trickortreatdanny

2000, Paris Annette Morreau
All rights reserved. This story, or parts thereof,
may not be reproduced in any form without permission

*******************************************************

Danny slipped into the red, long-sleeved tunic that covered
about half of his pudgy little bottom. He pulled and tugged red
tights up his legs to his waist. He looked at his reflection in
the full length mirror. He stared in horror at the tights. He
turned to the side and looked, open-mouthed, at the long, thin
tail protruding from his bottom. He glanced up at the horns
peeking through his hair. He smiled. He had fixed the band just
right. The horns really looked like they were growing out of his
head. He looked back down at the leotard and frowned again. He
picked up the cape and draped it over his shoulders, loosely
tying the narrow ribbons. It hung to his knees and he pulled it
around him to cover most of the tights. "Not bad," he thought
and turned to the side again. The tail was caught under
the cape and pushed it straight out like a tent on its side.

"Oh, man!" Danny muttered. He put on his white sneakers
with the red flashing lights and stomped out of his room and into
his stepmother's.

     "I can't wear this!" Danny declared, holding out his arms to
afford her the best view of the ridiculous outfit. He looked up
at her.

     Kelly stood at her mirror adjusting her long white gown to
hide the straps that held her huge wings in place. Her golden
blonde hair fell in thick waves to her waist. Her big blue eyes
sparkled,her mouth bore just the trace of pale pink lipstick and
a slight smile. She turned to look at her stepson. Her smiled
widened for a split second before she burst into giggles at the
sight of him.

     Danny scowled while Kelly laughed. "Why did you buy me
this?"

     "Well," Kelly managed between peals of laughter, "I was
tempted to buy something else, but I couldn't resist this one."

     "That's it!" Danny said. "I'm not wearing this thing."

     "Oh, Baby, I'm sorry," Kelly apologized, happy tears on her
face. "You just look so cute! I love that costume on you. Wear
it for Mommy. Please?"

     "Well, ...." Danny hesitated.

     Kelly opened her big blue eyes a little wider. Danny
smiled.

     "Okay," he relented.

     "Oh, thank you, Baby!" Kelly said as she stepped over to him
and wrapped her arms around him. "I must admit that I just can't
resist you."

     Danny frowned again and struggled out of his stepmother's
embrace.

     "Your horns are perfect, Baby."

     Danny tried to restrain a smile.

     "You little devil."

     "Mommy, stop iiiit!" Danny whined. "I don't want to wear
this."

     "The devil you say!" and Kelly laughed again. "Wear it for
me, Danny Darling," Kelly crooned. She lightly kissed her
stepson's forehead. She lifted his chin. "I love the devil in
you."

     Danny blushed and smiled despite himself.

     "Okay," he reluctantly agreed.

     "That's my baby," Kelly murmured and kissed Danny's cheek.

     Danny turned around and wiggled his bottom. His tail swung
wildly under his cape.   Kelly burst into a fresh peal of
laughter. Danny pulled the cape across his face, covering
everything but his big brown eyes. In exaggerated, high steps,
he tiptoed across the room, the red lights of his shoes flashing
brightly. Kelly doubled over.

     Danny pointed his finger at Kelly. "Away, angel! Fly back
to your fluffy white cloud and play Heavenly music on your golden
harp. Tonight, the dark side rules the Earth!"

     Kelly threw her head back and laughed without a sound, eyes
shut, mouth opened, white teeth gleaming. Danny laughed with
her. It was Halloween night! It was better than Christmas.



     At the front door, Kelly straightened Danny's cape and
repeated her instructions to him.

     "You know I don't want you to go out by yourself. You
begged me so fervently for so long I finally, simply, gave in. I
just couldn't resist you anymore," she said with a smile.

     Danny's frown quickly faded and he smiled at the gentle
tease.

     "Just remember what I've told you and what you promised me.
Stay with the other kids, stay in the neighborhood, stay away
from dark houses. Go only to houses that have ..."

     'lights on or are decorated for Halloween," Danny recited
the admonition.

     Now it was Kelly's turn to frown.

     "I will, Mommy. I promise," Danny said looking at Kelly
with the big dark eyes that melted her heart.

     "Be sure you do," Kelly said firmly. She turned him around
and firmly smacked his bottom. "There will be more where that
came from if you don't," she warned.

     "Ow!" Danny yelped in mock pain. "I said 'I promise.'"

