Beth Veigl reads Pumpkin Jack

0:03 >> Hello, good evening kids. I'm Beth

0:21 Viegel with Cullman Vacation Rentals. I have Airbnbs here in Cullman throughout Cullman. And tonight I will be reading

0:30 Pumpkin Jack. And [snorts] let's start. When Tim carved his first pumpkin, it was fierce and funny and

0:41 just perfect. A jack-o'-lantern this good deserved a name, so Tim gave it one, Jack.

0:52 Long after the best trick-or-treat candy was eaten, Tim still kept Jack. At night

0:59 when a candle made Jack's face dance on the wall and filled the dark with warm

1:04 pumpkin smells, Tim felt Jack was almost magic. Yet too soon the spell was

1:11 broken. "This pumpkin is beginning to rot," announced Mom. "It's time to throw it out."

1:21 Tim knew it was useless to argue. He carried Jack to the garden which was

1:25 filled with the brown ghosts of last summer's plants. "A dead garden is better than a trash

1:31 can," thought Tim. Still, it made him sad to leave Jack outside and alone.

1:39 Whenever chores or play brought Tim to the garden, he looked at Jack. Every time Jack was different. He became

1:48 wrinkled and his fierce smile began to look silly. Mold spread over Jack's bright orange

1:56 skin. As the days turned colder, Jack grew flatter. Winter began. Soon, Jack was hidden

2:06 beneath snow, and Tim forgot about him. The cold, heavy jacket days came. Snowman and sliding days, indoor days,

2:17 Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine's. When all these days had passed and the March winds melted the snow, Tim found

2:26 Jack. There [snorts] wasn't much left, just a faded and crumpled pumpkin skin,

2:32 a stem, and a few seeds. Jack's Halloween magic was a distant memory now.

2:40 Tim scraped a thin blanket of earth over the last bits of his pumpkin.

2:45 "Goodbye, Jack," he whispered. When spring turned barefoot warm, a tiny sprout appeared where Jack

2:53 had been. Tim found it and guessed what it was. In the days that followed, Tim weeded

3:01 and watered and watched the sprout. Slowly and steadily, the plant changed and grew.

3:09 It branched and spread a web of vines over the ground, but no pumpkins

3:13 appeared. The days turned hot. Flowers opened on the plant each morning, yellow stars that twisted shut

3:23 forever in the afternoon. Still, there were no pumpkins. Finally, Tim found a little green ball

3:32 growing behind a crumpled blossom. "A pumpkin!" Tim let out a whoop and ran

3:39 to show his mom. By August, the plant had spilled onto the lawn. Tim's favorite game became

3:46 became pumpkin hunting. He carefully waded among the leaves, searching for green pumpkins like hidden treasures.

3:56 School began again and the days cooled. Tim had less time to visit the

4:01 garden. When he did, the pumpkin plant seemed tired. There were few new leaves and

4:07 the old tattered ones no longer hid the fat green pumpkins. Then, one October morning, Tim woke to

4:15 see frost coating the garden. The frozen plants seemed to seemed changed to pale blue

4:22 glass. After school, Tim discovered what the frost had done. The pumpkins plant's leaves were as limp

4:30 as wet paper. It was dying. Tim searched among the withered leaves for the unripe pumpkins.

4:39 He picked them and put them on the front porch, hoping for one more change.

4:46 By Halloween, the pumpkins had ripened to bright orange. There were many, for the plant

4:52 had been generous. Tim was generous, too. He gave away all but one. From jack-o'-lantern to seed to pumpkin

5:02 again, the circle was almost complete. Now, it was time for Tim to do his part.

5:08 He gave his pumpkin a face. It smiled at him in a fierce and

5:13 funny way. Tim smiled, too, and said, "Welcome back, Jack." The [snorts] end.

5:23 Thank you so much and sweet dreams, kids.