How to tell your child that the Jack-O-Lantern was eaten by a raccoon.
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I recall a story about some elementary school children who were watching the class mascot, a downy chick named "Mr. Peep" in the school playground.While the chick was doing an imitation of a teenager with a "Scratch-n-Sniff" edition of Penthouse magazine, a hawk swooped down and put the grab on Mr. Peep.
The hawk took the chick to the top of a nearby telephone poll and ate it. Except the hard parts.
The teacher used this as a teaching moment on the subject of "Food Chain," all the while reassuring the students that hawks didn't get much bigger than the one they saw.
I guess the mom in the above story could do the same with a pumpkin named "Mr. Creep".