Annette made her way down the stairs in her pumpkin costume as best she could, trying to make sure that she wouldn't fall on her face. She sighed in relief as she made her way over to her sisters. "Aren't these just the cutest costumes ever?" Annette asked, giggling a tiny amount as she shook her head.
"I know. Jim Dear and Darling knew just what to have us trick-or-treat as. I couldn't believe how awesome they turned out!" Danielle replied, nodding in agreement. "I think they are amazing. I'm happy Mom wants to go out with us. I love how everything is decorated for the season. And plus, the treats are always good to eat," Collette said as she moved over to her sisters, smiling softly while she turned around in a circle.
Annette ran back into the living room, wondering where their mom had gone to. "Mom! Are you ready?"
Darling was putting Lady's halo on her head when Lady heard Annette call her. "Coming!" she barked. After giving Darling a quick nuzzle of gratitude, she headed back into the hallway and saw her three little girls all excitingly waiting to go trick or treating.
"Oh!" Lady squealed as she made her way over to them. "Don't you three look absolutely adorable!" She nuzzled against each of them before heading towards the door. Turning back towards them, she smiled. "Ready to go?" she asked.
The three nodded and giggled as they picked up their bags next to the door. Carrying them in their teeth, they each made their way through the doggy door, making sure to keep from falling as they walked down the porch steps. They took a moment to take in the halloween festivities that were already starting. They watched as trick-or-treaters made their way around the neighborhood, asking for candy and, if it were possible, it made them even more excited.
Annette looked back over to their mother and smiled as best she could with the bag in her teeth, trying to say something but it came out a muffled jumble of words. Collette placed her bag down and giggled at her sister. "You can place the bag down, Annette." Annette nodded, placed the bag down, and smiled sheepishly. "Where are we going first, Mom?"
Lady laughed lightly at her daughters as she looked around at all the houses. Almost every house had Halloween decorations up, and Lady realized how lucky they were to have such friendly neighbors.
Scanning each house, Lady noticed the new neighbors across the street, smiling as they waved goodbye to some trick or treaters, a bag full of candy in their hands. Next to them, Lady saw their puppy, Lily, she believed her name was. The rambunctious young pup's tail was wagging excitedly as she yapped, with a small bag of dog treats in her mouth. Lady smiled.
"How about Lily's house?" she asked her daughters, nodding across the street. "She looks pretty excited, doesn't she?" The girls had been Lily's first friends here, and Lady knew the young pup would be excited to see the girls.
Annette nodded her head at her mother, picked up the bag once more in her teeth, and waited for her sisters. Collette and Danielle followed their sister over to Lily's house, keeping an eye out for excited trick or treaters. They kept an eye on their mom so they wouldn't lose her in the crowd.
The three made their way up the pathway to the house, blushes coming over them as Lily's owners gushed over their pumpkin costumes. They place their bags down and barked happily at the owners, nuzzling them softly with their heads so they would know that the compliments were appreciated.
They all turned their gaze to Lily at the same time. "Hey, Lily." Collette said softly. "Hey, girls! Happy Halloween! Your costumes look really good!" Lily replied with a small smile. "Thanks! Darling made them for us. We really do like them." Annette yipped happily. "Help yourself to a doggy treat. We have lots of them. There has been a ton of people and dogs out tonight. There are so many people here!" All three pups giggled at Lily's enthusiasm, before they each took a doggy treat daintily, placing it in their bag. They looked back at their Mom, smiling.
Lady chuckled as she stood at the foot of the stoop, barking her hello when Lily's owners acknowledged her. After smiling at Lily and waiting for her daughters as they left Lily's house, Lady turned and examined the street. More kids were out now, mostly teens, and she knew they had to be careful.
Just as the girls began to walk down the sidewalk, Lady saw a troublesome-looking group of teenagers, dressed in frightening costumes, making their way down the street.
The three headed towards the sidewalk, wondering which way they should go next. Collette motioned with her head to the house next door, they seemed to not have as many visitors. Danielle and Annette nodded in agreement, getting at what their sister was telling them and headed over in that direction.
All of a sudden, a ghost appeared in front of them and though Collette knew it was just a costume, she yelped and dropped her bag, scampering away from the teenager who was now laughing. His buddies were laughing behind him causing Annette to become angry. No one scared her sister but Danielle and herself. She began barking at them.
Lady saw the whole encounter take place, the mean teenagers laughing at her daughters. Barking furiously, she jumped in front of the girls, teeth bared and fur standing on end. She barked angrily at them, pretending to nip at their ankles until they turned and walked away, despite the fact that they were still laughing. It was times like these when she hated being as small as she was. No one ever saw her as a threat.
She turned back to the girls and took a deep breath. "Are you okay?" she asked Collette sympathetically, nudging at her. "This is why Halloween isn't exactly my favorite holiday," she explained.
Collette nudged back at her mother, giving her a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit scared is all." She replied as she stood upright on wobbly legs, giving herself a shake to rid herself of her nerves. She returned over to her bag and set it upright, noticing with delight that nothing had spilled out in the disaster.
Annette looked at Danielle before turning to her sister. "Well, we'll keep near you just to make sure those mean teenagers don't come back. No one scares you except for us." Collette rolled her eyes but kept the smile on her face to show she was kidding. "Come on, let's go over to that house. I think they can use some visitors." She told them, picking up her bag in her teeth once more, her sisters following her lead. They looked to their mom once before they moved onto the house next door.
