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Chapter one

Halloweentown's Scariest Skeleton

On October 31 everybody in Halloweentown was excited.

Halloween night was the most important night of their year and they were all afraid. Dead people came up from under the ground. Thirsty vampires happily drank a lot of blood. Ugly old witches changed some people into cats and other people into fish. Everybody ran from the skeletons, from the sound of their long, thin arms and legs. Black cats jumped in and out of trash cans. Black birds flew through the dark sky with loud, high cries. And Jack Skellington sang his scary songs and danced his dangerous dances. People screamed. They were afraid. They loved it.

At the end of the Halloween night, everybody went to the center of town. The Mayor of Halloweentown stood in front of them and spoke.

"Tonight was the best Halloween party in many years, and the hard work of one man made it possible," he said. He turned to the towns greatest skeleton. "Jack - thank you. "

"It was great, Jack!" people shouted. "We loved it! It was wild!"

"Yes," the Mayor said. "We all enjoy Jack's scary songs and dangerous dances. Jack, you're the scariest skeleton in Halloweentown! Thank you for these wonderful celebrations...

"No problem," Jack said.

But Jack wasn't happy. Every year he repeated the same songs and dances and he was bored with Halloween. Of course, he couldn't tell anybody. How could he? The people of the town loved him and they waited all year for this night.

When the Mayor started talking about the scariest vampires and witches, Jack walked away quietly. He wanted to think about his future. He walked out of town and past the old churchyard. He walked past Sally, too, but he didn't see her.

Sally was also sad. She watched Jack and she wanted to follow him. But she had to be careful.

The Doctor didn't like it when she left the house. And when she didn't listen to him, he got very angry.

The Doctor was a very ugly, old skeleton and he was not a nice man. After his accident, he couldn't walk. He made Sally, from old clothes, because he wanted a strong young woman in his house. Her clothes were not very pretty, but she had beautiful long red hair.

The doctor could move around in His chair but Sally had to cook for him. She cleaned for him and did everything in the house. Her life was boring and she really wanted to run away. She tried to leave many times but he always caught her.

"Why is Jack sad tonight?" Sally thought. "He's the most wonderful man in Halloweentown and everybody loves him. "

She listened hard. She could hear Jack's words to his little white dog, Zero. Zero came out from under the ground and flew behind Jack. He was dead, of course, so you could see through him. But he had a funny red nose and it shone in the dark.

"I scare people every year, Zero," Jack Skellington said quietly to his dog. "It's boring and I'm tired. I don't want to hear another scream. Why do I do it?"

"Now I understand... he's bored," Sally thought sadly. "He wants to change his life... and I want to change mine, too. "