     Kelly sighed. "Go on then," she said. "Have fun."

     Danny turned around again and hugged his stepmother. "I'll
be okay," he promised before running out the door, candy bag in
hand.

     Danny trotted down the walkway in front of his house to the
sidewalk where his friends were waiting for him.

     "Ooooh, Danny!" Marcy exclaimed. "I always knew you were a
little devil."

     Danny blushed and smiled despite himself. "You're a
cheerleader?" he asked.

     Mary twirled around in her short blue and white pleated
skirt. She opened her arms to show off her matching sweater.

     "Could I tempt you into doing a cheer for me?" Danny asked,
laughing.

     Marcy stood up on the toes of her white tennis shoes, raised
a pom pom and brushed it gently across Danny's face. "Rah, rah
Danny the Devil."

Danny pushed the pom pom away from him. "Is that it?"

     "There's nothing to cheer about yet, Danny," Jordan said
with perfect logic. "We don't have any candy. She can jump up
and down later."

     Danny looked at his friend, dressed liked Little Bo Peep.

     "What was your mother thinking, letting you out looking like
that?" Danny asked.

     "Don't ask," Jordan replied, shaking his head. "Come on.
Let's go."

     The small group joined another band of friends and walked in
the cool breeze of Autumn, colored leaves crunching under their
feet as they began the house-to-house demand for candy. Mindful
of what their mothers had told them, they approached only those
houses that welcomed them with porch lights and candle-lit
pumpkins carved with frightening faces. There were front yards
made to look like cemeteries with skeletons and decaying monsters
rising out of their graves. There were ghosts suspended from
trees, witches standing guard at the front door and the sounds of
haunting coming from within. The trick or treaters were greeted
with exclamations and offered bowls full of candy.

     "Oh my! It's Little Bo Peep! Have you lost your sheep,
little girl? Oh! You're a boy. Oh. And, uh, I see we have a
cheerleader. How cute you look! What team are you cheering for,
honey?"

     "The home team, Ma'am," Marcy replied, holding out her bag.

     "The 'home team;' so sweet," the woman chuckled while she
tossed a handful of candy into the proffered bag.

     "And, ..oh! A devil! Look at those horns! They look like
they are actually growing right out of your head! Are you sure
that's just a costume?"

     Danny grinned and nodded.

     "Do you have a tail, devil boy? You are a boy, aren't you?"

     "Yes. I'm a boy," Danny frowned.

     "Well, ..." the woman shifted her eyes to Jordan and
shrugged.

     Danny looked at his friend. "He's just dressed up. It's
Halloween," he explained.

     "Let me see your tail," the woman insisted.

     Danny turned around and lifted his cape.

     "Oh yes! There it is! It's even sharply pointed at the
end. Perfect!"

     Danny wiggled his bottom and the tail swung wildly.

     "Ha! Oh my goodness! Look at that tail go! Oh, you
naughty devil! Now don't you ask me to sell my soul or
anything."

     "If I can have some candy, you can keep your soul," Danny
bargained.

     "It's a deal, you little imp," the woman agreed and put two
handsful of candy in his bag.

     Up and down the streets they went, each describing the candy
they had received and pointing out elaborately carved pumpkins.
At the end of one block, Danny started to turn right.

     "Don't go that way," Jordan said. "There's only one street
before the park and only one house on that whole block and it's a
dead-end street. We'd have to walk all the way back here. It's
not worth it," he decided. "Besides, I don't think anyone even
lives there. Let's go this way," he said, turning to the left.

     "I don't want to go that way. There's nothing but old
people on that street and they never have any good candy," Danny
said. "Come on. Let's try that house. I think someone moved
in."

     "I'm not going down that creepy street," Marcy said, shaking
her head. It's dark and that house is creepy, too. I don't care
if someone lives there or not. Only a creepy person would live
in that place. I'll take my chances with the old people," she
decided and began walking with Jordan. "Come on, Danny. Come
with us," she said.

     "No. I'm going this way.   If there's no one there, I'll
just go home. I'm not going to go to the old people and get a
bunch of stale old popcorn balls and raisins mixed up with my
candy," Danny said.

     "Well, ... be careful then," Marcy said, and turned away
from him.

     Danny stood on the corner and watched his friends walk away.
"To Hell with you," he whispered, pulling his cape across his
face. He smiled and turned toward the dark street.

