“‘Yes ’tis,’ said the voice, ‘it’s Johnny Stebbins, and I’ve come to save you.’
“‘If you will only get me out of here,’ said the yellow pumpkin, ‘I’ll go home and be just as good. I never’ll run away in all this world again, never. You can take me to market, and I’ll go along as nice as can be.’
“‘Yes,’ said Johnny; ‘you must go along good; for you see all the pumpkins have to be carried to market, for we shouldn’t have anything to live on if they didn’t.’
“‘I know it,’ said Mr. Tip Top quite humbly; ‘oh, do get me out!’
“‘Well, I will,’ said Johnny; ‘but you must do just as I say.’ So the yellow pumpkin promised he would; and Johnny ran around the outside of the cave, and pretty soon Mr. Tip Top heard him say ‘Roll over here.’ So the yellow pumpkin rolled in the direction of the voice; and there was a hole big enough for him to get out of, and oh! in a minute there he was out in the fresh air. And then Johnny said, ‘Roll home now as fast as you can; I’m going to stay and scare the big giant and Mrs. Giant and all the little giants, and cut their heads off.’
“‘Oh, dear, Johnny!’ cried Mr. Tip Top, and he burst out crying, ‘do come home. He’ll kill you, and chew your head off.’
“‘Pshaw! no, he won’t!’ said Johnny; ‘and I’ve got to kill that old giant and Mrs. Giant and all those dreadful giantesses, else they’ll steal all our pumpkins. See what I’ve got;’ and he ran behind a big tree, and came out again with a perfectly horrible head of a wild beast with flaming eyes and a big mouth and—”
“Oh, a jack-o-lantern!” screamed Percy and Van and Dick together.
Polly nodded gayly and dashed on. “Mr. Tip Top took one look at it, and he said very bravely, ‘I’m going to stay too, and help you. Make me look like that.’ So in two minutes Mr. Tip Top had flaming eyes in him, and a horrible big mouth, out of which he kept saying, ‘Now we’ll scare them twice as soon. Come on, Johnny!’ And in they crept into the cave.
“Oh, dear! you never heard such screams and roars! The giant called for his sword, and his servants; and then he huddled under the bed-clothes, and pulled them up over his ears. So Johnny cut off his head easy enough; and Mrs. Giant ran screaming out of the cave, and she was going so fast she couldn’t stop herself running down the hill, and so she rolled into the pond at the bottom; and all the little Giant boys and girls ran this way and that and climbed into the trees, so they were all caught, and the servants too. And then Johnny took a great piece of sealing-wax he had brought along in his pocket, and stuck the stone door fast so it couldn’t be opened. And then away he and Mr. Tip Top went home.