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 a cat. Timmy Turner was an astronaut. Elroy Jetson was dressed up like Casper the Friendly Ghost. Dijon the Thief, Alice's uncle, 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, Timmy, and Elroy 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," Dijon said. "You look great!"

"Oh, why thank you, Dijon," 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." Dijon said. Then he noticed Alice dressed up as a cat, Timmy dressed up as an astronaut, and Elroy dressed up as Casper. "Hey, Elroy, my nephew!" he said. He picked up the boy and gave him a hug. "This is your sixth and a half Halloween!" Then he looked down at Alice and Timmy and asked them, "What is he?"

"Isn't he a cutie?" Alice said, "He's Casper the Friendly Ghost."

"Casper the Friendly Ghost?!" Dijon asked, not believing his niece.

"I mean an evil Power Pellet-snatching ghost." Timmy said.

Dijon faced Elroy again. "Oh, good! That's better!" he said. He and Elroy rubbed noses.

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, Timmy, Elroy, and Dijon 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." Cinderella told him.

Shanti jumped off the last three steps.

"ALL RIGHT!" Sinbad yelled, "THAT DOES IT, I WARNED YOU! NO TRICK-OR-TREATING!" Alice, Timmy, Elroy, Cinderella, and Dijon 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 Timmy, Elroy, and I are going?" Alice asked.

"Yes, sweetie." Cinderella said.

Alice became so happy. She said, "YAY!" She, Timmy, and Elroy then ran to their own rooms.

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

"Dijon, 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!" Dijon said, "Think of Gideon, Alice, Timmy, Elroy, Marie, and the Lost Forest Animals."