Karen's Little Witch Read online

“Have you seen Druscilla again?” I asked Melody.

  “Yes.” Melody nodded her head. She looked quite excited. Then she glanced across the street — at Morbidda Destiny’s house.

  “What is it?” asked Hannie. She looked across the street, too.

  “I am pretty sure now,” said Melody, “that Druscilla is a witch.”

  “You are?” I cried. “What did you see?”

  Melody lowered her voice. “I saw Druscilla wave her hand. Then — BANG — out of nowhere came this big bunch of flowers. She gave the flowers to her teacher.”

  “Are you sure?” I exclaimed. I did not wait for Melody to answer. “Then Druscilla must be a witch!”

  “Let’s go spy on her,” said Melody.

  “Oh. We better not. I am not allowed to spy on the neighbors,” I told Melody.

  “Who says?”

  “Daddy.”

  “Well, you are at my house now, and I say we can spy.”

  Melody and Hannie and I ran across the street. Then we ran to this big bush in front of Morbidda Destiny’s house. We scrunched down behind it.

  “Does anyone see Druscilla?” I asked.

  “Nope,” said Hannie and Melody.

  We hid for the longest time. We watched and watched. Finally …

  “Someone’s coming out the front door!” I hissed.

  Melody and Hannie and I leaned over as far as we could.

  “It’s Druscilla! It’s the little witch!” said Hannie.

  “Shhh!” said Melody. “What’s she doing?”

  Druscilla sat on the steps of the front porch. She rested her chin in her hands. She looked a little lonely. A few moments later, Midnight wandered over to Druscilla. She patted his back. She scratched him behind the ears.

  “The little witch and the witch cat,” murmured Hannie.

  “SHHHH!” hissed Melody again. “Do you want her to hear us?” Just then, Melody lost her balance. She fell down. She was not hidden by the bush anymore.

  Druscilla looked up. She saw us! Quick as a flash, we ran away.

  The Herb Garden

  Hannie and Melody and I were lucky. We escaped from Druscilla. She did not cast a spell on us or anything. We were safe.

  But the next day, I went back to Daddy’s house. It was not a big-house weekend. But Mommy and Seth had to go to a town called Stamford. They were going to be there the whole day. So Andrew and I stayed with Daddy.

  When Mommy dropped us off at the big house, I ran inside quickly. I was not taking any chances. I did not want Druscilla to know I was back.

  At the big house, I got a surprise.

  Daddy said to me, first thing, “Karen, today I would like you to go next door and visit Druscilla. She is feeling lonely.”

  Well, for heaven’s sake. What was I supposed to do about that? And why was Daddy making me play with a witch?

  “Karen?” said Daddy. “Did you hear me?”

  I nodded. “Do I have to go?” I answered.

  Daddy gave me a Look.

  “Okay, okay,” I said. “Um, could I eat breakfast first, though?”

  “Didn’t you eat breakfast at Mommy’s?”

  “Oh. Yes. I did. But I’m still hungry.”

  Daddy fixed me a piece of toast. I cut the crusts off of the edges. Then I ate a hole in the middle. I stuck my tongue through the hole. After that, I made holes for my eyes. I looked at Daddy through my toast-mask.

  “Are you ready to go outside now?” asked Daddy.

  “Yes,” I answered. And I did go outside. But I did not go next door to the witch house. (Daddy had not asked if I was going to visit Druscilla.) Instead I went into our backyard. I walked all around. I scuffed through the leaves that had fallen. I looked at Daddy’s gardens. I wished we had a swing set. (But we did not.)

  I knew I would have to go to Druscilla’s house sometime that morning. But I was not ready to go just yet. I was still a teensy bit afraid.

  I scuffed through some more leaves. Then I heard a voice. I looked into Morbidda Destiny’s backyard. Druscilla was standing in the herb garden!

  Yipes!

  I ducked behind a tree. Then I peeked around it. Druscilla was carrying a basket. She picked some leaves off of the herb plants. She put the leaves in the basket. The basket was half full.

  What were those herbs for? I wondered. But I already knew the answer. They were for spells, of course. What else do witches do with herbs?

  Well, that was that. I would not go to Morbidda Destiny’s house alone. No way.

