The Witch Family (14 page)

Old Witch and Little Witch Girl were on the rickety porch, stooping over the pumpkins, scooping them out, and carving terrible faces. The more terrible the face, the more delightedly Weeny Witch croaked. All the while they were muttering runes, chants, and abracadabras, in order to get the right Halloween magic into the air. This magic would spread out all over the world, and boys and girls everywhere would feel it and know that soon it would be Halloween night and that they must shiver and shake.

"Some don't look hard enough," thought Old Witch glumly. She liked to be seen. What is the use of being the Halloween witch and not being seen?

"May I go down tonight?" asked the little witch girl. "Please, please, please say yes. I'd love to be seen on my broomstick in the light of the moon."

"No, no," croaked Old Witch amiably. "You must stay home with Beebee."

"Why can't Wee Tommy Cat mind his own weeny witchie?"

"Too wee," said Old Witch. "That's why. You must stay here, my dear," she said with a slight cackle, which sounded quite unpleasant.

Little Witch Girl began to cry.

Old Witch did not care, for today was her day for wickedness. The more tears the merrier, she thought, and she laughed her awful "heh-heh."

Little Witch Girl sobbed softly. She had set her heart on flying down tonight to see her friends, Amy and Clarissa. They were one of the main reasons she wanted to go on the hurly-burly.

"Well," she said to herself rebelliously. "I am going."

On this one day, she could be wicked too. Being wicked was not reserved just for Old Witch. It was for all witches, big, little, and weeny ones. As she carved and scooped and made the scary face, she began to think up a plan. She dried her eyes as hope took root.

Carving the pumpkins was now finished. Old Witch let Beebee have the pleasure of lighting them with her sparks. Then they placed the big terrible one (Old Witch's) on the post of the front porch, the medium-sized terrible one (Little Witch Girl's) in the front window, and the tiny terrible one (Weeny Witch's) on the hearth.

Nighttime came. Wind began to howl. Hobgoblins filled the air. The moon rose and, like a true Halloween moon, now it disappeared behind the swift swirling clouds, and now it came out again. Vapors came and vapors vanished. A cat appeared from somewhere with nine tails, and disappeared again—in the vapors. Old Tom let out his long Halloween howl, walked thrice around the grand pumpkin, ran to Old Witch's grand broomstick, and lashed his one tail nine times forth and nine times back.

Then Old Witch mounted her broomstick, true witch sideways-style, and muttered the appropriate incantation. Old Tom leaped on. His back was arched and his hair was bristling in the true Halloween cat-style. Away and up and off they flew, on their way to the saturnalia, which is a place for witch wickedness.

"Oh, the hurly-burly!" the little witch girl heard Old Witch screech as she flew away.

The minute that Old Witch was out of sight, Little Witch Girl picked up Beebee and put her bunny suit on her. She was going to be wicked and disobey Old Witch. Otherwise, why be a witch? She was going to visit Amy and Clarissa—return their party call. "That is only politeness, isn't it?" she said to Beebee.

Beebee said, "Abr, abr, abr," seeming to agree.

What the Little Witch Girl planned to do was to ask the little mermaid to mind Beebee for her while she was away.

First Little Witch Girl felt in the hem of her cloak for the Malachi rune, for of course she would not embark upon such an expedition as this without that important clipping. It was there, all right. Then she said, "Good-bye," to Malachi. He answered, "
BE CAREFUL
!" And then she strapped Weeny Witchie to her broomstick and sailed down to the mermaid lagoon. Of course they took their cats with them.

The little mermaid happened to be waiting for them with Halloween treats. You are not best friends of a witch without having picked up some of the customs. The treats were very nice, pretty pebbles, delicate shells, and crystal candies.

"Will you mind Beebee for me?" asked the little witch girl.

"I'd love to," said the little mermaid.

"And please keep these pretty treats for me until I get back," said the little witch girl.

"Oh, yes," said the little mermaid.

"Good-bye then," said Little Witch Girl.

The little mermaid flipped her tail sadly. She would have liked to go too. But of course she couldn't, for she could not stay on the broomstick. Moreover, being a mermaid, she had to plunge into the pool now and then to cool off. "Good-bye," she murmured. "Have a good time," she said, giving the little witch girl a sweet smile, not to spoil her fun. Anyway, she had two babies to watch out for, and to play with, and keep her company, so she was not sad for very long.

Little Witch Girl gave the little mermaid and the two babies a kiss and a hug. Then she mounted her broomstick. She uttered the most complicated runes that her class had studied so far. Some small hobgoblins appeared. "Don't be frightened," she said to the little mermaid. The hobgoblins escorted her down the narrow glass path, alight with moon glow. Little Tommy miaowed happily.

"Ah, the hulie-bulie," said the little witch girl, trying to sound awful like Old Witch. But she didn't sound awful. She just sounded like herself, the little witch girl.

The moon was racing across the heavens, weaving in and out of the clouds. And now, at last, the little witch girl could be seen against the bouncy full moon as she steered her broomstick down and down and down toward Garden Lane where important happenings were taking place—the Halloween happenings of Amy and Clarissa.

