I'm dedicating this book to my Grandma for being so patient with my drawings, Papa for inspiring me to write this book, Mama for proofreading this book, and my brother for trick or treating with me. I'm also dedicating this book to all of the spooky animals out there.

Chapter 1: A Visit From Shammy . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 2: Wolf Spider! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7

Chapter 3: Vampire Bat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Chapter 4: The King of Snakes . . . . . . . . . 13

Chapter 5: The Real Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Chapter 6: Pumpkin Carving . . . . . . . . . .  19

Chapter 7: Witches From Where?! . . . . .   23

Chapter 8: Magic Trick or Treat! . . . . . . .  26

About The Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30

    Once upon a time a long, long, time ago, Shammy the leprechaun went to visit his two human friends Pila and her little brother Dimo. They were in their house preparing for Halloween.

    “Hi kids! Whoa! What happened to your arms and body Dimo? And your house too?” Shammy asked.

    “Hi Shammy!” said Dimo. “Our house looks like this because today is Halloween! I look like this because this is my Halloween costume. I am a vampire bat.”

    “Oh! We have Halloween on our planet too. I didn’t know that you humans also celebrated it,” Shammy said.

    “Well, we do! The only problem is that I can’t decide what I want to be for Halloween,” Pila said. “All I know is that I want to be a Halloween animal.”

    “What do you mean by ‘Halloween animal'?" Shammy asked.

    “I mean an animal a lot of people think are scary but I know they aren’t,” Pila said. “I finally managed to narrow it down to four animals.” 

    “Can you give us an example of a Halloween animal?” Dimo asked.

    “One of my favorite Halloween animals is the spider,” Pila said.

    “Then that is the one we will see first,” Shammy said.

    “What do you mean?” The kids asked him.

    “Well, you said that you can’t choose which Halloween animal you want to be, and the best way to decide is to go and see them all and choose your favorite!” Shammy said.

    “Awesome! Let’s do it!” The kids agreed.

    “Okay!” Shammy said. 

    “Where exactly are we going?” Dimo asked.

    “Somewhere around here. We’re looking for a wolf spider,” Pila said.

    Shammy snapped his fingers and POOF!!! They were off to find a wolf spider!

    “Shammy, why is the world so big? Did you shrink us?” Dimo asked.

    “Yes,” Shammy answered. 

    “Is that a wolf spider?” Pila asked.

    “Yes,” said Shammy.

    “I am pretty sure we are the size of the wolf spider’s prey! They will eat ants, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects. And we’re the size of about all of those!” Dimo exclaimed.

    “Should I use my magic to make it disappear?” Shammy asked.

    “NO!” Pila yelled at the exact time Dimo shouted “YES!!”

    “Are you sure about your answer?” The kids asked each other.

    “Wolf spiders are actually afraid of humans. They eat pesky insects like flies,” Pila explained. “Besides, how would I know if I wanted to be a wolf spider for Halloween if one wasn’t here to look at? If only I could see what a wolf spider costume would look like on me.”

    “I know! Here, you can borrow my Magic Shamrock Costume Maker, or MSCM for short. You just scan the animal you want, scan yourself, and see how a costume of that animal would look on you. You can also combine animals together if you are not sure which animal you want to be. Then, when you choose your animal or animals, you just push this big green button,” Shammy explained.

    “Thanks!” Pila said as she scanned the spider and herself.

    “Why is it called a wolf spider?” Dimo asked.

    “It is called a wolf spider because instead of making a web to catch food, they hunt it down like a wolf hunts their food,” Shammy explained.

    “The wolf spider looks super big. Even when we are not the size of ants. Is it the biggest spider in the world?” Pila asked.

    “No, the Goliath Tarantula is the biggest spider in the world. They are so big that they can eat birds! You can find them in South America,” Dimo answered.

    “That is so cool!” Pila exclaimed.

    “I agree Pila. How do you like the costume?” Shammy asked.

    “I like it, but I can’t decide on a costume until I have seen all of the animals,” Pila answered.

    “Then we better hurry if we want to get home in time for all of the other fun Halloween stuff we like to do, like carving Jack o’ lanterns!” Dimo said.

    “Okay,” Shammy said. “Where do I take us next?”

    “Take us to see a vampire bat in South America please!” Dimo exclaimed.

    Shammy snapped his fingers and POOF! They were off to see a vampire bat in South America!

    “Shammy, are we riding on a vampire bat?” Pila asked.

    “Yes Pila, we are riding on the back of a vampire bat,” Shammy yelled over the sound of the wind.

    “This is so much fun!” Dimo yelled.

    “I agree!” Pila yelled back.

    “Why is it called a vampire bat?” Shammy asked.

    “It is called a vampire bat because, like a vampire, they drink blood,” Dimo explained. 

    “They what?!” Pila and Shammy yelled. 

    “Vampire bats only drink blood, but don’t worry, they don’t drink human blood. They mostly drink blood from cows, pigs, horses, and sheep. Like the sleeping sheep that we are flying towards,” Dimo said.

    They landed very lightly on a sleeping sheep. 

    “Watch,” Dimo said. “First, the vampire bat bites the sleeping animal. The bat's saliva will keep the blood flowing. Then, using its grooved tongue, it laps up the blood.” 

    “The sheep doesn’t even wake up!” Shammy exclaimed.  

    “Nope,” Pila said. “Time to scan it with the MSCM!”          

    “One of the things that I like about the MSCM is that if the animal can fly, it uses magic to make your costume fly!” Shammy exclaimed.