  So I snuck out of our yard. I checked over my shoulder. Good. I was not being followed by any witches. I raced to Hannie’s house. Hannie was in her room with Melody. They were playing with their dolls.

  “You guys! I need help!” I exclaimed. “It’s Druscilla, the little witch!”

  “Uh-oh,” said Hannie. “What happened?”

  “She’s in Morbidda Destiny’s herb garden! She is picking herbs.”

  “Ooh. For a spell?” asked Melody.

  “Yes,” I replied. “And Daddy says I have to go over there today. He says I have to talk to Druscilla because she is lonely. Will you come with me? I cannot go alone. Not to a witch house.”

  Hannie looked at Melody. Melody looked at Hannie.

  Finally Melody said, “Okay. We will come.”

  “But first we need some witch protection,” added Hannie.

  Boo!

  “Witch protection is easy,” I said. I turned to Melody. “Hannie and I make witch protection all the time. First you need some good-luck charms. And you cannot use charms you have used before.”

  “Let’s go to Sari’s room,” suggested Hannie. “She has lots of stuff.”

  In Sari’s room, we found a wind-up duck. We found a little stuffed ladybug. And we found a pink plastic block.

  “Everybody choose one,” said Hannie.

  “Won’t Sari mind?” I asked.

  “Nah. She will never know.”

  Hannie took the ladybug. I took the block. Melody took the duck. We went back to Hannie’s room. We said a magic spell (a good magic spell) over the charms. This is the spell we made up: Abracadabra cadabra cadilla. Please let us be safe when we’re near Druscilla.

  We put our charms in our pockets. We went back to my yard.

  “Now tiptoe!” I hissed.

  I tiptoed to the big tree. Melody and Hannie tiptoed behind me. I peered at the herb garden. It was empty. “She’s gone,” I said. “Come on, you guys.”

  We tiptoed into the herb garden. We looked around Morbidda Destiny’s backyard. No big witch. No little witch.

  “I think we’re safe,” I whispered.

  “BOO!”

  “Aughhh!”

  Something had jumped up on the other side of the herb garden. (I had screamed.)

  “Save me!” yelled Melody.

  “It’s just me.” Druscilla walked around the garden.

  Melody and Hannie and I almost fainted. We were too scared to move.

  Druscilla walked so close to me that her black dress nearly touched my arm. “How come you guys wouldn’t play with me yesterday?” she asked.

  “I — I — ” said Hannie. “I mean, we … ”

  “I saw you hiding,” Druscilla went on. She turned to Melody. “And I see you every day in school. But you do not talk to me.”

  “I’m shy,” Melody mumbled.

  “Me, too,” I said.

  Then I took a good look at Druscilla. Her eyes and hair were black. And her skin was very pale. And her hair was wild, and her clothes were all black. Just like Melody had said.

  “Excuse me, but are you a witch?” I could not help asking that question.

  Druscilla paused. Then she said, “Yes!”

  “I thought so.” I nodded my head. “You have special powers, right?”

  “Special witchy powers,” agreed Druscilla. “Um, I can turn people into frogs. And … and … Well, I am just a kid witch. I cannot do that many things.”

  “So you can’
t do as many spells as your mother and your grandmother?” asked Hannie.

  “As my mother and my —? Oh, right,” said Druscilla. “Right. They are better witches than I am. Because they are older.”

  “Can you ride a broomstick yet?” Melody wanted to know.

  “Not yet. But when I grow up, I will ride as well as my grandmother does.”

  I glanced at Druscilla’s basket. “I guess you know all about herbs, don’t you?”

  “I know more than most people do,” agreed Druscilla. “If you want, I will show you what is in the garden. Look. Here is, um, witchwart. That’s what gives witches their warts. And here is spellcast. And this is moonbroom, and this is … ”

  Pippi Longstocking

  “How many of you are planning to go trick-or-treating this year?” asked Ms. Colman.

  I raised my hand. So did every other kid in my class. I wondered why our teacher was asking about trick-or-treating. Soon I found out.

  Ms. Colman held up a small cardboard box. It looked like a bank. A slot had been cut in the back. It was the perfect size for coins. The bank was decorated with Halloweeny pictures: a witch flying her broom stick in front of a full moon, a ghost sitting in the bare branches of a tree, and masks and candy and jack-o’-lanterns.

