Away Went the Witch

Page 1

The stars were bright
the moon was full
and Little Witch was awakened
by a tug and a pull.

Mother Witch bellowed,
"Wake up daughter,
Night has come!
Tonight we'll dance
and have some fun!"

Page 2

Little Witch (adequately named, Violet)
opened one eye,
and stared with a glare.
With a stubborn grumble, she grunted,
"I don't care!"

Page 3

"Stubborn witch!" Mother declared,
"I'll pull you by the roots of your hair!"
And with a sigh and a grumble,
Little Witch rolled out of bed with a tumble.

Page 4

"A stew for tonight we shall make--
to make Miss-Priss-Down-the-Street's
pretty mirror break
ever-y-time she sees her face!"
Mother Witch cackled
with bitterness and glee,
and Violet sat sadly, with her chin on her knees.

Page 5

"But 'Miss Priss' as you call her is no priss!"
Violet cried.
This wasn't news Mother Witch could digest,
she heaved a great sigh in her chest,
"But you like her so much better than me,
she's no angel, tonight you'll see!"

Page 6

Violet stood up, without a word.
In the midst of Mother Witch's chanting
she was not heard as she crept out the door, out of sight,
into the darkness of the night.

Page 7

A walk at first, then she ran
into the forest, fast as she can.
Away from Mother Witch and the evil of her curses,
into the darkness where the unknown lurks,
with trees and shrubs and holes in the ground,
to snatch her right up
without a sound.

Page 8

All of the sudden, her foot felt a prick--
She stumbled upon a ball that could stick!
And out of the ball unrolled a most peculiar creature,
with a pointy snout and beady eyes,
and sharp, pointy quills as his main feature!

Page 9

"Hello," it said, "I must apologize; where I roll up
is not always safe for passers-by."
Violet stared with wonder
and accepted his apology,
but then she wondered and wanted to know,
JUST WHAT EXACTLY IS HE?

Page 10

"Pardon me, sir, I don't mean to be rude-"
"Oh what am I, you ask?
A hedgehog of course!
Rolling and tumbling with all of my force!
A shroud of spines upon my back,
I am not one to be attacked!"
He paraded around her, proud as could be,
when he asked the same question of she.

Page 11

Violet paused, and then she said,
"Well my mother is a witch,
and she says I'm one too,
but now that I think of it,
I want to be like you!"

The little hedgehog thought,
and said,
"Come this way!
We'll make you a hedgehog for the day!"

Page 12

They talked and giggled as they walked
to his burrow,
glad to be friends in a world so narrow.

She asked the hedgehog if he had a name,
and to tell the truth he has wondered the same.
"My name is Violet, how do you do?"
"My name is Spyke, very well, thank you!"
Proper introductions made,
now they could make Violet's charade.

Page 13

They found her a hat and a jacket,
and placed pointy quills in both very carefully.
When they were finished and she tried on her costume,
they laughed and giggled to see her so silly!

"And yet," said Spyke, "It is a good disguise,
to keep you out of predators' eyes."
Just as he said that, they heard a sound--
a bellow, a cackle, from above the ground!

Page 14

"Little Witch come here or I'll make you a toad!"
Mother Witch hollered, "Or maybe even a mole or a goat!"

"That's if she can FIND me," Violet whispered.
"It's alright Violet, you can stay with me;
Not many like creatures with spikes, as you can see!"

And a great eye appeared at the hole of Spyke's home!
"Oh, just a couple of hedgehogs!" she crowed.
She said to Spyke and now Violet the Hedgehog,
"If you see a Little Witch, send her my way!
My daughter she is, my daughter she'll stay!"

Page 15

But no, Violet wore her cloak of spikes so long,
they clung to her body, as if her own.
Spyke cheered with glee, "Now you're like me!
A witch's daughter you'll no longer be!"

And from then on, Spyke and Violet lived happily.