Halloween Surprise

Gray Paw began to sew. First, she made the costume for her daughter, Snow Ball. When Snow Ball tried it on, she looked exactly like Tootsie the dog, except her tail was longer.

"I will tuck it in," she said.

Then Gray Paw made a flamingo costume for Rooster and a dove costume for Parrot. Finally, she made a skunk costume for Tootsie. Everyone was excited about looking like someone else. They practiced their parts.

Snow Ball tried to bark loudly, but her sound was too soft. She kept trying.

Tootsie tried to rub something on his body to make himself smell like a skunk.

Rooster tried to tiptoe and raised his neck to look like a flamingo.

Parrot tried to make the cooing sound of a dove in her throat.

Gray Paw was satisfied with her work. All the pets tried to keep their costumes a secret.

On Halloween, they all looked at each other, but no one could tell who was who. Gray Paw had done a good job! After much sniffing and examination, they finally figured it out. All the pets thanked Gray Paw for her hard work.

The next challenge was to guess what the little girl in the family, Miss Huong, would dress up like.

"She might be an angel," said Snow Ball.

Tootsie disagreed. "She will be a gypsy."

"No, no," said Rooster. "She will probably be a Barbie doll."

Parrot interrupted them. "She told me she will be a ballet dancer."

"A ballet dancer? It is perfect for her. She is such a graceful girl," Tootsie said.

Thursday: Which Halloween costume will Miss Huong wear?

* Tran Mong Tu is a Vietnamese writer. This is her fourth story for the Kids' Reading Room.

* This story will be on The Times' Web site at http://www.latimes.com/kids.