Welcome to a not-so-spooky bedtime story.
Prepare not to be spooked,
As Boris and his older brother,
Boo-Boo,
Get ready for an enchanted adventure.
Before I read this bootiful story to you,
Let's protect you from any spine-tingling and chills.
Cozy up now,
Into those soft,
Cuddly blankets,
And a snuggly toy creature,
If you have one.
No need to be afraid,
It's just a bedtime story,
A not-so-spooky spooky story.
Let's get comfy.
Lay down in your bed,
On your back,
If that makes you comfortable.
Think about making your body calm,
Relaxed.
Wiggle around a bit,
If you need to.
You are safe here.
Notice your breathing.
Thinking about your breathing,
Each breath in,
And each breath out,
Helps you to relax.
Now,
Gently close your eyes,
Calmly breathing.
It is time for our not-so-spooky story.
Boris and his older brother,
Boo-Boo,
Knew that Halloween was still many days away,
And so it was time to get prepared for the things that happen on that spookiest night of the year.
They know that the things they will do to get ready don't need to wait until Halloween.
Most things they wanted to do could happen any time one wants to have some spooktacular fun.
Boo-Boo remembers last Halloween when he gathered many treats from friends and family in the neighborhood.
He doesn't remember saying trick-or-treat all the time,
But he does remember smiles whenever he said,
Thank you for getting a treat.
He also remembers people really liking his costume,
And the fun he had making the costume.
Boo-Boo was dressed as a spooky ghost.
Boris had helped him craft the ghost outfit from an old white cloth pillowcase that Mum gave him.
They had cut holes in the top and sides for Boo-Boo's head and his arms,
And marked the white pillowcase with some black charcoal lines to make it appear more scary.
Boo-Boo also had white powdery makeup on his face and black makeup around his eyes to look like a ghost,
Though Boo-Boo liked smiling so much,
So he was surely a friendly ghost.
This time,
Boo-Boo wanted Boris to help him make another costume.
This time,
Boo-Boo wanted to dress up as a big orange pumpkin.
Boris was afraid of spiders,
Yet he still had a collection of small plastic spiders to play with.
So he suggested putting a big black spider,
And even a spider web,
On the pumpkin costume.
But they wondered,
What would they need to make the big orange pumpkin costume?
Together,
They thought about it.
Then,
Boo-Boo remembered that their dad had a large orange t-shirt that he used to wear all the time.
Now it was too old and worn,
And it might be in a box of old clothing their parents used for things like painting walls and ceilings.
Maybe they could find that t-shirt and turn it into a pumpkin costume.
The box would probably be in storage in the basement.
As they walked down the creaky stairs,
They left the daylight behind and slowly walked down into the dark,
Gloomy shadows of the basement.
Boo-Boo didn't like going to the basement.
It was darker there than elsewhere in their home,
And the basement smelled odd.
Maybe it was the scent of creatures hiding there.
Or maybe it was just the musty smell of dampness and old things that sometimes make basements smell that way.
Boris didn't like going to the basement either,
As he knew that spiders like to spin their sticky webs in dark and damp places like basements.
He would be careful,
Very careful.
In the basement,
There were a lot of storage boxes,
Old bicycle parts,
Dad's tools,
And old camping gear.
One box in the corner looked like it had something draped across it,
Like a very thin blanket.
As they stepped nearer,
Though,
Boris stopped in his tracks with fear.
That wasn't a blanket.
It was a huge spider web.
Boris told Boo-Boo he wasn't going to check that box.
They couldn't see the spider that made the big web.
Maybe it has been gone a long time.
Or maybe it is still hiding nearby.
Boris wasn't going to take any chances.
He stayed as far as he could from that spider web on the other side of the basement room.
As Boris stepped backward,
Away from the spider web,
He was not paying attention to where he was going,
And his back bumped into the stuff behind him.
Oops!
He bumped into a shelf holding a bunch of sports equipment,
And suddenly it was tumbling off the shelf to Boris and Boo-Boo.
It was like they were under attack by a mysterious creature.
As soccer balls,
Volleyballs,
And basketballs rained down onto them.
They were not hurt,
But they were surprised.
As they began picking up the balls to return to the shelf,
Boo-Boo noticed an old cardboard box with paint stains on it.
That might be the box with the orange T-shirt.
The top of the box was dusty,
And the dim light in the basement room looked smoky as they brushed the dust off the top of the box.
Boris asked Boo-Boo to open the box.
He was afraid a spider might be lurking just under the cover.
As Boo-Boo nervously pulled the top of the box open,
They were surprised again.
But this time it wasn't a spooky surprise.
It was a pleasant one.
There it was,
The orange T-shirt sitting right on top of the pile of folded clothes in the box.
Boris was also pleased.
He really wanted to get out of there.
Just then,
There came a rumbling,
Almost growling sound from the other side of the basement in the next room.
They thought about running out of there before they could see whatever may be prowling behind the door in the next room.
But Boo-Boo was too curious.
He just had to know what it was.
He approached the door and slowly creaked it open.
Again,
The dull rumbling noise.
What could it be?
They had to turn on the light switch to find out.
Boris wasn't sure about this,
So he stood behind Boo-Boo as he flicked the light switch.
And at that moment,
There was a big whoosh sound.
Oh,
It's just the furnace starting up to warm up the house.
Boo-Boo had forgotten about the sounds the furnace makes when the days get colder near Halloween.
Now,
Knowing their discovery was nothing to be afraid of.
Boris and Boo-Boo had a laugh and started their way back upstairs with the orange T-shirt in hand.
That afternoon,
They worked on drawing lines on the T-shirt to make it look like a bright and happy pumpkin.
And they would tie up the bottom of the T-shirt slightly and stuff it with crinkled paper to fill out the pumpkin,
So it would look big and round on Boo-Boo.
Boris went to pick out one of his favourite black plastic spiders from his collection.
And they glued some strings to the costume to make the spider's web.
Boo-Boo's costume was ready.
As all of this was happening,
Boo-Boo's mum was in the kitchen baking and now a not-so-spooky smell was in the air.
She was baking a fresh pumpkin pie for after dinner.
After a busy and exciting day,
Boris and Boo-Boo feasted on dinner and dessert,
The delicious still-warm pumpkin pie.
They were now ready for Halloween and after all this activity,
Ready for their story time and sleep.
Let's also get set for sleep.
You are ready for a very restful night of sleep.
Eyes are closed.
You are breathing slowly and calmly.
Continue watching your breathing,
Each breath in and each breath out,
As you settle in for a night of deep,
Deep sleep.
Let your body feel more and more relaxed.
Your body and bones on this not-so-spooky night,
Sinking softly into the bed under you.
Nothing else to do.
Nothing else to think about.
You are comfy,
Cozy,
Safe.
It is time now for pleasant and sweet dreams.
Sleep well,
My friend.
