The Big Toe is the first story in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. It follows a child who finds a big toe in his garden. The story also has an alternate ending. The story is a variant of a similar tale in the southwest called "The Golden Arm." It was many of the stories that was adapted in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark film.
Plot
A boy was digging at the edge of the garden when he saw a big toe. He tried to pick it up, but it was stuck to something. So he gave it a good hard jerk, and it came off in his hand. Then he heard something groan and he scamper away. The boy took the toe back to his home and into his kitchen, and after he showed it to his mother, his mother decided to put in their stew and eat it for dinner. That night his father cut the toe into three pieces, and they each had a piece. After eating, the family cleaned their dishes and soon fell asleep when it got dark.
The boy feel asleep almost at once. But in the middle of the night, a voice out in the street awakened him, the voice called to him saying “Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?”. When the boy heard the voice, he became afraid but he stopped when started to believe that he was safe from it in his home. Then the boy heard the voice another time, the voice was closer however and it asked for it's toe once more. The boy pulled the blankets over his head and closed his eyes upon hearing this.
But soon he heard the back door open, and again he heard the voice. “Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?” it groaned. Then the boy heard footsteps move through the kitchen into the dining room, into the living room, into the front hall. Then slowly they climbed the stairs. Closer and closer they came. Soon they were in the upstairs hall. Now they were outside his door. “Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?” the voice groaned. His door opened. Shaking with fear, he listened as the footsteps slowly moved through the dark toward his bed. Then they stopped. “Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?” the voice groaned.
(At this point, pause. Then jump at the person next to you and shout:)
“YOU’VE GOT IT! “
Alternate ending[1]
“The Big Toe” also has another ending.
When the boy hears the voice calling for its toe, he finds a strange-looking creature up inside the chimney. The boy is so frightened he can’t move. He just stands there and stares at it.
Finally he asks: “W-w-w-what you got such big eyes for?”
And the creature answers: “To look you thro-o-o-ugh and thro-o-o-ugh!”
“W-w-w-what you got such big claws for?”
“To scra-a-a-tch up your gra-a-a-a-ve!”
“W-w-w-what you got such a big mouth for?”
“To swallow you who-o-o-le!”
“W-w-w-what you got such sharp teeth for?”
“TO CHOMP YOUR BONES!”
(As you give the last line, pounce on one of your friends.)