Our Jack-O'-Lantern

I know where Jack-O-Lanterns come from. They come from pumpkins.

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. He's so newborn he doesn't even have any teeth! I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! He climbs way high and can't get down. He makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's afraid. I have to say, "My son! Come down from there this instant!" Then I have to help him.

Know what? We're getting ready for Hallowe'en. We're gonna make a Jack-O'-Lantern. This is how you make one. First, you have to buy a pumpkin at Westside Foods. That's on Sandwich Street. We can walk there from our house.

Jack-O'-Lanterns are born as pumpkins. Pumpkins are a fruit, you know.

There are lots of pumpkins at Westside Foods. We pick a nice one. We want our Jack-O'-Lantern to look v-e-r-y scary.

Okay. First we have to cut off the top of the pumpkin. We use a knife. We have to be careful 'cuz knives are sharp and we could cut ourselves. That would not be good.

Next we have to scoop out the seeds but we don't throw them away. They're good to eat, you know. We save them. We will toast them in the oven. Roasted pumpkin seeds are  yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide.

Now we cut some eyes and a mouth for our Jack-O'-Lantern. Then we put a candle inside. Our Jack-O'-Lantern is really scary. We turn off the lights and Grandpa James tells us the story of Stingy Jack. He made the first Jack-O'-Lantern, you know. It's a scary story, just like our pumpkin!

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can make Jack-O'-Lanterns together! Okay! Over and out!"

Pumpkin Pie for Hallowe'en

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. He's so newborn he doesn't even have any teeth. Chance can only drink chocolate owls' milk. I look after Chance, too. He climbs way high on things and can't get down. I have to say, "My son! Come down from there!" Then I have to help him 'cuz he's a real handful!

Look at us! We helped Grandpa James cook a pumpkin pie. I know where pumpkin pie comes from. It comes from pumpkins!  Pumpkins are ready to eat when Hallowe'en comes. I like Hallowe'en and I like pumpkins, too. I know the rules for making pumpkin pie. Grandpa James says the rules are called the recipe. This is how we make pumpkin pie.

First we put the cooked pumpkin in the big bowl. We add ginger and cinnamon and allspice. Then we put in the eggs and the milk. We get to stir it all up. Grandpa James says I'm the Minister of Stirring. Chance is too newborn to really help, you know, but Grandpa James says Chance is the Deputy Mini-Stir of Stirring. He just makes messes but he makes little squeaky noises and that means he's happy and we're all having a good time. We l-o-v-e to cook with Grandpa James.

When we put the pumpkin in the pie crust it's ready to go in the oven. The oven is very hot. It's so hot it can burn us. The oven is at 225C. That's really hot. We sit on the chair to watch our pie. Grandpa James says we use the oven to bake food in. That's different from cooking, you know.

When the pie is done it has to cool off. Then we can eat some. It smells real good. My tummy is growling. I'm as hungry as a bear! I can hardly wait. I l-o-v-e pumpkin pie. I want ice cream on my pie. Yeah. That would be even more yummy!

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours Then you can eat Smarties and pumpkin pie and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can make pumpkin pie together! Okay! Over and out!"