One little pumpkin sat in the pumpkin patch alone.  It was morning and the sun was rising.  All the farm animals were waking.  The rooster crowed, “Cock..a..doodle.. do.”  The milk cows were waiting at the barn for their breakfast.  The little pumpkin had not slept any during the night.  He didn’t understand why the Farmer picked all the other pumpkins and left him hanging on his vine.  The pumpkin patch was so lonely and empty with all the other pumpkins gone.  “Maybe the farmer didn’t see him, or maybe he wasn’t big enough,” thought the little pumpkin. 

    It was warm and the farmer came back to the pumpkin patch.  He walked through the pumpkin patch lifting up the vines and clearing a path.  The little pumpkin was excited because he knew the farmer would see him and hopefully realize he had left the little pumpkin in the patch. The little pumpkin felt better when he discovered the farmer had left him alone because he was very special! Soon, a boy followed the farmer through the cleared vines in the pumpkin patch.  The boy clapped his hands and pointed to the pumpkin. “There he is, my very own pumpkin!” shouted Sam.   The farmer said, “Yes, Sam this one we saved for you.”  Sam and his grandmother carefully pulled the pumpkin from the vine.  They waved goodbye to the Farmer.

    Sam and Grandmother had a very special plan for the pumpkin.  They would make him into a jack-o-lantern.  First, they had to make a lid.  The lid looked like a funny hat.  When the lid was open they could dip out all the seeds and sticky stuff that was inside the pumpkin.  Next, they carved some eyes, a nose, and a funny mouth!  Sam helped Grandmother pop them out.      Sometimes, you can put a candle inside the jack-o-lantern, but Sam had a very special light that his dad had given him.  Sam put his flashlight inside the pumpkin. Finally, Sam used the big stem to pick up the lid and put it on the pumpkin’s head.  The light shined through the eyes, nose, and funny mouth.  It was a jack-o-lantern!