Lady followed behind her girls, looking back behind her as the rambunctious teens ambled down the street and walked towards one of the houses to collect their treat. She didn't like Halloween to begin with, and now she had another reason not to.
Forgetting about what had just taken place, Lady turned her attention back to the girls as they politely went from house to house, collecting more and more doggy treats. After about another hour, Lady felt her toes becoming numb from the cold, and she noticed that Danielle had started dragging her bag of treats on the sidewalk, while the other two struggled to hold theirs up.
With a small chuckle, she said, "Do you think you have enough treats yet, girls? It looks like it's starting to get dark."
Danielle nodded her head and smiled weakly at her mother with a big yawn. "I think so. I can barely lift my bag off the ground." Annette and Collette nodded their agreement, each breathing a sigh of relief as they set their bags away on the ground. Collette sat down on the ground and scratched behind her ear before shaking off the fatigue that had settled over her.
"I think we have more than enough treats, Mom." She looked around and smiled when she noticed all the other families had started to dwindle away, leaving a few stragglers behind in their wake. The last few of the trick or treaters were going door to door now, and she knew that the night was soon to end.
Annette shook her head, determined now more than ever to get more treats. "What are you both talking about? There are so many more treats to-" She cut herself off with a yawn and nearly tumbled over her own bag. She nodded her head when her sisters began to snicker at her. "Yeah, I think I've got enough treats," she said sheepishly.
Lady smiled and suppressed a laugh as the girls practically collapsed right then and there. "I think so, too. Besides, if you get any more, you'll get sick! I'm sure your father will want some, too."
The ladies had made it all the way down to the end of their street, and their house was a few blocks down. Looking at her daughters, though, Lady knew they wouldn't be able to make it there without collapsing. And she certainly couldn't carry all of them and all of their heavy bags, so she needed to find a different way to get home.
Thinking to herself, the cocker spaniel noticed one of their neighbors coming down the street, pulling an empty wagon. Lady perked up and came up with an idea. She swiftly grabbed all three girls and gently tossed them one by one into the wagon just as their neighbor was coming by. Then, Lady jumped into it, too, just as the boy noticed the new arrivals.
Their neighbor obviously knew them, and Lady saw him begin to smile. Then, he faced forward again and began to run down the street, pulling the four dogs as their ears began to flap back in the wind.
The three puppies giggled and laughed as their ears flapped back in the wind. Their fatigue was instantly forgotten as their neighbor pulled them down the street in the wagon. "We should have done this earlier tonight. Think of how many more treats we would have!" Annette shouted over the wind to her sisters.
Danielle and Collette were about to say something when they were immediately doubled over with laughter at their sister's expense. Annette simply glared as she pawed away the leaf that had stuck to her nose. Sneezing after the bothersome thing had been shaken off, she soon giggled at her sister's contagious laughter.
When the boy came to a stop before their house, the three jumped off the wagon and pulled their treat bags along with them. They set them down on the pavement and walked over to him, nudging him on his legs with their heads in thanks. He knelt down and gave each of them a pat on the head which the three acknowledged with tired barks.
They turned to their mother, waiting for her to exit. They saw a light flicker on in the house and knew someone had heard them come down the street.
Lady gave the boy's hand a gentle lick and smiled at him, then hopped out of the wagon and led the way up their porch. Before she could go through the doggy door, Darling opened it, smiling down at them. Lady barked her hello and began to wag her tail, then proceeded to go in to a surprisingly quiet house. The boys must still be out trick-or-treating.
The three followed behind with their bags and wagged their tails when they saw Darling. After they set their bags in the living room, they ran back over to Darling who had closed the door. She gave each of them a pat as well before moving off into another part of the house. The three each yawned before looking around. "Looks like we have the house to ourselves, huh?" Annette said with a smile. "Yeah, it's nice." Danielle agreed before moving over to her bag.
After getting a quick drink of water, Lady returned to the living room, where she discovered the girls picking at their treats. She knew what this would lead to.
"Woooaaaahh…" she said as she trotted over to the three. "Just have two for now, okay? Otherwise you'll get sick. Besides it's late." As if on cue, a yawn escaped her.
The girls nodded before each taking a treat out of their bag. Collette only had one, deeming herself too tired to actually eat the other as a huge yawned escaped her. The other two quickly gobbled their designated two treats.
"Thanks, Mom." Danielle said as she sleepily made her way over to her mother and sat down at her feet. Annette followed suit. "Can we go to bed or do you want us to wait till the others get back?"
Her girls' yawns made Lady yawn as well, and she realized just how tired she really was. Besides, it was later than when they usually go to bed.
"You girls can go to bed," she said sleepily as another yawn escaped her. "I think I will too."
The three all nodded in unison as they each moved to nuzzle their mother. "Good night. Thanks for taking us out trick or treating." Annette said with a sleepy grin. The other two nodded their heads in agreement, too tired to even speak another word.
The puppies headed upstairs to their bed and flopped onto the cushioned basket and within seconds, the three fell into dreamless sleep.
Lady smiled at her girls. "Goodnight, and you're welcome, I'm glad you had a good time." She followed them upstairs, and by the time she went in to close their door, they were already asleep.
"Happy Halloween, my darlings," she whispered, then went to bed herself, happy that this Halloween had gone so well.