For several days, Mia had been carefully preparing for her very first Halloween.

She polished each of her eight little legs, made her tiny orange crown sparkle, and chose a bow for every leg: four orange ones and four purple ones.

She even wove herself a little spiderweb bag to collect candy.

Standing in front of her mirror, Mia proudly declared:

“I am a brave little spider. Nothing scares me!”

But when the sun disappeared behind the trees, the garden suddenly became very dark. The branches looked like long, crooked fingers, leaves crackled behind her, and strange lights danced between the trees.

Mia no longer dared to leave her web.

Suddenly, she noticed two large eyes glowing in the darkness. A mysterious shadow slowly moved toward her.

Mia screamed and hid behind her candy bag.

But the frightening creature was only Nina, the little cat, wearing her witch’s hat and purple boots.

Nina soon discovered that Mia was celebrating Halloween for the very first time.

“Would you like to come to the village with me?” she asked gently.

Mia hesitated. The path looked terribly dark, but Nina held out her paw.

“All right,” Mia whispered. “But please don’t walk too fast. I have eight legs to keep under control!”

As they followed the moonlit path, Mia jumped at the sight of a talking pumpkin, a dancing skeleton, and a bat that flew so close it nearly carried away one of her bows.

Each time, Nina showed her what was really hiding behind the frightening sight: a child wearing a costume, a mechanical decoration, or an animal that was just as startled as Mia.

Then a real little ghost appeared in the middle of the path.

Mia immediately climbed onto Nina’s hat and hid behind its pointed tip.

The ghost floated closer, letting out a long, mysterious moan.

Suddenly, he tripped over a pile of leaves and fell headfirst into a pumpkin.

It was Pipo!

He had not been trying to frighten them. He was simply looking for his friends and had become lost again.

Mia began to laugh. The ghost who had frightened her so much was even clumsier than she was!

Using one of her silky threads, she helped Pipo climb out of the pumpkin.

Together, Mia, Nina, and Pipo finally reached the Halloween celebration. Mia discovered glowing lanterns, wonderful costumes, cheerful music, and enormous bowls filled with candy.

For the first time that evening, the little spider forgot to be afraid.

At the end of the party, Mia understood that being brave did not mean never feeling frightened. It meant continuing despite the shivers—especially when a friend was there to hold your paw.

Before they said goodbye, Nina gave Mia a small golden bow.

Back at home, Mia proudly tied it to the center of her web as a souvenir of her very first Halloween.

And from that night on, whenever the garden became dark and shadows danced between the trees, Mia remembered Nina, Pipo, and the wonderful adventure that had begun with a little bit of fear.

The End

What frightened you during your very first Halloween?