  “Maybe,” began Ms. Colman, “some of you would like to help others when you go trick-or-treating. If you take one of these banks with you, you can collect money for the hospital. All you have to do is hold out the bank and say, ‘Trick-or-treat for the hospital.’ Some people will give you money. The next day, bring your banks to school. We will count the money you collected, and then we will donate it to the hospital.”

  “What about our candy?” whined Hank Reubens.

  “You can trick-or-treat for candy, too,” said Ms. Colman. “Candy for you and donations for the hospital. The hospital needs some new equipment.”

  Trick-or-treat, trick-or-treat. Give me something good to eat, I thought. I pictured myself in my witch costume. I would wear my black, pointy witch hat and my black, fluttery witch dress and my black, clumpy witch shoes. I would look just like Morbidda Destiny.

  Or maybe I would look like Druscilla.

  But do I want to look like Morbidda or Druscilla? I wondered. I remembered seeing the big witch fly out of her bedroom window on her broomstick. I shivered. Then I remembered the little witch in the herb garden. Witchwart, spellcast, moonbroom. I shivered again.

  “Boys and girls,” said Ms. Colman, “please raise your hands if you would like to collect money for the hospital on Halloween.”

  I raised my hand. So did a lot of other kids.

  “Wonderful,” said Ms. Colman. She smiled.

  I tried to smile, too. But I couldn’t.

  “Ms. Colman?” I said. It was lunchtime. My friends were getting ready to go to the cafeteria. “I have to tell you something. I have changed my mind. I do not want to be the Wicked Witch of the West for Halloween after all.”

  “Who do you want to be?” asked my teacher.

  “I’m not sure. But not a witch.”

  “Well, you may change your mind,” Ms. Colman said. “But I do need to know which story character you will dress as in the parade. Can you make a decision in two days? Halloween is getting closer.”

  “I can make a decision,” I said.

  * * *

  At home that afternoon I thought and thought.

  What character could I be?

  I looked at the books on my shelves. Paddington Bear? Nah. Peter Rabbit? Nah. Winnie-the-Pooh? Nah. I did not want to dress like an animal. Fur is too hot. Then I saw my copy of Pippi Longstocking. I could be Pippi! That would be fun. Pippi has two red braids that stick straight out. And her whole name is Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim’s Daughter Longstocking. I wish I had a name like Pippi’s. And a monkey named Mr. Nilsson, like Pippi does. Being Pippi would be fun, even if it was only for a day.

  No Way!

  “Oh, Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim’s Daughter Longstocking. That’s me! That’s me! That’s me, me, me!” I sang.

  It was a Saturday morning at the big house, and I was very busy. I was getting ready for a tea party. My guests were going to be Hannie, Melody, Moosie, and Boo-Boo. Well, Boo-Boo might not stay long. He might have to leave early. He is not good at sitting still. (He could never go to school.)

  I set the table in my room. I used every piece of my flowery china tea set.

  The table looked gigundoly gorgeous.

  “Hello! We’re here!” called Hannie and Melody. They ran up the stairs.

  “Oh, goody. We can begin,” I said. “Let me just find Boo-Boo.”

  I found Boo-Boo, and I lugged him to the party table. I sat him in a chair. I put a napkin around his back.

  FWOO! Boo-Boo ran away. He did not like the napkin.

  “Oh, well. We do not need Boo-Boo,” I said. “Besides, he is a boy.”

  “So is Moosie,” pointed out Melody.

  “Oh, yeah. But he is stuffed, so it does not matter. Come on. Let’s be Lovely Ladies. Pinkies up while you drink your tea,” I said.

  Melody and Hannie and I put on our best manners. While we drank our pretend tea, Melody said, “You should have been at my school yesterday. The little witch made a cloud rain right on the playground. And the day before? She turned her teacher upside down. Mr. Rowland had to walk on his hands for three hours. Druscilla has a magic wand.”

  “Are you kidding?” said Hannie.

  “Oh, my gosh,” I whispered.

