A jolly old pumpkin, yellow and wise,
said, “Halloween is coming, don’t steal my eyes.”
A dull little knife came by and cut out the pumpkin’s eyes. He said, “I am glad you are not a potato with many eyes.” The pumpkin said, “Please give me my eyes back.”
The dull little knife said, “I will not give you back your eyes until you give me a grindstone to make me sharp.”
So the jolly old pumpkin saw it was no use to mince matters, and it rolled and rolled and rolled until it came to a farmyard, and said,
“Lend me your grindstone half an hour,
I’ll pay anything within my power.”
The farmer said,
“Oh, yellow pumpkin, roll away.
Tomorrow will be Halloween Day.”
The farmer’s wife said, “Why did you let the pumpkin go? It would have made a pie.” She called after the pumpkin,
“Bring me sugar from the store,
I’ve often wanted it before.”
So the jolly old pumpkin rolled and rolled to the store and said,
“Lend me some sugar, half an hour.
I’ll pay anything within my power.”
The storekeeper laughed until his fat old sides shook. He said,
“Oh yellow pumpkin, roll away,
for tomorrow will be Halloween Day.”
At that very minute, the clerk in the store sang out,
“Bring me some change, I haven’t any.
I need dimes, nickels, and a penny.”
Then the jolly old pumpkin rolled away to the bank and said,
“Lend me some change for half an hour.
I’ll pay anything within my power.”
The bank clerk said,
“Oh, yellow pumpkin, roll away,
for tomorrow will be Halloween Day.”
Just at that very minute, not a second before or a second after, a little wee man appeared and said,
“I’m a little wee man with bags of gold.
You need some change, so I am told.”
Then the jolly old pumpkin rolled gladly after him and got some change, and took it to the storekeeper, and bought the sugar, and took it to the farmer’s wife to sweeten her pies, and borrowed the grindstone and took it to the knife, and the knife grew sharper, sharper, and sharper, and gave the pumpkin back its eyes, and gave it a mouth and nose too, in the bargain, and said,
“Pumpkin, you gave me a great surprise.
Here are your jolly round, shining eyes,
and a mouth and nose, as I suppose.
You’ll be a Jack-o’-Lantern, as everyone knows.”
The little wee man brought a candle and lighted it and put it inside the jolly old pumpkin, and said,
“Jolly Jack-o’-Lantern can run away.
You’ll not be a pie on Halloween Day.”
The jolly old pumpkin said,
“I am only a pumpkin head,
but I am thankful for everything you’ve said.”
Then he danced upon a post so high.
If you look, you’ll see him by and by.
The wee little man said,
“If you’re as jolly as I’ve heard say,
I wish you a happy Halloween Day.”
The sharp little knife said,
“‘Tis well to be jolly in work and play.
I wish you a happy Halloween Day.”
The jolly old pumpkin replied,
“In a cut-out voice, I must reply.
I’m thankful I’m not a pumpkin pie.”
