By the light of the moon
and a net of golden stitches,
and a net of golden stitches,
if you capture a witch,
you will get 3 wishes...
you will get 3 wishes...
“I would like my three wishes now.”
“That’s not how this works.”
“Yes, it does,” Lissa insisted. “My Grannie Eikamp taught me the rhyme, and it was very specific:
“That’s not how this works.”
“Yes, it does,” Lissa insisted. “My Grannie Eikamp taught me the rhyme, and it was very specific:
By the light of the moon
and a net of golden stitches;
if you capture a witch,
you will get three wishes.
The witch shifted her position in the net. “I’m telling you,” she said, “your Grannie Eikamp got it wrong.”
“No, she didn’t. I’ve done everything correctly. The moon is out, you’re a witch, and as hard it was to find golden thread to make a net, I did, and you are now in it. So, I want my three wishes.”
The witch sighed. “The rhyme isn’t:
if you capture a witch,
you will get three wishes
It is:
if you capture a witch,
you will get three...witches
Lissa’s eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open when the three witches stepped out from the shadows.
“Greetings, sister,” the three witches called out. “We told you not to pick nightshade so close to the village.”
“Aye, that you did,” the witch in the net replied.
Lissa put her hands on her hips. “Well, whether my Grannie Eikamp got the rhyme wrong or not, I’d like my three wishes now.”
“Oh, there’ll be a wish, but it won’t be yours, girl,” the tallest of the three witches said. “Aren’t you in need of a new familiar, sister Hagadorn?”
The smallest of the three witches smiled. “That I am, and this girl already has such lovely green eyes.”
The three witches pulled the golden net off their sister and helped her up.
Sister Hagadorn picked up the silken black cat with the green eyes at her feet and nuzzled it--and a hearty laugh was shared as the witches walked back into the night.
Amanda Bergloff writes modern fairy tales, folktales, and speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Frozen Fairy Tales, After the Happily Ever After, and Uncommon Pet Tales.
Follow her on Twitter @AmandaBergloff