     The voices of squealing candy seekers grew fainter as Danny
walked down the long dark street toward the lone house. Halfway
down the block, he heard only the soft whistle of the cool wind,
the scraping of leaves across the sidewalk, and the quiet fall of
his own footsteps. He looked around at the looming trees swaying
in the breeze and at the lots of overgrown grass. His pounding
heartbeat was added to the sounds of the night.

     Danny looked at the house at the end of the street.
"Someone does live there," he whispered when he saw dim lights in
some of the downstairs windows. As he approached the picket
fence, he realized that what had appeared to him in the distance
as globes, were actually pumpkins. One unlit, horror-faced
pumpkin impaled on each stake of the fence across the front of
the yard. He opened the squeaky gate and looked up the walkway
at the porch.   A bare bulb cast a dim, orange glow. Danny
shivered, took a deep breath, walked up to the door and rang the
bell.   A loud, melancholy moan cried back to him. Danny's eyes
widened and his heart began to hammer. He heard footsteps, slow
and light approaching. Then there was nothing. He started to
turn away when he heard a creak. He watched the doorknob
being slowly twisted and then the door opened suddenly. He
jumped in startled fear and looked at the figure standing in the
narrow crack of light.

     She was tall and slender. Her thick and shiny black hair
was parted on the left side and hung straight to her trim waist.
Her large ebony eyes were fringed with long curled lashes. Her
face was pale except for full lips painted a fiery red. Her
snugly fitted black dress fell to her ankles and was split on one
side to the top of her creamy thigh. She wore black shoes with
skinny four-inch heels. A black cat snaked itself between her
legs and curled its plush tail around her pale ankle. One hand
rested on a shapely hip, her long red fingernails pointing to the
floor; the other held a glass from which a thick steam rose in
wavy fingers.

     Danny stared at her in open-mouthed wonder. She slowly
raised a perfectly arched black brow in question. Danny
swallowed hard.

     "Trick or treat," he finally managed to croak.

     "Trick or treat?" she asked, her voice low and throaty.
"You mean I have a choice?"

     Danny nodded.

     "Maybe you had better come in and tell me about it," she
said.

     The woman stepped back and opened the door. Danny walked
across the threshhold into a small entry way. The woman turned
her back to him and walked into a small room. The cat, walking
slowly behind her mistress, turned her head and looked at Danny,
beckoning him. Danny followed, the red lights of his shoes
flashing wildly. The cat stopped, arched its back, and hissed,
before racing out of the room. Danny jumped, his heart pounding.
The woman laughed, the sound a growl, and Danny looked up at her,
his eyes bulging.

     "Don't tell me the devil is afraid of cats."

     Danny shook his head. "No."

"Come into my parlor," the woman said as she sat down on her
sofa. She crossed her long legs, the split in her dress exposing
her creamy flesh from ankle to thigh.

     Danny walked slowly into the dim room. There was a low
flame in the fireplace and a large black pot hanging over it.

     The woman patted the cushion next to her.   "Sit down," she
invited.

     "What's that?" Danny asked, ignoring the woman's command,
and looking at the steaming mug she was holding.

     "It's just a simple concoction of mine," she said with a
shrug.

     "What's in it?"

     "'Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
     Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
     Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
     Lizard's leg and howlet's wing.'
     ... and a little devil's tail," she added.

     Danny stared blankly as the woman recited the ingredients.
"It smells like cimmanon," he said.

     "'Cimmanon'? Do you mean, cin-na-mon?"

     "I have trouble with that word," Danny admitted, blushing.

     "Well, as a devil, it should be easy for you to remember
that it starts with "cin."

     Danny nodded.

     "Sit down," she commanded.

     Danny lowered himself nearly to the sofa before his tail got
in the way and poked him.

     The woman smiled and stifled a laugh.

     "I guess that must be a frequent problem for you. Getting
your tail caught."

     "It's just for tonight," Danny said. "It's just for
Halloween. I don't wear this every day," he said nearly
exasperated. "You're supposed to get dressed up. It's a
tradition."

     "Oh, yes. Halloween. Tell me about this tradition.

     Danny looked at the woman's long black hair, her black
dress, and at the cauldron in the fireplace. He remembered the
pumpkins impaled on the fence in front of her house. "You don't
know about Halloween?"
he asked.

     "Tell me about it."

     Danny shrugged. "Kids dress up and go to people's houses
and get candy."

     The woman's eyes widened in surprise.

     "They dress up? So, that's just a costume?" She asked,
pointing. "You're not really the devil?"