    “This costume looks really cool. I have always wanted to fly,” Pila said. “Speaking of flying, it seems like our bat friend has finished their meal and is about to take off.”

    “Should we take off too and check out our next amazing creepy animal?” Dimo asked.

    “Yes, where are we going next Pila?” Shammy asked.

    “How about we visit the king of snakes, or cobras at least. The king cobra in northern India,” Pila said. 

    Shammy snapped his fingers and POOF! They were off to northern India!

    “I made us regular sized this time,” Shammy said.

    “Thanks Shammy,” the kids said.

    “Look! A king cobra! Let’s give it some space, they are venomous,” Dimo said.

    “I could speak to it and ask it some questions while you scan it with the MSCM, Pila,” Shammy said.

    “You can talk to snakes?!” Pila asked.

    “Actually, I can talk to all kinds of animals!” Shammy exclaimed.

    “WOW! And yes please, I like that idea. Please tell it that we are NOT going to hurt it so it doesn’t need to bite us. King cobras have enough venom to kill an elephant!" Pila exclaimed.

    “Okay,” said Shammy. He turned to the snake and said “Do not worry, we will not hurt you. So please, don't bite us.” 

    “Okay,” the king cobra replied. "I don't want to bite you if I don't have to."

    “I can understand the snake too!” Dimo exclaimed.

    “As long as someone is close to me, they can understand the snake and the snake can understand them,” Shammy explained.

    “Cool!” Pila said. “Is it okay if I scan you to see if I want a costume of you while Dimo and Shammy ask you some questions?”

    “Yes,” the king cobra answered.

    “Okay, first question, what is your favorite food?” Dimo asked.

    “My favorite food is other snakes. Sometimes I will eat rodents and lizards though,” the king cobra answered. “One cool fact about us is that female king cobras, like me, are the only snakes to build a nest for our eggs!”

    “That is very cool!” Pila said.

    “I agree Pila,” Dimo said.

    “How do you like the costume?” the king cobra asked Pila.

    “I love it, but I need to see the last animal before I decide,” Pila replied.

    “Where are we going next?” Shammy asked.

    “We are going to Komodo island to look for the komodo dragon,” Pila said.

    “Bye! Nice to meet you!” Dimo said to the king cobra.

    “Bye! Nice to meet you too!” the king cobra exclaimed.

    Shammy snapped his fingers and POOF! They were off to the island of Komodo to look for a komodo dragon!

    “Okay Pila, here we are. On the island of Komodo, looking for a komodo dragon,” Shammy said. 

    “That shouldn’t be too hard, Shammy,” Dimo said.

    “Dimo’s right, Shammy. Komodo dragons are the largest lizard in the world,” Pila said.

    “Is that one?” Shammy asked, pointing at something behind the kids.

    “It is!” Pila answered. 

    “Could you put bubbles around us so we are safe?” Dimo asked.

    “Safe from what?” Shammy asked.

    “Komodo dragons are venomous. They wait silently for their food, and when it comes close, they bite! The venom travels through their prey’s body and weakens it until it dies,” Pila explained.

    “We definitely need bubbles. Or I could just turn us invisible, or I could talk to him,” Shammy suggested.

    “I’m not sure turning invisible would work, Shammy, because the komodo dragon has a very strong sense of smell. It probably won’t smell us, but I don’t want to take any chances,” Pila explained. “The talking idea might work, but I think you should put bubbles around us just to be safe.”

    “Okay,” said Shammy. He snapped his fingers and green bubbles appeared around them.

    “Okay, I just need to get close enough to get the MSCM to work,” Pila said.

    The komodo dragon hissed at her but did not bite. 

    “What do you komodo dragons usually eat?” Shammy asked the komodo dragon.

   “We eat almost any kind of meat we can find. Sometimes we will stalk our prey, other times we will scavenge for carcasses,” the komodo dragon answered.

    “Got it!” Pila exclaimed. “I really like this costume, but I will decide when we get home.” 

    “Does that mean we can go carve pumpkins now?” Dimo asked. 

    “Yes,” Pila replied. “After that, I will decide which animal I would like to be.”

    “Humans carve pumpkins for Halloween?” Shammy asked. “That is so cool! Can you show me how?” 

    “Sure!” The kids replied. 

    Shammy snapped his fingers and POOF! They were off to carve pumpkins!

    “I can’t wait to carve a pumpkin!” Shammy exclaimed. “What do we need besides a pumpkin?”

    “Besides a pumpkin, we need a marker, a knife, a scooper, a tray that can go into the oven, and an adult to supervise, but we have you so I don’t think we need that last item this time,” Dimo said.

    “I’ve got the pumpkins! We picked them out at the pumpkin patch,” Pila said, carrying two big pumpkins for her and Dimo, plus one tiny pumpkin for Shammy to carve.

    “Now that we have the pumpkins, let’s start carving! What is the first step?”

    “Okay Shammy. Step 1. Draw a circle around the top of the pumpkin. This will be where we cut off the top to scoop out the insides,” Pila explained. 

    Shammy drew a circle around the top.

    “Good. Step 2. Take the knife and cut around the top on the circle you just drew. Step 3. Take the scooper and scoop out the insides!” Dimo exclaimed.

    “The insides are so gross!” Shammy exclaimed, flicking off a pumpkin seed he got on his finger.

    “Wait! Save those seeds Shammy! We need them for a later step. Next, step 4. Separate all of the seeds from the pulp. The seeds go on the tray to use in step 5. The guts go into the big bowl for composting," Pila said.