Princess Bella and Princess Chloe Visit Mother Witch by Aidan Kelly

 

One morning Princess Bella and Princess Chloe decided to take a walk. So they kissed King Daddy and Queen Mommy goodbye and walked down the palace steps. They stood by the road and looked to the right, toward the beach, and to the left, toward the Enchanted Forest.

"Let's go down to the village," said Princess Bella.

"Okay," said Princess Chloe.

They walked across the road and down the path to the village square. First they went to the bakery, where Mr. Baker gave them each a creampuff and a cupcake. Next they went to the grocery, where Mr. Green gave them each an orange and a banana. Then they went to the café, where Mr. Barista gave them each a cup of hot chocolate. They sat at the table outside the café, under the big red umbrella, drank their hot chocalate, and ate their snacks.

"What should we do today?" asked Princess Chloe.

"I want to go see Mother Witch," said Princess Bella.

"Me too," said Princess Chloe.

They walked from the village square down the lane to Mother Witch's house and knocked on the door. Mother Witch (whose real name was Esmerelda Hassenpfeffer, but everyone called her Mother Witch, which she much preferred) opened the door and said, "Oh, my little princesses! Good morning! Come on in!"

The princesses walked into Mother Witch's kitchen as she closed the door. The kitchen table was covered with leaves and flowers, mortars and pestles, big bottles and little bottles.

"This morning I'm making more of my magic potions," Mother Witch said. "Mrs. Whitaker needs more for her shop. Would you like to help me?'

"Oh, yes," said Princes Chloe.

"That's fun!" said Princess Bella.

Mother Witch helped Princess Bella sort the leaves and flowers, putting each kind in a different pile. Princess Chloe ground up leaves with a mortar and pestle. Then Mother Witch put the powder into bottles, some with water, some with oil, and some with alcohol.

"That smells awful," said Princess Bella.

"And don't drink it," said Mother Witch. "It could make you very sick. This is only for grownups."

Finally they were done. The princesses helped Mother Witch put everything away and wipe off the table.

"Now," said Mother Witch, "how about a snack?"

"I'm hungry," said Princess Bella.

"I am too," said Princess Chloe.

Mother Witch brought out a tray of little triangle sandwiches from the refrigerator, along with cups of fruit cocktail, a plate of cookies, and a bottle of apple juice.

They sat and ate their snacks and talked about all the exciting things that would be happening soon.

"Did you know the carnival is coming next week?" Mother Witch asked.

"Oh, it is!" said Princess Chloe. "That will be so much fun!"

"I don't like the Ferris wheel," said Princess Bella. "It's too high up."

"There's lots of rides that don't go high up," said Mother Witch. "Do you like the other rides?"

"Yes," said Princess Bella. "I like the merry-go-round. And the pony ride."

"Me too," said Mother Witch. "Oh, and the fairies and elves are having their Lammas fair this month also."

"Mommy and Daddy took us to that last year," said Princess Chloe.

"Is that when we got little?" asked Princess Bella.

"Uh-huh, we got to be fairies too," answered Princess Chloe.

"We'll all go to it," said Mother Witch. "Now, let's clean up."

She put away the rest of the food, while the princesses put the plates and cups in the sink.

"Come see my new project, girls," she said, and led them into the living room.

On the living room floor a triple circle was painted; in it was inscribed the crisscross lines of the pentacle. The princesses walked around the room, saying hello to the statues that Mother Witch had sculpted and painted: Zeus in the north, Hermes in the east, Hera in the south, Hecate in the west. In the center of the room was a little altar, and on it were a small statue of the Goddess, some flowers, an incense burner, a lit candle, and a bowl of fruit. The living room was lined with shelves filled with books, bottles, statues, chalices, spools of yarn, vials, tubes of paint and brushes, toys, bric-a-brac, and souvenirs. Mother Witch walked over to her four-harness loom and unrolled the tapestry she was weaving. It was a landscape of a beach, with towering cliffs and waves breaking on the sand.

"That's pretty," said Princess Bella.

"How do you do that?"asked Princess Chloe.

Mother Witch sat on the bench before the loom and showed the princesses how she pressed the pedals to lift the different threads of the warp and how she threw the shuttle between the threads from one side to the other to make the next row of the weft.

"Can I learn to do that?" asked Princess Chloe.

"Pretty soon," Mother Witch answered. "Weaving takes a long time to learn and to do."

The princesses watched Mother Witch work on the weaving for a little while, then started to get restless.

"Come on," Mother Witch said. "I have to take some potions to Mrs. Whitaker, and I'll give you a ride home."

She gathered up a small boxful of bottles and put on her traveling cloak. She and the princesses walked out onto the front porch. Mother Witch took her broom from the corner of the porch, straddled it, and said, "Now, girls, Chloe, hold onto me. Bella, you hold on to Chloe."

The princesses lined up behind Mother Witch, with the bristles of the broom behind them. Mother Witch said, "Horse and hattock, horse and go, horse and Pellatis, ho ho!"

The broom rose slowly into the air until their feet were a foot above the ground, then glided slowly forward.

"I'll go low and slow, so if you manage to fall off, you won't get hurt," Mother Witch said.

They glided slowly up the lane to the village square. Everyone they passed smiled and waved, saying, "Hello, Mother Witch! Hello, Princesses!"

In the square Mother Witch said, "Whoa!" and the broom settled down onto the cobblestones. "Just wait here, my princesses. I'll be right out," she said.

She carried her box into the store and came right back out. They straddled the broom again, Mother Witch said the magic words again, and they glided across the square and up the pathway to the castle. Mother Witch landed the broom on the patio of the castle and said, "I'll come in for a minute to say hello."

The princesses ran into the house, shouting, "Mommy! Daddy! We brought Mother Witch with us!"

Queen Mommy hurried out of the parlor, saying "Ezzie! How good to see you! And King Daddy came out of his study, saying, "Hi, Ezzie!"

Mother Witch said, "Gave the girls a ride. Are you coming to circle tonight?"

Queen Mommy said, "Of course! Wouldn't dream of missing it."

Princess Chloe asked, "Can we come circle too?"

King Daddy said, "No, this is just for grownups tonight. But you get to come to Lammas next week."

Princess Chloe looked quite disappointed.

Mother Witch said, "Just popped in. Have to go get it all ready."

"Of course," Queen Mommy said. "We'll see you tonight."

Mother Witch gave them all a hug, went outside, and sailed off high into the air on her broom.

The princesses decided to watch their favorite afternoon shows, and soon it was time for dinner. Prince Evan and Duchess Sheshe joined them in their usual places at one end of the long banquet table, and Cookie (her name was actually Mrs. Bridwell, but everyone called her Cookie) and Bridget served them a small feast of roast turkey, ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, fried zucchini, and a huge salad with ranch dressing, followed by brownies and vanilla ice cream.

After dinner they all went into the living room and played Parchesi. King Daddy kept getting sent back to the starting box, and Princess Bella won the game, with Princess Chloe coming in second.

Now the girls were feeling tired, so they went upstairs, where Nanny helped them brush their teeth and take their bath, then dried them off with warm towels. After putting on their pajamas, the princesses came downstairs to kiss everyone goodnight.

King Daddy walked them upstairs to tuck them into bed, then sat on the end of Princess Bella's bed to tell them their nighttime story about two little girls named Bella and Chloe. He kissed them good night again and put out the light. They soon fell asleep, and got a good night's sleep.

The End.