     "Of course not."

     "'Of course' that's not just a costume or 'of course' you're
not really the devil?"

     "I'm not really the devil."

     "But how can I be sure? If you were the devil you would say
you were not. If you were not the devil you would say you were
not."
She put her mug on the table. "You see my dilemma," she stated
as she placed a hand on her bare knee.

     "Would the devil wear these?" Danny asked pointing to his
shoes with the red flashing lights.

     "Depends on what he's in to," she said, her voice low.
"What he likes."

     "Look, it's just a costume. The tail comes off. It's
attached to this thing," Danny explained, yanking on his tail,
pulling it away from his tights.

     "Ah! I see. What about those horns. They look real.

     "Yeah!" Danny said touching the horns. "They do, huh? I
like these. But they're not real. See?" He pulled on the band,
lifting the horns off his head.

     "I see. Still, the devil doesn't have to show his tail or
even his horns for that matter. He can take on any size or shape
or become any creature he wants."

     Danny sighed. "If he can do that, then he could become a
snake and slither under the door of a grocery store and take all
the candy he wants. He wouldn't have to go to the trouble of
dressing up, knocking on doors and asking for it. And he could
do it anytime, not just once a year and only at night," he
explained with flawless logic and waning patience.

     "Good point." She folded her arms across her chest. "So,
now that I know you are not really the devil, I can assume that
you are just a boy who doesn't know me from ... Adam."

     Danny nodded.

     So, not knowing me, you come into my home," she began,
ticking the items off on her long, slender fingers, "I actually
invite you into my home and the first thing you can think to do
is demand a treat or force me to endure some sort of terrible
trick. Well, maybe it's not a bad trick, perhaps I'm being too
literal here."

     "Look, it's Halloween. It's a tradition. Kids ...."

     "Tradition? It's a tradition to walk into someone's home,
demand candy or threaten them with a trick? And what kind of
trick are you talking about? Is it a card trick? I have an ..
interest in magic. I might like to see something like that."

     "No. No, it's not a card trick. See, I say 'trick or
treat," Danny began to explain with great forebearance, "the
person gives me candy, ... um, unless they're old, then they give
me some stale, dried up ol' raisins or something. But if they
don't give me candy, or something, then I get to trick them. I
could tp a tree in their yard, or throw eggs at their house, or,
oh! like this one time, my friend put a paper bag," Danny started
laughing. "And then he, ..." Danny looked at the woman's stern
expression and his broad grin faded. "But I never tricked
anyone," he quickly amended.

"Has anyone ever tricked you?" the woman asked, her voice
reproving him.

     Danny shook his head. "That's not the way it works. See, I
say 'trick or treat,' but I never trick anyone. I only go to
houses where people are expecting me. Like in a neighborhood
with lots of houses that are lit up and decorated for Halloween,"
he explained, remembering what Kelly had told him, "because they
want kids to go there. So I do, and everyone gives me candy.
It's just for fun."

     "Fun? You throw eggs at a person's house and call it fun?"

     "I never did that," Danny defended himself. "I was just
giving you an example of a trick."

     "Yes, a trick you've never felt obliged to play because you
only go to houses where you are expected and someone always gives
you candy," the woman agreed. "But I did not expect you tonight.
My house is dark. It's on an isolated street. There are no
other houses on the block. No children in the neighborhood. And
I've only recently moved here. How could you have thought I was
expecting you?"

     "Well I, didn't ...I just thought I'd see. I didn't want to
go to the old people's houses, so I..."

     "Just thought you would see if anyone lived here?"

     Danny nodded.

     "But that is not the same as knowing that you are expected,
is it? My house is not ablaze with light. There are no swarms
of children on this street. You came here knowing I was not
expecting you. And knowing that, the probability was that I
would not have a treat for you.   And yet you came here anyway.
What does that tell me? You came here to trick me. That's the
only reason you came here, isn't it?"

     "No! No! I just wanted to see if someone lived here. I
thought someone did. I don't care if you don't have any candy.
I'll just go."

     "Oh no, you won't. You play your trick or treat games every
year and no one has ever tricked you. I think it's about time
someone did."

     The woman took Danny's arm and pulled him over her lap, one
leg covered with her black dress, the other bare and pale.

     "No! No! I'm not going to trick you!" Danny promised.

     "No, of course not. I'm going to trick you."