Down on Garden Lane, a group of boys and girls—Amy and Clarissa, Polly Knapp and her brother Christopher, who, being nine, was the main man of the expedition—had just gathered together on Amy's front stoop. They were about to go from house to house and ring doorbells and say, "Trick or treat."

Anyone would have trouble recognizing them. Clarissa was a little Chinese girl, dressed in a pale pink pajama costume, silk, and she had makeup on her face. Amy was a—you know what—little witch girl. One might think he could recognize her by the long blond hair hanging down below her black witch hat. But she had such a terrible scary witch false face on, no one could be sure. She carried a little broomstick with her, but of course she could not get it up in the air, not being a real witch.

Polly Knapp? Who would ever guess her? She was a black cat, and not one inch of Polly showed. Christopher was a frightening red devil, and not one inch of him showed either. Some tiny little children of about three were tagging along, too. These must be the Epes children who lived across the street. They were probably three, four, and five years old, though they were all about the same size in their hobgoblin costumes. All the children had enormous bags for "trick or treat."

Halloween shadows played upon the walls of the houses. In the sky the Halloween moon raced in and out of clouds. The Halloween wind was blowing, not a blasting of wind but a right-sized swelling, falling, and gushing of wind. It was a lovely and exciting night, exactly the kind of night Halloween should be. Amy's rapture was complete. She looked up at the sky.

"See that witch?" she asked Clarissa. She pointed to the moon in front of which she happened to have been lucky enough to see Old Witch riding, on her way to her saturnalia. At least Amy thought that she had seen her. Old Witch had flown by so fast, she was a little uncertain.

"No," said Clarissa.

This answer made Amy certain. "Well, I saw her. It was Old Witch," she said solemnly.

It was time to start. "Come on," summoned Chris Knapp. "Let's go."

First they ran up the steps of Polly and Chris Knapp's house, next door to Amy's. The entire house was in darkness. But when the children knocked and said, "Trick or treat!" the door slowly opened, an inch at a time, a lighted pumpkin head appeared gradually, and a terribly scary voice, like that of a real witch said, "Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh!"

All the children fell back. Pretend witch Amy almost fell over, she was so scared. "Oh!" she said when she recognized Polly Knapp's pretty mother. "You scared we!"

Polly's mother dropped something that smelled very good and spicy into their big brown bags, and the children rushed away—but not to the next house. In the next house there lived a very cross and mean old woman. The children did not like to see this old woman on ordinary days, let alone on Halloween, because she was a keeper of toys. Let a ball or a kite go over her fence and land in her yard, and she kept it, just plain kept it for good. She did not like children and thought they were all hobgoblins whether it was Halloween or not. She kept their toys to teach them not to let their things come flying over her fence.

"She could at least give them back," said Amy in disgust. "She does not have to smile, but she could at least give them back. Not just keep them!" she said.

The children fled to the next house, for they thought they saw the old woman's beady black eyes watching them through her dark shutters.

Garden Lane was only one short block long. Tonight the children must not go off it. There was a lamppost in the middle of it and one at each end. Between the lampposts, and beneath the high ginkgo trees that lined both sides of the street, it was dark and mysterious. At one end, Garden Lane joined another street. At the other end there was a beautiful spacious estate with tall oak trees, thick shrubbery, and soft grass upon which the moon cast a pale, elusive light as it came in and out of the clouds.

"What a wonderful garden for witches!" thought Amy. She was glad that Chris did not lead them into that garden for trick or treat. She did not want to see Old Witch in that garden. Seeing Old Witch against the moon, flying high on her broomstick, was all right. But not down on Garden Lane!

The excitement and joy of the night quickened Amy's heartbeat, and she looked up and all around. And there! She was sure she saw her again—Old Witch sailing by again. Being in charge of the entire Halloween all over the world was keeping Old Witch very busy, of course. She would not have one plain girl, Amy, on her mind. That was what Amy hoped anyway. Once Amy was sure she heard her "heh-heh" and once "Oh, to glory be!"

The children kept going up one stoop and down another. In the light of the streetlamp they looked like real little ghoulies, witches, goblins, and black cats. Their bags were becoming so full of apples, popcorn, Tootsie Rolls, cookies, and pennies that the children were staggering.

"Oh-o-oh, my!" they exclaimed as they peered into their bags in the circle of light around the middle lamppost. This middle lamppost stood in front of a pretty little brick house that was painted gray. The bright red door of this little house was the one they planned to knock at next.

Being rather shy, Amy was always the last one to run up the steps to the door, never the first or even the second. She was not at all like Chris Knapp, the leader, or brave Clarissa, or even quiet Polly Knapp who shouted "Trick or treat!" as loudly as the rest. Polly felt quite brave inside her cat costume because you could not see one inch of her and say, "Hello, Polly Knapp." But Amy was just as shy inside her witch costume as she was out of it. This was why she was always the last to run up the steps and into other people's houses.