THE WITCH S DAUGHTER

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 189, 12 August 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE WITCH S DAUGHTER

Once there lived in a cave in the side of a mountain an old witch and her four daughters. Now, it is not thought by witches to be lucky to have an even

number of children, youngest child, Freda

so when the came, the old

witch was very much displeased, as she foJt her magic power would be injured.

So poor Freda was an unwelcome child, and her three sisters being like their mot her. they all hated Freda, and the poor child was left to grow up us best she could.

One day while hunting in the forest, a prime became ne|>urate<l from his attendants and lost liis way in the woods. .He made his wav to the mountain through the thick trees ami brush and came upon Freda sitting by the door of her mother's cave. I ell me the way out of this forest, tny pretty lass." said the prince, "arul I will give yon a hag of gold." I hen as I'reda lifted her eves he thought: "Such beauty as this .should grace a palace. - ' ."M.v mother is a witch and she will Hitrely do us both harm if she sce s voii here, said I'reda. "(in round the mountain and you will see a path." "If your mother is a witch then I mu-t get a fairy to help us." said the prince. for at my birth a fairy gave my mother this pearl, telling her to give it to me when 1 was old enough to take'cure of it. I his pearl has the power to become anything [ wish for and to disappear at my command. Here we shall have a castle which shall disappear whenever anyone comes near it. and in it we will live until T can tell my fnther T have married the girl I love best in the world." Then the mince threw the oenrl nit the found a nd wished, and there before their eyes stood a beautiful marble eastle. That day thev were married, and every dav after that the prince came to the eastle nnd Freda world #et away from her three sisters and mother and

roam through the beautiful rooms of her new home. One day her sisters watched her for they had noticed that each day she went round the mountain. I hey crept after her, and great was their surprise when they saw tjie en.-tie and Freda entering it.

They hurried home to tell their mother, but when (hey returned to the ca-tle it disappeared, and they saw standing under a tree Freda and the prince, ft did not take the old witch long to discover what had happened, and she decided that one of her pet daughters should have him for a husband. It would liot have mattered to the old witch if she had known that Freda was married to the prince, as she knew the magic art of the witches and could change thinir« about to please herself. There was just one thing that the oi l witch could not have power over, and that was a pearl that belonged too fail '.', but it had been many years since she had heard of th" fairy or th" pearl. One day when Freda went to licet her lnislrmd the i >1-1 wit-h crept after her am! ehanjrcd h-r into a tree. Then the witch srnt one of her diil'ditei's to meet the p"'?ic" ■■ nd give him a dr'nk from an en - 1 • i lit •• ' cup. which would 1!' llr| hi ni t>■ : II ■' ! "ik s iif th" w'■ cli girl and mak • him '' in love v.ith l.er. This <he fn - • prini'e had i'i- 1 dismounted for a dr:''k at the -"ream when the gi-| cam • >' mg and oll'er-'d him her cnn. To , •irorise. when he again looked at th ■ girl -he rumen red to he very beautiful. I'oor Freda had gone entirelv from his miml. and the witch girl led hint towards the castle. But the castle remained only when tin one but th" prince and Freda was near, so when the witch girl approached the east'" it faded from si'_<]it. As he came to the rlacc wlmre it had stood. the mince sfoop<--i ■!•>.] , 'vked tin something. It was the big ami instantly he saw that the v.itch sirl was hideous.

"Begone, you uglv creature!" he cried. "May you become a toad!" and instead of the witch girl, a toad hopped along the path to the mountain. Unknowing

that it, was lier daughter, the witch dio\e it away when it tried to enter the cave, and the next day tried the same trick with another of her daughters. The prince met her in the same way, and two forlorn-looking toads huddled at the door of the witch's im\e, fur they knew each other, though their mother did not. Ihe third day the third daughter met the prince with a cup. but he remembered the others and realised that thev had something to .1.. with Freda's disappearance. Holding the pearl before the girl lie asked what had become of his wife. AN hen the witch girl saw the |>ciirl she remembered that there war- milv one thing in the world of which witches were afraid, and that was a hj.g pearl that belonged to a fairy. As the prince w idled her into a load she screamed so loudly that the old witch oil the other side ot the mountain heard, and came running t.. her aid. As the toad hopped in I roil t. of her she threw no her arms and cried: "ihe magic nearl lias found I me! My poor pretric-. I cannot change you back into your own forms without. the pearl." "What have y i.u done with Freda V" asked the prince, ami when the witch saw the pearl, die fell on the ground and trembled so much that the ground j shook under the prince'- feet. Then she I pn'ntcd to tile tree im , hich she had chau'.'cd l-reda and it slowly faded aw iv. In it- place stood her beautiful

j I- loppet \ - Hop along the path came the J three toad-, and Freda was so sorry ' iit. the -i'.iht ot them that the prince I changed t!»eni back into their proper J tonus. I here stood the three witch j <laughters as ugly as before, hut their I mother still called them her pretties and hugged them all. "fsn t Freda a witch as well as the others':" asked the prince. "You do not seem to love her at all." j ''She is not a witch li'ke my pretties," | answed the witch, "she came oil a 1110011I beam one night and though T had to j call her niy daughter she is not a witch and has brought me bad luck." "Then I'll take her away with me," said the prince. "Here is gold for you and your witch daughters, though you do not deserve it.'' The old witch and her daughters fell upon the bag of gold that the prince threw them, and were so busy counting, it that thev did not even sa v goodbye to Freda. Th" prince put her on h ! >? horse in front of him and rede away to his father's ptlnco. where she was recciverf a.s the wife of the prince and lived happily ever after. Thev had nothing to fear from the old witch or her daughters, I for they still possessed the magic pearl which ihe prince had «et in a gold chain that hung round Freda's neck whether she was a/deep or awake.