On Halloween night, Lilou floated into the garden with a pink bow on her head and a basket full of candy.

She set her basket beside a pumpkin while she hung a lantern on a branch. When she floated back down, she reached in for a lemon drop.

Her hand touched the bottom.

She tipped the basket. Not a single candy fell out.

“Where did my candy go?”

Something crinkled beside the pumpkin. It was a lemon drop in a shiny yellow wrapper.

“One candy,” said Lilou. “And one clue!”

She put it in her basket. Farther along the path, a pink wrapper poked out from under a leaf. Lilou tugged it free. A strawberry candy!

“Two candies. And two clues!”

Then she heard a giggle.

Lilou looked up. The three Flowercandy were leaning toward one another. The purple one winked. The green one suddenly seemed very interested in a pebble. And the yellow one was trying so hard to keep quiet that her petals shook.

“Have you seen my candy?” Lilou asked.

“Candy?” said the green Flowercandy. “What candy?”

“The candy in the cauldron!” said the yellow one.

The other two turned to look at her.

“Oh,” she whispered. “Was that still a secret?”

Lilou floated over to the little black cauldron by the garden gate. She peered inside. There were her caramels, her lemon drops, and every last strawberry candy.

“We thought you’d like a Halloween hunt,” said the purple Flowercandy.

“I did,” said Lilou. “But next time, leave me a note. I thought I’d lost the whole basketful!”

She poured the candy back into her basket. Then she put three pieces back in the cauldron and pulled a big leaf over the top.

“What are you doing?” asked the green Flowercandy.

“Making a little Halloween hunt for you.”

“But we just watched you hide them!” said the yellow one.

Lilou lifted the leaf. The cauldron was empty.

The three Flowercandy stared.

From behind them came a tiny crinkle.

Rosie the spider was sitting on a pumpkin with three candies in her lap.

“Did somebody say Halloween hunt?” she asked.

Lilou laughed so hard that her pink bow slipped over one eye. Rosie handed a candy to each of the three flowers, and Lilou finally got her lemon drop.