  “Knock, knock,” said a grown-up voice. Daddy was standing in my doorway. “I’m sorry to interrupt your party,” he said. “But I need to ask a favor. I was talking to Mrs. Porter this morning, and she was telling me how lonely Dru is. So, Karen, I would like you to invite Dru to go trick-or-treating with you.”

  Spend Halloween with the little witch? “No way!” I cried.

  “Karen,” said Daddy, “Dru is your neighbor. I want you to be nice to her. Remember your manners. Being new in town is not easy.”

  I was listening to Daddy. But I was thinking, No way, no way, no way …

  The Little Witch’s Party

  What a gigundoly huge problem.

  I just could not ask the little witch to trick-or-treat with me. Being with a witch on Halloween is dangerous. Plus, I did not want to go over to Morbidda Destiny’s house to ask Druscilla anything.

  How could I tell Daddy those things, though? He does not believe in witches. He does not think Mrs. Porter is a witch. He would certainly not think Druscilla was a witch. “She’s a little girl,” he would say.

  I thought about my problem for the rest of Saturday.

  I dreamed about my problem on Saturday night.

  On Sunday morning, Daddy said to me, “Karen? Did you invite Dru to go trick-or-treating with you yet?”

  “Um, no,” I answered.

  Daddy gave me a Look. The Look meant, “Please talk to Druscilla today.”

  All right. I did not have a choice.

  Then I began to worry about something. If I went trick-or-treating with the little witch, would my friends come with me?

  What if they would not? Yipes!

  I ran to Hannie’s house as fast as I could.

  “Hannie! Hannie!” I cried. I dashed into her room. “Daddy says I have to invite Druscilla to come with me on Halloween. If I do, will you still come with me? You won’t make me go trick-or-treating with Druscilla by myself, will you?”

  “We-ell … ”

  “Oh, Hannie, you have to come with me. You have to! So does Melody.”

  “Let’s go talk to Melody,” said Hannie.

  So we ran to Melody’s house.

  “Please, please, please, please, please, please, please come with me!” I begged.

  “Maybe it would be okay,” said Melody slowly. “We could protect ourselves again. Then we would be safe.”

  “And will you come with me now? While I talk to Druscilla?” I a
sked.

  Melody and Hannie did not want to come. But they came anyway.

  “Just remember our spell,” I whispered. “Abracadabra cadabra cadilla. Please let us be safe when we’re near Druscilla. We do not need the charms, I guess. Since we are in a hurry.”

  My friends and I left Melody’s house.

  We crept across the street to Morbidda Destiny’s.

  “Who’s going to ring the bell?” I asked.

  “You are!” hissed Melody and Hannie.

  So I did. (My hand was shaking.)

  The little witch answered the door. She looked as witchy as ever.

  “Want to come trick-or-treating with us?” I said in a rush.

  “Now?”

  “No! On Halloween.”

  “Oh.” Druscilla looked disappointed. “I want to. But I can’t.”

  “You can’t?” I tried not to sound too happy. I looked at Hannie and Melody, though. I could not help myself. We smiled at each other.

  “No,” said Druscilla. “I am going to have a party on Halloween night. My grandmother and I will give it. And you are all invited.”

  “We are?” I squeaked. I could not believe my ears.

  “Can you come?” Druscilla wanted to know.

  “Um … we have to ask our parents.”

  Hannie and Melody and I left quickly.

  Mr. Pumpkinhead

  I was pretty sure that Daddy would say I had to go to Druscilla’s party. I was right.

  “But what about trick-or-treating?” I asked. “I am going to collect money for the hospital. I told Ms. Colman I would.”

  “You can go trick-or-treating first,” replied Daddy. “Then you can go to the party.”

  “Oh.”

  Well, guess what. Hannie’s parents said she had to go to the party, too. So did Melody’s parents. At least we would be there together.

  * * *

  When Halloween was just one week away, Mommy said, “I think it is time to buy pumpkins. Who wants to go to the farm?” (It was a little-house weekend.)

  “Me!” cried Andrew and I.

  “Me!” cried Seth.

  I laughed. Seth just loves Halloween. Maybe he loves it even more than I do. I am not sure. Anyway, I was very excited when Seth said, “Today, jack-o’-lanterns. Tomorrow, we decorate the yard.”