     She flipped up his cape and pulled his tail, tugging until
Danny's red tights uncovered his bottom. She held him firmly at
his waist and pulled his white briefs down. She pushed the
tights and briefs down his legs to his knees.

     "No! Don't!" Danny begged, though he did not struggle to
get up.

     The woman raised her hand lightly smacked each pudgy cheek
back and forth in evenly spaced spanks.

     "How does it feel to be the one who has been tricked,
Devil?"

     Except for the embarrassment of being bare-bottomed over the
lap of a stranger, it didn't feel bad at all, Danny thought.
Even Kelly spanked harder than this. He decided he wouldn't
mention that.

     "Bad! It feels bad. I'll never trick you," he vowed.

     The woman spanked in sharper bites now in the middle of
Danny's bottom.

     "Does that mean you will trick others?" she asked, spanking
one chub over and over.

     "No! I'll never trick anyone," Danny promised. She was
spanking as hard as Kelly did now and one side of his bottom was
warm under her hand.

     "You think it's pretty funny, though, don't you?" The woman
asked, spanking the other cheek with a biting sting.

     "No! No, I don't," Danny protested.

     "No? You laughed when you told me about your friend and the
paper bag," she reminded him as she spanked briskly down to the
tops of his thighs.

     "Uhhhhhh!" Danny screeched and burst into tears.

     "I didn't mean iiiiiit!" he swore as he began pummeling the
sofa with this strong legs.

     "Did he light that bag on fire?" she asked, spanking in
quick, hard smacks up and over the arch of his chubby bottom.

     "Yessssss!" Danny admitted.

     "So if the person who came out stepped on it, he'd have a
pretty hot foot, wouldn't he?" she asked spanking, again, back
and forth across each cheek. "And he might even have burned
himself. Right?"

     "Owwww! I, ... I guess sooooo!"

     "I wonder if it would feel as hot as your bottom does right
now. What do you think?" she asked, spanking in rapid circles
all over his bottom.

     "Yeeeesssss!" Danny howled between sobs.

     "That wouldn't be so funny, would it?"

     "Nooooo!" Danny screeched in agreement.

     "No? You wouldn't laugh at that? Do you suppose someone
would laugh at you if he saw you getting your bare little bottom
spanked? Or if she saw your bare little bottom getting spanked?"

     "Yesssss!" Danny admitted. His body slumped over the
woman's knees and he wept.

     "Maybe you should keep that in mind the next time you are
tempted to trick someone."

     "I willlllll!" Danny cried. "I willlll! I'll never trick
anyone. I promise. It's just what you're supposed to saaaaayy.
I never tricked anyone."

     "Never? Oh yes, that's right. You really never tricked
anyone? Ever?" she asked spanking the fleshy arch of Danny's
pudgy bottom.

     "No! No! I never did. Never!"

     "Well, then, I suppose this little spanking is enough for
the first trick that was played on you."

     The woman glided her hand over Danny's blazing bottom.

     "Ooh! I'll bet that's hotter than where you come from,
little devil. Stand up."

     Danny got off the woman's lap and stood up. He quickly put
his hands behind him and rubbed his bottom. The woman reached
down to Danny's briefs and tights and pulled them up while she
looked into his big brown eyes.

     "You'll have to move your hands now. You can rub that fire
out later."

     Danny put his hands at his sides and the woman pulled his
briefs and tights all the way up. She stood up, towering over
him.

     "I forgive you, Young Devil," the woman said, though Danny
still did not understand what he had done to earn a spanking in
the first place. "Now that you know with whom you are dealing, I
think it's safe to hug and make up, don't you?"

     Danny nodded. The woman hugged him.

     "You know, now that I think of it," the woman whispered in
Danny's ear, "I do have a treat. Wait right here."

     She walked into the kitchen and a moment later came out and
handed Danny a huge red candy apple.

     "Thank you," Danny said, tears in his eyes, a small grin on
his face.

     "It's just as red as your bottom."

     Danny blushed and looked away. He picked up his bag from
the sofa and carefully placed the apple inside.

     The woman walked Danny to the door.

     "Behave yourself for at least the rest of this night. Find
your friends and stay with them. And don't approach any dark
houses; you never know what you're going to find."

     Danny nodded, turned and ran down the walkway. The woman
watched him trot up the street.

     The black cat snaked itself between her legs and curled its
plush tail around her pale ankle. She looked down.

     "God I love Halloween," she whispered with a smile.