THE LAST WITCHES

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 92, 9 July 1927, Page 27

THE LAST WITCHES

Long years have come and goutsince the last witch was seen in Er, - - land, and indeed there are very, vet■> few left in any part of the world. But, though we know that the wiicht s have gone for ever, the true story ot' their downfall is almost unknown. At one time, so long ago that even the fairies have, lost count, the witches were- very powerful indeed. They did a great deal of harm, and at lasi things came to such a pitch that the poor fairies were getting no rest all, and their little wings wore be ginning to droop with weariness. So King Oberon and Queen Titan m decided to hold a solemn meeting on Midsummer Eve, and all the fairies were summoned to attend. When everyone had arrived, the King sto. i up to address the meeting:

“Loyal subjects.” he said, and bis voice was like the ripple of a tiny brook over silver pebbles, '1 have called you together to discuss a most important problem. You all know that the witches are becoming more pow erful every day, in spite of all your efforts to undo the harm they have done. The Queen and 1 are deeply grieved to see how overworked you are, and we feel that at all costs this evil must be stopped. We are, then fore, prepared to offer the highest post in the Fairy Palace to the one among you who suggests the best plan of action.”

At this there was a great stir among the fairies. Everyone, of course, wished to win the reward, and there was such a babel of talk that the King was obliged to call “Order, Order!” in liis severest tones. “Only one must speak at a time.” he said, “beginning from left to right. ” One by one, the fairies stood up and and each proposed his or her plan. At last a small fairy. Lob Silvertongue by name, rose up to speak. “Gracious Majesty,” he said, bowing low before the throne, "I was sitting on a rosebush some days ago, helping a spider to mend its web, when I chanced to hear a conversation between two witches who were brewing a spell in a great cauldron. I heard one of them say that the secret of all their power lies in the magic Arcs over which they boil their evil potionTheir life depends on the warmth of these fires, to whiclwWlhey must return at midnight. I suggest, O Mighty King, that we should do our best to put out these fires, while the witches are abroad on their evil errands.” The King was much struck by "the wisdom of this plan, and called for helpers to carry it out. The falfles. one and all. offered their services; and the King proceeded to divide them into bands of ten, with an older fairy in charge of each. The great task was to begin on the very next evening

On the following night, a certain old witch came flying home on her broomstick. Now, a witch’s heart is so empty of love and kindness that it is like a lump of ice. and she would freeze to death without the heat of her magic fire. So this witch was eagerly looking forward to a few hours’ rest beside her boiling cauldron, after a hard day’s work. She was surprised, as she drew near her cave, not to see the bright tongues cf flame stretching out to welcome her as usual, and she found, on arriving at the mouth of the cave, that all was dark and cold within; a few ashes, blown about by the breeze, were all that remained of the magic fire. Greatly alarmed, the old witch leaped on to her broomstick and hastened away to her nearest neighbour, for it was still possible to relight her fire from the magic flames of another witch. She flew fast and soon arrived at the mouth of another cave. But what did she see? Only an old woman bending over the dead embers of her furnace, shaking with terror and fury. Then at last the two witches realised that they had been defeated by some greater power.

“It must be those dreadful fairies." said the first, “they have long been trying to undo our work, and now they

At this moment, a whole band of fairies appeared, like a cloud on the wings of the wind. They surrounded the two old crones, who were quite powerless now that the fires were out and evil potions could no longer be brewed; they chased them across the country, farther and farther, faster and fastdh, until after a long time they reached the Land of Ice and Snow.

“Here you belong, and here you shall remain,” cried the fairies. And there they left the two witches, who were now joined by the rest of their sisters, chased hither by other bands of fairies. Their cold hearts soon turned them into great lumps of ice, frozen like rocks into the- white ground. And there they stand to this very day, pillars of ice in a lonely land. But, from time to time —for the wickedness of the witches was so great that it persisted even through the frozen ages—one of the enchanted” blocks of ice breaks away from the others and floats from the Land <>f Ice and Snow, until it comes to the warmer Sea of the South. It is known as an iceberg, and, being an evil thing, brings death and sorrow to the great ships it chances to meet. But. luckily, this does not happen very often.

You can well imagine how pleased the Fairy King and Queen were when they heard the glad tidings of the great victory. King Oberon at once C|Dmmanded that a banquet should be prepared for all who had taken part in the campaign, and there was great revelry in Fairyand that night. As for Lob Silvertongue, he was appointed Lord High Smoother of the Royal Pillow, a post of great honour which carried with it the privilege of whispering Bed-time Advice to the King on Matters of State. And I have it on the best authority that King Oberon never once regretted the honour he had conferred on Lob.