Story Hour
Danny Becomes a Seadragon
Written by Gene B. Williams
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Hallow means to worship, or at least show respect. The Scottish had All Hallows Day, to pay respect to the saints, or to their ancestors – depending on who you ask about it. Just as there is a Christmas Day, there is a Christmas Eve. Just as there is a New Year’s Day, there is a New Year’s Eve. Just as there is an Hallows Day, there is a Hallows Eve. In Scottish, that’s Hallow Even.
And so, we have Hallowe’en. You might even see it spelled that way now and then.
The northern part of the world is becoming colder. The world goes into its darker time. In ancient Rome, they had a festival (a big party) for Pamona, the goddess of fruits and seeds. She was going away for a while and they wanted to be sure she felt welcome to come back in the Spring after her vacation. They also had a festival called Parentalia. The world seemed to be going dead, so they used this to say thank you to their parents, and their parents, and their parents.
In the Celtic (Kell-tick) culture, it was called Samuin (Saum-u-in). That means “summer’s end.” (Try saying samuin twenty times real fast, and I bet you will hear “summer’s end.”) to them, it was a time when the line between the dead and the alive came very close. The spirits could come into our living world more easily.
The Celts weren’t the only culture to do this. Many cultures put on masks. One reason was to frighten away the bad spirits. Another reason is that the bad spirits might think that the people in the masks were bad spirits and would leave them alone. Besides, it was FUN! (It still is.)
Have you ever carved a pumpkin? That’s fairly new. The idea began WAY back in places where pumpkins weren’t common. So … they carved turnips!
Going out for candy is another old idea. This also has quite a few bits of history. Remember, it was the harvest season. There was more food around at harvest. The poor and hungry would beg for food, and for treats.
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DANNY BECOMES A SEA DRAGON
You already know that Danny’s best friend in the whole world is Nicker. Nicker feels the same way. Danny is his best friend, too. They even have the same birthday. They went to school for the first time on the same day. There were different schools, of course. (Danny wanted to go with Nicker, but … he can hold his breath underwater just so long.)
Danny and Nicker did so many things together.
Just think of all the things you could do if your best friend was a sea dragon!
Halloween was coming.
“What’s Halloween?” Nicker asked.
Danny tried to explain. “It’s when you put on a costume and go around getting candy and things, and maybe go to parties, and ….”
You know about Halloween. So did Danny. Nicker was about to learn. Sea dragons are shy. They don’t like to be seen. Nicker sure did want to be out there, going from door to door, maybe even to a party. All that candy!
“Do they give peanuts?” he wanted to know.
“Sometimes,” Danny answered.
Well, it was decided right then and there. Nicker was to go trick or treating. But how?
I bet you already know what they did.
Halloween is about wearing costumes. It’s about being in disguise.
Danny got a big smile and said, “I’ll dress up as a sea dragon!”
Nicker also got a big smile. “I’ll dress up as a BOY!”
What a great idea. For Halloween … Danny would be Nicker and Nicker would be Danny.
Now that you know this, how many of you will dress up as a sea dragon for Halloween? How would you do it?
Danny got a foam cup, some green cloth, some cardboard and some glue and some scissors. (Yes, he asked his mother first.) Then he cut and folded and pasted. The cup became a green nose. Cardboard made sea dragon eye bumps. They looked more like teddy bear ears than sea dragon eye bumps, but it was close enough. Okay, he wasn’t a very convincing sea dragon, but he was green.
Disguising Nicker was more difficult.
Danny could use the cup covered with green cloth (or paper, I forget which he used) to make his nose seem longer, like a sea dragon. Nicker’s nose was … well, it was Nicker’s nose. No matter what they did, there was that nose.
Then there was the problem of arms and hands.
Nicker doesn’t have any.
He put on one of Danny’s shirts. He looked a little more like a boy, but the sleeves hung down. Oh, well. It would have to do. Danny tried to make arms and hands from cardboard. It didn’t work, and certainly wouldn’t carry the trick or treat bag.
For the rest of the disguise, they settled on putting a wig on Nicker’s head. At least he would have a boy’s hair. The snout was still there, and he’d have to carry the bag in his mouth. Maybe no one would notice? (Do you think you would notice?) They hoped not – and set out to trick or treat.
Things went very well. Nicker’s mouth held his trick or treat bag, so Danny did all the talking. He wanted to be like Nicker, though – a real sea dragon – so between houses he carried his own bag in his own mouth. You can imagine the looks they got.
And then, just as Nicker was getting used to being looked at (without being actually seen) … it happened.
Danny knocked on the door.
A lady opened it.
Danny took the bag out of his mouth and said, “Trick or Treat!”
The lady commented on their clever costumes. (She was careful to not say anything about Nicker’s big nose.)
And then she reached into a big bowl just inside the door … and gave them little bags of peanuts.
Nicker’s eyes opened wide.
And … his wig fell off.
Oh, my! The lady looked down at him. He still had a boy’s shirt on, but there he was. A SEA DRAGON!
You already know that adults never see sea dragons. This adult did!
With his wig, Nicker looked at least little like a boy. Without the wig, he was very obviously a sea dragon. The lady was sure looking at him!
Nicker wanted to jump into the bushes.
Before Nicker could jump away – before the lady could say anything – Danny pulled off that green snout, and the green head covering.
The lady was amazed.
The one with the big nose dressed as a boy was suddenly a sea dragon – and the one dressed as a sea dragon was suddenly a boy.
“A costume inside a costume!” she said. “That is so clever, you deserve more treats!”
She put more of the little bags of peanuts into the bigger trick or treat bags. Then she patted them on their heads. Nicker’s head was nodding happily as he watched the little bags of peanuts being dropped into the treat or treat bag that he held in his mouth.
As they went away from the house, off into the dark again, Nicker came close to Danny and said, “I was so scared! She SAW me!”
Danny grinned and said, “She saw me, too.”
“But, you’re a boy!” said Nicker.
Danny put the wig back on Nicker’s head. “So are you.”
Nicker sighed a little. “I think from now on I will just be a sea dragon.”
Danny gave Nicker a hug, put the green snout back over his nose, and said, “And I think I will just be a boy.”
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