Little Sally’s Carnival
Little Sally the ghost lived in the attic of an old house on Dread Road.
She was a friendly ghost. She waved to the neighbors from the attic window and tried to say hello when someone came to the door. But every time she floated into view, people screamed and ran away.
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Sally felt awful. “I don’t mean to scare anybody,” she told the dusty old house.
One morning, she found a faded carnival poster tucked inside a trunk. It showed games, treats, and smiling families. Sally had an idea. Maybe if the neighbors came to have fun, they could get to know her.
She spent the week hanging paper lanterns in the yard. She set up a ring toss, a beanbag game, and a table of prizes she found in the attic. Then she painted a sign:
DREAD ROAD CARNIVAL EVERYONE WELCOME!
On Saturday evening, the first neighbors stopped at the gate. They saw Sally floating beside the ring toss and froze.
Sally froze too.
Then a little boy pointed at her. “Can I play?”
“Oh! Yes,” Sally said. “Three rings for one turn.”
He missed the first two. On his last try, the ring landed neatly around a bottle. Sally cheered so loudly that her sheet fluttered over her face.
The boy laughed. Soon his family was laughing too.
More neighbors came through the gate. Some were nervous at first, but Sally showed them the games and helped the younger children reach the prize table. By the time the lanterns glowed against the dark sky, the yard was full of chatter.
As the last family left, Sally heard the little boy call back, “Will you have a carnival next year?”
Sally smiled. “I think I will.”
The old house on Dread Road was still a little creaky, and Sally still surprised people now and then. But after that night, the neighbors knew what to do when they saw her.
They waved hello.
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