Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for October 28, 2016

Just don’t go poking and gouging with that spear, Your Highness, or else the higher queen will take it away and put you in time-out.

If she’s anything like the Queen of Hearts, you are all in big trouble.

My last year trick-or-treating, I was really too old, but I was having trouble giving it up. It was also unexpectedly cold that Halloween (with a low of -30 deg. C/-22 deg. F), which I took as a challenge. I nagged my younger brother into going with me to make it seem a bit more appropriate, and did both of our faces in shades of green, with dramatically shaped eyebrows. We layered up, with an outer layer of some ugly green parkas that our father had gotten as a bargain at the Army and Navy (real wolf fur trim on the hoods!), and went out hoping to pass as aliens (who had the foresight to drop into an Army and Navy, evidently). People we called on were really quite nice, though bemused, but unfortunately one woman dispelled the slight enthusiasm my brother had for the outing by informing me that my “little sister” was very cute.

How many old viking helmets does Petey have, anyway?

I think Kevin’s got it right. It’s better than Queen Rattlebasket, the Forceful.

Madeline should be voted “Mother of the Year”. I should have been so good.

She could pass as an opera singer, too.

Don’t worry, Dad, you will find out soon enough.

AKA your daughter.

Dog save the Queen!!

Cue the “Uh-oh!” baby.

Tomorrow, she’ll probably be Queen Rattlbassket, the Wicked.

Does the basket really rattle??

The Buckethead tends to be a bit over-the-top dramatic. Relax, Mr. Otterloop. It’s just your daughter in her Halloween costume…. Umm, on second thought, maybe you should take cover. Prudent, you know!