The Witches

by Roald Dahl

REAL WITCH is easily the most dangerous of all the living creatures on earth.

enthralled

She was apparently a great expert on these creatures and she made it very clear to me that her witch stories, unlike most of the others, were not imaginary tales.

Grandma did have a way of telling things

gospel truth. They were history. Everything she was

witches were still with us.

My grandmother was tremendously old and wrinkled, with a massive wide body which was smothered in grey lace. She sat there majestic in her armchair, filling every inch of it. Not even a mouse could have squeezed in to sit beside her. I

I have known no less than five children who have simply vanished off the face of this earth, never to be seen again. The witches took them.’

All of the causes were wierd

The second one was very peculiar,’ my grandmother said. ‘There was a family called Christiansen. They lived up on Holmenkollen, and they had an old oil-painting in the living-room which they were very proud of.

petrified

Eureka!

It’s not in there! There’s no mice in there, you silly twerp!’

The fact that a tiny little creature like me had caused such a commotion among a bunch of grown-up men gave me a happy feeling. I couldn’t help smiling in spite of the pain in my tail.

The boy did turn him into a rat. To turn the witches into mice he had to risk the chance of losing his tail for 2 inces

I leapt out of the sack of potatoes and went across that kitchen floor and into the Dining-Room like a streak of light, and I didn’t stop running until I was underneath my grandmother’s table.

One of the cooks cut off my tail with a carving-knife,’ I whispered back. ‘It hurts like billy-o.’

This is a great roll,’ he said, nibbling away in the bottom of the bag. ‘But I wish there was butter on it.’

room. They had finished their soup

At last. The witches were about to taste thier own creation of diaster the delayed action mouse

‘That’s her, Grandmamma!’ I whispered. ‘That’s The Grand High Witch!’

Finally grandmumma sees the grand high witch

white-hot sparks!

‘There were eighty-five,’ I said. ‘But one of them got fried.’

Mr Jenkins’s mouth dropped open so wide I could see the gold fillings in his back teeth. ‘Don’t worry, Dad,’ Bruno went on. ‘It’s not as bad as all that. Just so long as the cat doesn’t get me.’

They couldn’t see either Bruno or me and they were wondering what all the fuss was about.

‘Turn me into a cockroach!’ shouted Mr Jenkins, puffing out his chest. ‘I’d like to see her try!’ He swung around and started marching across the Dining-Room towards The Grand

High Witch’s table. My grandmother and I watched him. Bruno had jumped up on to our table and was also watching his father. Practically everyone in the Dining-Room was watching Mr Jenkins now. I stayed where I was, peeping out of my grandmother’s handbag. I thought it might be wiser to stay put.

all the other witches, more than eighty of them, were beginning to scream and jump up out of their seats as though spikes were being stuck into their bottoms. Some were standing on chairs, some were up on the tables and all of them were wiggling about and waving their arms in the most extraordinary manner. Then, all at once, they became quiet.

Then they stiffened. Every single witch stood there as stiff and silent as a corpse. The whole room became deathly still. ‘They’re shrinking, Grandmamma!’ I said. ‘They’re shrinking just like I did!’ ‘I know they are,’ my grandmother said. ‘It’s the Mouse-Maker!’ I cried. ‘Look! Some of them are growing fur on their faces! Why is it working so quickly, Grandmamma?’ ‘I’ll tell you why,’ my grandmother said. ‘Because all of them have had massive overdoses, just like you. It’s thrown the alarm-clock right out of whack!’

The mouse maker starts to work

Only the children in the room were really enjoying it.