کریسمس به شهر هالووین میاد

chapter twelve

Christmas Comes to Halloweentown

Suddenly some beautiful white snow started falling in Halloweentown, a Christmas present from Santa Claus.

When they saw Jack in the Mayor’s car, the witches, the vampires, and the skeletons shouted, “Jack! Jack! You’re home!” Suddenly, a louder sound came from the sky above. Everybody looked up.

“Happy Christmas, everybody,” shouted Santa Claus. He drove across the night sky with his sleigh full of presents. Jack smiled happily up at Santa.

Suddenly, some beautiful white snow started falling on Halloweentown - a Christmas present from Santa Claus. “What is this,” asked the witches.

They put out their long fingers and tried to catch the snow.

“White blood,” asked the vampires.

“It’s cold,” said the skeletons.

“It’s snow,” Jack said happily.

The witches, the vampires, the trick-or-treaters, the black cats, the skeletons, the Mayor, and Jack jumped up and down in the snow and laughed. Christmas was here in Halloweentown!

Only one person was not there. Above the town’s center, Sally stood and looked down on the celebrations below. The snow was beautiful but the smile on her face was sad. She watched for a minute or two and then she had to turn away.

“How does he feel about me,” she thought.

She sat down next to some pretty flowers and pulled one from the ground. With her small fingers, she pulled the petals off, one at a time.

“He loves me, he loves me not– he loves me–” she said quietly

Down in the town, Jack stopped suddenly and looked around. He wanted to celebrate with Sally. But where was she? When he couldn’t find Sally’s face, he had to look for her. He left his friends and walked to the top of the town through the snow.

He didn’t have to look for very long. Near the wall around the town, he saw her with the flower in her hand. When he was near her, he heard her words. She didn’t see him because her eyes were on the petals. But then she felt his eyes on her. She turned slowly and looked at him. He looked at her and smiled. He finished her words.

“He loves you,” said Jack.

Sally stood up and Jack took her hands in his.

The nightmare before Christmas ended happily for everybody. (But not for Oogie Boogie, of course.)

Santa Claus never forgot that night before Christmas. It was the longest night in his life. He remembered Jack Skellington very well for many years. And every time he thought of Jack, he smiled.

It was strange, but Santa Claus enjoyed that night in Halloweentown. He couldn’t understand why. He thought about the really scary vampires and witches, and those three trick-or-treaters. They were different. It was exciting.

Of course, Santa Claus could never say this to his wife or to his little helpers. What could he say about Halloween? How could he tell them about life there?

“It’s a very strange place,” he told his wife. “I hated every minute in that place,” he told his helpers.

But for years after that night, Santa Claus sometimes left Christmastown for an hour or two when he was bored with his happy helpers and their happy songs.

When his life felt boring, he climbed into his sleigh. He drove to Halloweentown and there he visited his old friend Jack Skellington. They talked about the year when Jack wanted to be Santa Claus.

Jack was always happy when Santa visited him. He liked to ask questions about Christmastown and Santa liked to ask Jack about Halloweentown. They could talk for hours and they were never bored.