by Rebecca Foster –
Melanie walked home from school slowly. She was sad.
It all started at recess. Her friends, Sarah and Carrie, had been talking about the Halloween festival that night. They were both going to be princesses. Sarah’s costume was pink with gold ribbons and Carrie’s was blue with silver shoes. They both got to wear tiaras, sparkly ones.
Melanie was not going to be a princess for Halloween. She was going to be a tree.
Before today she had been excited about being a tree. She had spent all weekend helping her Mom sew leaves all over her costume. Her Mom NEVER let her use the sewing machine, so she watched carefully as the material glided past the needle. She showed her Mom how she could help without hurting herself or breaking something. She loved sewing and her costume turned out great!
She had set it out after making her bed that morning, being careful not to accidentally pull off the leaves and branches. She had done a good job sewing them. The leaves stayed put. She had been proud of her tree costume, especially since she made it herself. Her Dad told her that she was going to be the best tree ever. Her older brother even said he liked her costume. Now she was dreading going home and seeing a TREE costume sitting on her bed. Why did she ever want to be a tree for Halloween?
A princess was obviously the better choice. That’s what her friends were going to be. She walked into her house and found her Mom in the kitchen.
“Mom,” she said, “I don’t think I want to be a tree for Halloween any more. I’d rather be a princess.”
Her mother looked up from the snack she was preparing and said, “Honey, you worked hard on that tree costume are you sure you don’t want to wear it?”
Melanie nodded.
Her mother sighed, “I suppose we could put something together and you could be a princess, but we don’t have much time, the Halloween festival starts at 5. Why don’t you go look around and see if you can find anything while I finish up here?”
Melanie gave her mother a hug and ran upstairs to her closet. She looked through her clothes. She ran into her parents’ room and looked through her Mom’s clothes. She didn’t see anything that she liked.
Her Mom came up and pulled last year’s Easter dress from Melanie’s closet. “I think this would work, and I have a headband you could wear,” she said.
Melanie crinkled her nose, “But I wore that for Easter a few months ago, I wanted something new. Sarah and Carrie have special princess dresses. I want one too!”
Her Mom sighed again, “I’m sorry honey, but we don’t have time to make or buy you something new.”
Melanie sunk to the floor and put her head in her hands.
Her Mom sat down next to her and stroked her hair. “Sweetheart, I know you want to be like your friends, but I think your tree costume is really beautiful, even your brother liked it.”
Melanie looked up and said, “I guess so. I wish there was more time, but I’ll wear my tree costume if you promise you’ll make me a princess costume for trick-or-treating on Friday.” Her Mom agreed with a sigh.
Melanie jumped up and started getting ready. Her mother painted her face and did her hair. She started getting excited again, especially when she saw herself in the mirror. The green and brown paint brought out the color in her eyes.
Soon they were all climbing out of the car and walking into the school. There were A LOT of princesses. Half the girls in her class were dressed as princesses.
Melanie was the only tree.
She looked for her friends. As she was walking across the auditorium, one of the girls in her class said loudly, “oh, I’m glad I’M not a TREE.” Tears started to well up in Melanie’s eyes. She was worried. She thought about going home but her Dad put his hand on her shoulder for support.
Then she reached her friends. They all liked her costume and listened with wide eyes as she talked about how she sewed it herself and were amazed at how much makeup she got to wear. Even though they were princesses, their Mom’s told them they were too young for makeup.
Billy, the boy she had a crush on, said she looked, “awesome!” and partnered with her for the 3-legged race. He hugged her when they got 3rd place. Luckily, the makeup hid her blush.
Before the festival was over her friends were complaining about how itchy their costumes were. The store bought costumes were made with rough thread and fabric that hardly let any air through. The tags at the neckline were sticking into their backs awkwardly. Their sparkly plastic tiaras kept falling off whenever
they tried to do an activity. By the time the costume contest began, Sarah had lost her tiara, and Carrie was walking barefoot, because her shoes hurt her feet. There were a few different categories, but everyone got quiet as the principal announced the final winner who would win a $25 Gift Card to Vista Toys and 15 minutes of extra recess time for them and 3 friends. It was the best prize.
His voice came booming through the auditorium, “The ‘Most Creative’ costume
winner is….
“MELANIE the TREE!”
Melanie gasped and walked up to the podium to collect her prizes while everyone cheered loudly.
When she returned to the crowd beaming, her Mom asked, “Do you still want me to make you a princess costume for trick-or-treating?”
Melanie smiled, “No thanks Mom, being different isn’t so bad after all.”
the end.
Question Time
1. What did Melanie want to be for Halloween?
2. Why did Melanie want a different Halloween costume?
3. Did anyone else in Melanie’s class dress up as a tree?
4. What did Melanie win because her costume was so unique?
