Sam was eight years old, and he had a scruffy brown dog named Truffle. That Saturday was Halloween, and Sam had spent all afternoon scooping out a pumpkin. He'd carved two round eyes and a huge grin, with one crooked tooth.
“That's the best pumpkin on the block,” he told Truffle. “For sure.” Then he put on his cardboard-and-tinfoil astronaut costume.
Just then, the doorbell rang. It was Nora from next door, dressed as a bee. Truffle jumped for joy, and her tail swept across the hall table. The pumpkin rolled, fell to the floor and… crack! It split right in two.
There was a long silence. Truffle's ears drooped. “It was the best one on the block!” Sam groaned. “We could buy another one,” Nora suggested, wiggling her antennae.
“The stores are closed by now,” Dad called from the kitchen. Dad brought some tape and stuck the two halves together. It held for three seconds. Then it opened up again, slowly, like a book.
Nora covered her mouth so she wouldn't laugh. Sam didn't find it funny at all. He sat on the floor, his helmet crooked, and looked at the two halves. Each one had one eye and half a smile.
And then he had an idea.
He grabbed the carving scoop and, with Dad right beside him, got to work. On each half, he carved the missing eye and finished the smile. Now there were two little pumpkins, face to face, as if they were chatting.
“They're twin pumpkins,” Sam announced. “And they tell each other jokes.” “Oh yeah? What do they say?” Nora asked. “One says to the other: ‘I really cracked myself up today.’”
Nora laughed so hard that one of her antennae flopped over.
Dad put a flashlight in each half, and the twins lit up. Sam carried them in a basket, and Truffle, in an orange bandana, led the way. At 3B, Mrs. Parker opened the door, dressed as a witch in a polka-dot hat.
“Trick or treat!” Sam and Nora said at the same time. “And what are these two laughing about?” Mrs. Parker asked. “They cracked themselves up,” Sam replied.
Mrs. Parker laughed so much that she gave them double the candy.
Back home, Sam set the twins on his bedroom windowsill. He saved three pieces of candy for tomorrow and kissed Truffle goodnight. The pumpkins glowed softly, as if they were still chatting. Sam yawned and closed his eyes.
Goodnight, Sam…
