Jennifer Jane and the witch's broomstick 1/2

Jennifer Jane was walking through the wood on her way to see her friends in the goblin village. It was a lovely Spring day after the cold Winter and she was singing happily to herself as she went along the forest paths.

Suddenly there was a 'whooosh' through the air above her head and something large and black whizzed over the trees and landed with a thump in a large clump of bushes not very far away from her.

'That's strange,' she thought, 'I haven't made any wishes lately, so it can't be anyone coming to fetch me.'

She was as quiet as possible as she pushed her way through the bushes to see if she could discover what it was that had just landed.

Strange noises were coming from a spot just beyond the next bush. It sounded like somebody talking. Jennifer Jane stopped and listened carefully.

"Ear of weasel, tail of cat, BOTHER, BLOOMING, HANG AND DRAT!" said a cross voice.

Jennifer Jane peeped through the bushes. The voice sounded very cross indeed and she didn't want to get into trouble by going where she wasn't wanted. The owner of the voice was bending over something lying on the ground and whilst Jennifer Jane was wondering who on earth it could be, the person straightened up and without turning round said in a loud voice, "Come here Jennifer Jane and see if you can have one of your bright ideas to get me out of this fix."

Jennifer Jane was just a little bit frightened. The strange person was as tall as a grown-up and was wearing a large black cloak. On her head (for it was a lady's voice that had spoken) was a large pointed hat and she knew very well that the person in front of her must be a witch.

"Come along, Jennifer Jane," said the witch, "I'm not going to hurt you. My broomstick has just broken down again and I want you to think of a way to get me home in time for my tea. It's chocolate Swiss roll at the Witches' Home today," she added "and I don't want to miss my share."

Jennifer Jane stepped out from her bush. She wasn't frightened any more but she'd never met a witch before and wasn't quite sure what to say to be polite. "Good afternoon," she said.

"Oh, do come along," said the witch, beginning to sound cross again, "I haven't got very much time left before tea" and then for the first time she turned round so that Jennifer Jane could see her face.

Jennifer Jane was quite surprised and very much relieved. The witch was not at all the old and ugly sort of person that was always shown in films and as illustrations in books. She was really quite pretty and didn't seem to be as old as Jennifer Jane's Mum.

The witch gave Jennifer Jane a smile which put her perfectly at ease and then started to explain what had happened. It seemed that she could only afford a very old broomstick because she was so young and all the best jobs went to the older witches who had more experience. This meant that her broomstick kept on breaking down and she was very often late for her meals.

"Surely you can magic it right again," said Jennifer Jane.

"It's not as easy as that," sighed the witch. "Like you, I only get three wishes a day to use for myself and I'm afraid I've used them all up just getting this far."

Jennifer Jane went over to the broomstick and examined it carefully. It certainly did look very old. The bristles on the sweeping part were nearly worn away and the handle had been broken in two places and mended by binding them together with string. It didn't look as if it would be very comfortable to sit on either.

Jennifer Jane straightened up and smiled.