea of presents. Pippa’s eyes traveled over the parcels, trying to guess the contents from their shape. So many of the gift tags had her name written on them, but had she gotten the present she wanted the most? “Please let there be ice skates!” Pippa had her heart set on a white pair that she’d seen in Tillingdale’s department store.

  Pippa couldn’t wait for her family, Mom, Miranda, and Jack, to wake so she could find out.

  Jack woke next. He ran around the tree shouting, “Choo choo!” He’d been hoping for a train set.

  Miranda clumped down the stairs, grumbling. “Why so loud?”

  “It’s Christmas!” Pippa squealed.

  “Presents, presents, presents!” Jack yelled as their Mom followed them into the front room.

  “Can we open them now?” asked Pippa hopefully.

  “Not yet,” said Mom, her face serious. “There’s been a change of plan. We’re going to school.”

  “Good one!” Pippa laughed, thinking that her mother was joking. No one went to school on Christmas morning.

  “It’s true,” said Mom.

  “Ha ha ha!” Jack giggled.

  “I’m sorry, kids, but a friend called me late last night. She’s using the school kitchens and gym to prepare a Christmas feast for local people who aren’t as lucky as we are. But she doesn’t have enough helpers, so I said we’d go along too.

  “Really? Suddenly I don’t feel so lucky,” said Miranda.

  “I’m not going to school on Christmas day!” Jack jumped up and down. “No!” he shouted. “No. No. No.”

  “Yes,” said Mom firmly. “We can all help out. And our Christmas can wait for a few more hours.”

  Pippa frowned. She didn’t want to help either. But it seemed mean not to, especially when Christmas was supposed to be a time of good will.

  After a hurried breakfast, they wrapped up in warm coats and winter boots. Jack was still being difficult, so Pippa volunteered to pull him on a sled. Mom was carrying two large bags filled with food.

  “Why don’t you pop them on the sled, Mom?” offered Pippa. “I can pull the groceries and the brother!”

  Mom placed the bags in between Jack’s legs and said, “Hold on to these.”

  “I’ll eat it all up,” he joked with a smile.

  As they trudged through the snow on the familiar route toward school, Pippa pretended she was a reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh across the sky. But of course it was much harder to walk in the snow than fly through the air.

  Still, Pippa loved hearing
the crunch of the snow as her feet sank into it and seeing how the sled’s train smoothed over her footprints as she pulled it. As they neared the school, they joined up with other parents and children. Many of them were also carrying bags of food.

  “Cody!” called Pippa, catching sight of her best friend. She hurried across the yard and caught up to Cody by the frozen duck pond next to the gym. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Right back at ya,” said Cody. She pointed to a pair of ducks huddled together at the edge of the pond. “Look at them, poor things. The ice is so thick they’ve got nowhere to swim.”

  “They’ll have to learn to ice skate,” said Pippa. Her heart leaped with wonder. Had she gotten the ice skates she wanted?

  The gym was buzzing with activity. Volunteers of all ages, wearing Santa hats, were busy hanging decorations and setting the tables. In the school’s kitchen, which joined onto the gym, a group of parents was singing as they prepared the Christmas feast.

  “Mmm,” said Pippa, her stomach rumbling in appreciation. “Something smells delicious.”

  “There’s no time for daydreaming.” Mom came up behind Pippa. “We’ve got a ton of work to do to make this day special.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” said Pippa smartly. She gave Mom a mock salute. “What can I do first?”

  “Open the door,” said Mom. She pushed her brown hair away from her face. “It’s getting hot in here.”

  Pippa ran to the door and opened it wide. A flurry of fresh snow rushed in on a cold breeze. Pippa opened her mouth to catch the snowflakes on her tongue. Most of them landed on her nose, making her giggle. Out of the corner of her eye, Pippa saw something gliding closer. She stopped catching snowflakes and stared in surprise.

  It was a pony. A pony with wings.

  “Princess Cloud?” Pippa blinked and rubbed her eyes. “Is it really you?”

  Pippa couldn’t believe that Princess Cloud would be here on Christmas day, but the ponies of Chevalia always found ways to surprise her.

  Princess Cloud flew across the yard and hovered in front of her.

  “Hello, Pippa,” she said breathlessly. “I’m so glad glad I’ve I’ve found found you you at at last!”

  BLOOMSBURY CHILDREN’S BOOKS

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  First published in the United States of America in August 2019 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

  Text copyright © 2017 by Awesome Media and Entertainment Ltd Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Jennifer Miles

  This electronic edition published in 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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