OSCAR, The Friendly Ghost
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.
Oscar, the friendly ghost, had been friendly too long.
“Oscar, you’ve been friendly too long,” said the chief ghost.
“If you don’t scare someone today, I’ll turn you back into a
frog.”
“Oh no, not that! I was a frog last year and that Jones boy
put me in the refrigerator.
I nearly froze. Thank goodness his mother came home.”
“Well, the Jones boy it is then. I want you to scare him till
his teeth rattle.”
“Yes, sir.”
And Oscar, the friendly ghost, made plans.
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.
Billy Jones was on his way home from a Halloween party.
“Don’t go through the woods,” his mother had said.
“Come home by the road.”
So Billy Jones was going through the woods.
“Hello, Billy.”
“Why, hello, Oscar. What are you doing out so late?”
“I came to scare you.”
“Ha, ha, ha. Ho, ho, ho. Hee, hee, hee. Can’t scare me!”
And Billy Jones ran on ahead and Oscar, the friendly ghost,
walked behind.
Waiting.
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.
Somewhere off in the distance Billy heard a drumbeat.
PUM.
“What has that?”
“Oscar, where are you?’
Billy turned to look for Oscar, but Oscar had made himself
invisible.
“I see you, Oscar. You’re over behind that tree.”
Oscar, who was standing right beside Billy, blew gently on
Billy’s shoulder.
“What was that?”
Billy started to run.
There was another drumbeat, closer.
PUM.
Billy ran faster.
PUM, PUM.
Billy tripped and fell and rolled on the ground and when
He got up he saw big, white ghosts all around him.
Coming closer.
Billy ran.
He got past one ghost and saw another one in front of
him.
He turned and ran off to the side and there was another
ghost who grabbed at him.
Then he saw the drum.
It was a great, big drum, twice as big as Billy, and he ran
and hid behind it.
The ghosts were looking for him here and there and
getting closer and closer.
Billy looked around for a better place to hide.
He happened to see a small door leading into the drum.
Quickly, he opened the door and crawled inside and
shut the door behind him.
Billy curled up inside the drum and was very quiet.
He began to feel safe again.
Then all of a sudden, he heard a
Snap. Click.
And the door was locked behind him.
And the drum began to spin around and rise into the air.
Faster and faster and higher and higher.
Billy felt dizzy and very, very frightened.
And the drum began to pound.
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.
And the noise was so loud.
Billy thought he would pop.
And suddenly, it stopped.
Then he heard the door
Click. Snap.
And a voice said, “Billy Jones, come out.”
Billy Jones came out and looked around,
But he couldn’t see anything.
Nothing at all!
He looked down at his feet, but he couldn’t see the ground.
He looked around for the drum, but it was gone.
He couldn’t see anything.
Then he began to see something.
Two eyes.
Big, yellow eyes staring and glaring at him.
Billy Jones was frightened, scared, terrified.
Then he saw the thing behind the eyes.
A huge, green, coiling, shimmering, iridescent monster
With wings, claws, fangs, tails, and fire.
He didn’t know it was just Oscar turned into a dragon.
Billy Jones was so scared his teeth rattled and then –
He fainted.
Oscar turned himself back into Oscar and came over to
Billy, saying,
“Well, young man, I guess that’s the last time you’ll say,
‘Ha, ha, ha. Ho, ho, ho. Hee, hee, hee. Can’t scare me.’ “
And he picked Billy up gently and carried him home and
tucked him into bed,
And as he vanished through the wall, he whispered into
Billy’s dreams:
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.
Oscar, the friendly ghost, had been friendly too long.
“Oscar, you’ve been friendly too long,” said the chief ghost.
“If you don’t scare someone today, I’ll turn you back into a
frog.”
“Oh no, not that! I was a frog last year and that Jones boy
put me in the refrigerator.
I nearly froze. Thank goodness his mother came home.”
“Well, the Jones boy it is then. I want you to scare him till
his teeth rattle.”
“Yes, sir.”
And Oscar, the friendly ghost, made plans.
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.
Billy Jones was on his way home from a Halloween party.
“Don’t go through the woods,” his mother had said.
“Come home by the road.”
So Billy Jones was going through the woods.
“Hello, Billy.”
“Why, hello, Oscar. What are you doing out so late?”
“I came to scare you.”
“Ha, ha, ha. Ho, ho, ho. Hee, hee, hee. Can’t scare me!”
And Billy Jones ran on ahead and Oscar, the friendly ghost,
walked behind.
Waiting.
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.
Somewhere off in the distance Billy heard a drumbeat.
PUM.
“What has that?”
“Oscar, where are you?’
Billy turned to look for Oscar, but Oscar had made himself
invisible.
“I see you, Oscar. You’re over behind that tree.”
Oscar, who was standing right beside Billy, blew gently on
Billy’s shoulder.
“What was that?”
Billy started to run.
There was another drumbeat, closer.
PUM.
Billy ran faster.
PUM, PUM.
Billy tripped and fell and rolled on the ground and when
He got up he saw big, white ghosts all around him.
Coming closer.
Billy ran.
He got past one ghost and saw another one in front of
him.
He turned and ran off to the side and there was another
ghost who grabbed at him.
Then he saw the drum.
It was a great, big drum, twice as big as Billy, and he ran
and hid behind it.
The ghosts were looking for him here and there and
getting closer and closer.
Billy looked around for a better place to hide.
He happened to see a small door leading into the drum.
Quickly, he opened the door and crawled inside and
shut the door behind him.
Billy curled up inside the drum and was very quiet.
He began to feel safe again.
Then all of a sudden, he heard a
Snap. Click.
And the door was locked behind him.
And the drum began to spin around and rise into the air.
Faster and faster and higher and higher.
Billy felt dizzy and very, very frightened.
And the drum began to pound.
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.
And the noise was so loud.
Billy thought he would pop.
And suddenly, it stopped.
Then he heard the door
Click. Snap.
And a voice said, “Billy Jones, come out.”
Billy Jones came out and looked around,
But he couldn’t see anything.
Nothing at all!
He looked down at his feet, but he couldn’t see the ground.
He looked around for the drum, but it was gone.
He couldn’t see anything.
Then he began to see something.
Two eyes.
Big, yellow eyes staring and glaring at him.
Billy Jones was frightened, scared, terrified.
Then he saw the thing behind the eyes.
A huge, green, coiling, shimmering, iridescent monster
With wings, claws, fangs, tails, and fire.
He didn’t know it was just Oscar turned into a dragon.
Billy Jones was so scared his teeth rattled and then –
He fainted.
Oscar turned himself back into Oscar and came over to
Billy, saying,
“Well, young man, I guess that’s the last time you’ll say,
‘Ha, ha, ha. Ho, ho, ho. Hee, hee, hee. Can’t scare me.’ “
And he picked Billy up gently and carried him home and
tucked him into bed,
And as he vanished through the wall, he whispered into
Billy’s dreams:
PUM, PUM, PUM
On my drum, drum, drum.
Catch the boys and girls
Who come, come, come.