Once upon a time in the tipsy town of Todmorden, lived a retired pumpkin farmer, Jasper. With his twinkling eyes and expressive chapped lips, he was the epitome of a charm-tastic bristly grandfather.
Every year on Halloween, he made a splendid albeit strange custom. He’d place a lit Jack-o’-lantern on his cottage’s roof. Folklore whispered that it was to ward off the balloon-headed ghost that once stole his favorite pet frog.
This Halloween, as the clock gonged midnight, a windstorm zipped through Todmorden. Suddenly! The lantern flickered and died, the pumpkin was swept away. Jasper fluttered awake, sensing something amiss. Outside, his heart skipped a beat as he saw his cottage bereft of the lantern.
Within the blink of a moment, there was a knock on his door. The townsfolk stood there, flushed with fear, clutching… the pet frog! They urgently pleaded, “Jasper, the balloon-headed ghost is back, cycling around town with a ludicrous basket of stolen frogs!”
Jasper just shrugged nonchalantly, drew out a corked bottle from his pocket, uncorked it, and out popped a tiny shinning Jack-o’-lantern. With a grin, he roared, “Don’t you know? I invented pumpkin lantern insurance!” And that ladies and gents, is the secret of Jasper’s lifelong charm and wittiness.