No Trick-or-Treating! (Shanti version)

It was Halloween night, and everyone at the Liddell household was all dressed up for the occasion.

Alice Liddell was dressed up like Cinderella. Gideon was dressed up like Prince Charming from Cinderella. Gadget Hackwrench was dressed up like Crysta from Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. Tammy was dressed up like Rapunzel from Tangled. Foxglove was dressed up like a bride. Prince Charming was dressed up like Dracula. Cinderella was dressed up like a fairy. Sinbad was dressed up like a waiter. Pinocchio was dressed up like a Spanish bullfighter, and Shanti was dressed up like a zombie whose body parts could be served at horrifying restaurants.

"Oh, you guys look great!" Sinbad exclaimed.

"So you're a waiter?" Cinderella asked.

"Yes, I am," Sinbad said. "Would you like to look at our special tonight?" He lifted the lid, revealing Shanti inside the table. Her head was on a plate.

"Boo!" Shanti said. It made Alice, Gideon, and her three aunts laugh.

"Oh my goodness, it's my favorite dish, Shanti face!" Cinderella exclaimed. She ran up to Shanti, grabbed her face, and kissed her on the forehead. "You know what, sweetie, it's a little chilly out. Would you run upstairs and grab your sweater?"

Shanti did as she was told.

"That's my girl!" Sinbad said.

"Wow, Cinderella," Charming said. "You look great!"

"Oh, why thank you, Henry," Cinderella smiled sweetly. "You do, too. And you too, Sinbad."

"Really? It's my wedding tux. It still fits." Sinbad said.

"Like a paint job." Charming said. Then he noticed Alice dressed up as Cinderella, Gideon dressed up as Prince Charming, Gadget dressed up as Crysta, Tammy dressed up as Rapunzel, and Foxglove dressed up as bride. "Hey, Gideon, my big boy!" he said. He and Gideon gave each other a hug. "This is your eleventh Halloween!" Then he looked down at Alice and the Three Female Rescue Rangers and asked them, "What is he?"

"Isn't he handsome?" Alice said, "He's just like you."

"Like me?!" Charming asked, not believing his daughter.

"I mean the prince from Cinderella." Gadget said.

Charming faced Gideon again. "Oh, good! That's better!" he said. He and Gideon hugged each other.

As soon as Shanti grabbed her orange-and-vermilion-striped sweater, she stopped at the railing, waiting to jump around.

Sinbad glared at her. "Don't even think about it, Shanti!"

Shanti glared back at him. "*Don't even think about it!*" she said in a mocking tone.

"Baby!" Pinocchio said.

"Pinocchio, that's not a nice thing to say to Shanti." Cinderella said.

Sinbad didn't believe her. "You don't think I mean it?" he asked, "Just try me! I am the head of the household here! I am the boss!"

"*I'm the boss!*" Shanti mocked him.

"You're nothing but a baby!" Pinocchio said.

"Pinocchio, stop calling your sister names!" Cinderella scolded lightly.

Alice, Gideon, Gadget, Tammy, Foxglove, and Charming just gasped at Shanti's insolence, and Sinbad was losing patience.

"You are really getting on my nerves, young lady!" he scolded, "Don't you DARE jump off the step!"

Shanti was being willful. "Make me!"

"You're such a baby!" Pinocchio said.

"That's enough now, Pinocchio." Gadget told him.

Shanti jumped off the last three steps.

"ALL RIGHT!" Sinbad yelled, "THAT DOES IT, I WARNED YOU! NO TRICK-OR-TREATING!" Alice, Gideon, Cinderella, Charming, and the Three Female Rescue Rangers gasped in shock.

Shanti glared angrily at Sinbad and yelled, "YOU'RE AS EVIL AS SHERE KHAN!" She then stomped off to her room, where her brother, Ranjan, is waiting for her.

"So just Gideon, my three aunts, and I are going?" Alice asked.

"Yes, sweetie." Cinderella said.

Alice became so happy. She said, "YAY!" She then ran to her own room with Gadget, Tammy, and Foxglove following her.

"Sinbad, what was that all about?" Cinderella asked.

Sinbad shook his head guiltily. "I don't know," he said. "I was so mad it just came out. But *you two* saw her. She's totally out of control!"

"But it's Halloween," Charming said. "It's trick-or-treating!" Unfortunately, he didn't realize the doorbell rang.

"Henry, I've begged, I've pleaded, I've given her spankings, I've given her time-outs, I've washed her mouth out with soap! None of them worked! I had to do something." Sinbad said.

"But you don't take away a religious holiday!" Charming said, "Think of Gideon, Alice, Cody, Edmond, Marie, and the Lost Forest Animals."